ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Michael Abramson kicked a 37-yard field goal as time expired and Macalester regained the Book of Knowledge with a 17-14 win over Carleton.
After 11 consecutive years of seeing the Book going to the Carleton sideline, the Scots finally claimed the travelling trophy when Abramson's kick sailed through the uprights as the clock wound down to 0:00.
Macalester needed just 15 seconds to move 46 yards and into field goal position after its defense forced a turnover on downs at the Scots' 34-yard line with 15 seconds to play in the game.
On the first play from scrimmage after the turnover, Samson Bialostok hooked up with Hunter Johnson for a 42-yard pass play and then spiked the ball intentionally to stop the clock with 10.7 seconds to play. A handoff to Zandy Stowell allowed the ball to get to the middle of the field at the Carleton 20, where the Scots called their final timeout with 4.0 seconds to play, setting up the winning field goal.
Macalester was deep in Carleton territory, twice, early in the game without coming away with any points, giving up the ball on the Knights' nine on their first possession after going 77 yards on 13 plays. They would eventually force a fumble, getting the ball on the get the ball at the Carleton 23 when Ryan Flanagan sacked Carleton quarterback Zach Creighton and Reid Callahan recoved the ball but, four plays later, the hosts turned the ball over on downs after gaining just six yards.
On Carleton's first play after regaining possession, Bolton Howes forced and recovered a fumble which led, three plays later, to Bialostock's 10-yard touchdown run with 11 minutes to play in the second quarter.
The score remained that way until Macalester got the ball to open the second half and promptly moved 58 yards on nine plays before Sam Bordo scored on an 18-yard run to give the Scots a 14-0 lead.
Carleton did not give up on its game plan, however, and wear and tear bagan to show on Macalester when Creighton completed a 63-yard touchdown pass to Colby Seyferth with 3:27 to play in the third quarter.
Although fading, the Scots' defense came away with a key stop when they forced the Knights into a failed 23-yard field goal attempt with 10:51 to play in the game as well as Carleton's final drive, which came to a halt with when Ryan Fleming stopped Andy Gustafson for a three-yard loss on third-and one, and a holding penalty negated a potential first down on fourth-and-four before the visitors gave up the ball on downs.
However, between those possessions, the Knights drove 58 yards in 10 plays before Creighton rushed for an 11-yard touchdown, tying the game at 14-14 and setting up Abramson's heroics.
The Scots racked up a 413-274 advantage in total offense with Stowell rushing for 112 yards on 22 caries while Bialostock had 72 yards rushing and completed 13 of 29 passes for 158 yards, with Johnson the recipient of seven of those passes for 95 yards.
Defensively, Fleming had a team-high 15 tackles, including eight solos, while Jole Miller had nine tackles and broke up two passes. Howes had six tackles (5 solos) with one for loss.
With the first of their two travelling trophy games under their belt, the Scots return to action next Saturday when they travel north on Snelling Avenue to Hamline, for a 7 p.m. meeting with the Pipers as the teams battle for the Paint Bucket.
Scots regain Book of Knowledge with 17-14 win over Carleton
/seasons/2014/boxscores/20140906_hjv0.xml
2014
Carleton
14
Macalester
17
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carleton (0-1) | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Macalester (1-0) | 0 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
Sep 06, 2014