NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College football team made a late goal-line stand to reclaim possession of the Goat with a 19-13 victory over crosstown-rival Carleton College on Saturday afternoon at Klein Field at Manitou.
St. Olaf (5-0, 3-0 MIAC) led 17-0 midway through the third quarter before Carleton (2-3, 1-2 MIAC) scored the next two touchdowns to make it a one-score game in the final minutes. Trailing by six, the Knights had a first-and-goal at the six-yard line with 1:04 remaining, but the Oles' defense forced four consecutive incomplete passes to secure the win.
The victory snapped Carleton's two-game winning streak in the series and gave St. Olaf wins in eight of the last 10 meetings between the two rivals. St. Olaf's 5-0 start is its best since also starting 5-0 in both 2018 and 2019.
Senior Theo Doran was 21-for-32 for 248 yards with two touchdowns and one interception for the Oles, with both of his touchdowns going to fifth-year senior Derek Hansen, who had four catches for 81 yards. Junior Will Skemp hauled in a career-high 11 receptions for 87 yards, while senior Evan Hammonds caught four passes for 75 yards. Sixth-year senior Siegel Howard III ran for a team-high 73 yards on 14 carries.
Nick Toole led the attempted comeback for Carleton by going 13-for-24 for 128 yards with one touchdown and one interception after entering the game in the fourth quarter after an injury to Jack Curtis, who was 16-for-24 for 149 yards and a score. Ntense Obono and Tyler Dimond both had over 100 receiving yards and a touchdown for the Knights.
Defensively, senior Tate Sauerwein recorded a career-high 12 total tackles, including a sack, and forced a fumble for St. Olaf. Fifth-year senior Deonta Thomas added six tackles and blocked an extra point that senior Elijah Short ran back for two points. Short also broke up three passes, two of which came near the goal line on the final possession. Senior Tony Avila-Tovalin registered the first interception of his career as well.
St. Olaf outgained Carleton by a 239-104 margin in the opening half but had just a 10-0 lead to show for it after a pair of first-half turnovers. The Oles got on the board first with a 24-yard field goal by fifth-year senior Collin Swan three minutes into the second quarter on a drive that included a 36-yard run by Howard III that got Carleton territory on a nine-play, 80-yard drive.
On its next possession, St. Olaf pushed its lead to 10-0 when Doran found a crossing Hansen over the middle for a 10-yard touchdown a play after connecting with Hammonds for a 20-yard gain up the left side on a fourth-and-seven play. The Oles were poised to add to their lead midway through the second quarter, but the Carleton defense forced a fumble in the red zone to avoid a larger deficit.
St. Olaf did add to its lead midway through the third quarter on a 17-yard pass from Doran to Hansen for the duo's seventh touchdown connection this season after the pair connected for a 50-yard gain on the second play of the drive. The two-touchdown performance was the sixth game of Hansen's career with multiple touchdown grabs.
After being held to 101 yards on its first 32 offensive plays, Carleton got its offense going with an eight-play, 66-yard drive on the ensuing possession that ended with a 10-yard touchdown from Curtis to Obono. Toole again led the Knights into scoring position midway through the fourth quarter, but Avila-Tovalin ended the threat with an interception at the six-yard line. On the next play, it was the Carleton defense's turn to create a turnover, however, as the Knights recovered a fumble to set themselves back up at the eight-yard line.
Two plays later, Toole hit Tyler Dimond for a five-yard touchdown to make it 17-13, but Thomas blocked the extra point, which Short scooped up and raced up the right sideline for an 88-yard return for two points. St. Olaf punted the ball back to Carleton on its next possession before Toole again led the Knights into scoring position.
The Knights converted a third-and-10 and a fourth-and-11 on the drive to get all the way to the six-yard line before throwing four incomplete passes from there. After breaking up a pass on second down, Short again got a hand to a pass intended for Toole in the end zone on the right to allow St. Olaf to run out the clock.
The Oles will look to remain unbeaten with a home matchup against the College of St. Scholastica on Saturday, Oct. 19 at 1 p.m.
St. Olaf takes back Goat from Carleton with late defensive stand
/seasons/2024/boxscores/20241012_yxy7.xml
2024
Carleton
13
St. Olaf
19
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carleton (2-3) | 0 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 13 |
| St. Olaf (5-0) | 0 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 19 |
Oct 12, 2024