NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College football team kept Macalester College in check offensively after the opening possession of the game in a 38-13 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) victory on Saturday afternoon at Klein Field at Manitou.
After Macalester (2-1, 0-1 MIAC) went down the field and scored a touchdown on its opening possession, St. Olaf (2-1, 1-0 MIAC) limited the Scots' offense to six points the rest of the way to pick up its 19th victory in the last 21 meetings in the series. Macalester entered the game having scored 100 points in its two games to rank in the top 15 nationally in scoring offense.
The St. Olaf defense limited Macalester quarterback Michael Nadeau, who came into the game leading all of NCAA Division III in passing yards per game (461.50), well under his season numbers, as Nadeau was 29-of-56 for 297 yards and one touchdown. The Oles also held the Scots to 82 rushing yards on 25 attempts for an average of just 3.3 yards per rush.
Offensively, fifth-year senior Jordan Embry continued his climb up the record book, rushing for 144 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries. The 144-yard day saw Embry move past Mark Gelle '76 for fourth in recorded program history with 2,942 rushing yards. The two touchdowns gave Embry 23 for his career, pushing him into a tie for fifth in program history.
Junior Theo Doran was 16-for-23 for 271 yards and a pair of touchdowns through the air while also rushing seven times for a career-high 67 yards and a score. Doran's favorite target was junior Evan Hammonds, who caught eight passes for 121 yards for his second 100-yard performance in three games this season. Senior Derek Hansen and junior Devin McNearny hauled in touchdowns from Doran in the win.
After receiving the opening kickoff, Macalester marched 71 yards on 14 plays for the game's first touchdown on a one-yard sneak by Nadeau, which was set up by a fourth-down conversion just outside of the red zone. The lead lasted just 37 seconds, however, as St. Olaf needed just two snaps to tie the game at 7-7. After hitting Hammonds for a 31-yard completion on the Oles' first offensive play, Doran scampered down the left sideline for a 32-yard touchdown that was the longest rush of his career and his sixth-career rushing score.
The score remained tied until Doran found Hansen for a 34-yard catch-and-run touchdown on a fourth-and-six play with 6:29 left in the second quarter. The Oles also converted a fourth-and-one earlier in the drive on a sneak by Doran. Later in the quarter, McNearny caught the first touchdown of his career on a 21-yard pass from Doran in the final minute of the half to push St. Olaf's lead to 20-7 after the extra point was no good.
With just 38 seconds on the clock, Macalester moved the ball into St. Olaf territory and scored on a 25-yard pass from Nadeau to Michael Poker with no time remaining to make it a one-score game temporarily. On the ensuing extra point, sophomore Alijah Cruel blocked the kick and the Oles ran it back for two points, as senior Ben Kettelhut picked up the ball at the two-yard line, lateralled it to junior Holden Luetkens near his own 30-yard line. After crossing midfield, Luetkens lateralled the ball to senior Deonta Thomas near the Macalester 35-yard line and Thomas took it the rest of the way to make it 22-13 at the half.
St. Olaf's defense forced Macalester to turn the ball over on downs at the St. Olaf 19-yard line and 32-yard line on its first two possessions of the third quarter. Just two plays after the second stop, Embry broke loose for a 67-yard touchdown to extend St. Olaf's lead to 29-13 through three.
The Oles stopped the Scots on fourth down twice more in the fourth quarter to complete the second-half shutout. Senior Collin Swan connected on a 36-yard field goal with 8:01 remaining in the game before Embry plunged in from a yard out with 3:25 to go to close out the scoring.
St. Olaf compiled 489 yards of total offense and averaged just over 8.0 yard per play in the win. The Oles were 7-for-14 on third down and 2-for-2 on fourth down, compared to 5-for-17 and 3-for-7 for the Scots.
Junior Tate Sauerwein had a game-high 10 tackles (all solo), including 2.0 tackles for a loss, to go with a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry for St. Olaf, while Cruel had six tackles, including one for a loss, a pass breakup and two hurries in addition to the blocked extra point.
The Oles hit the road for the first time in conference play with a trip to Hamline University on Saturday, Sept. 30 for a 1 p.m. kickoff against the Pipers.
St. Olaf thwarts Macalester with second-half shutout in MIAC opener
/seasons/2023/boxscores/20230923_y1h4.xml
2023
Macalester
13
St. Olaf
38
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Macalester (2-1) | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| St. Olaf (2-1) | 7 | 15 | 7 | 9 | 38 |
Sep 23, 2023