NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College football team ran for 252 yards and outscored visiting Macalester College by a 16-0 margin the third quarter to pull away for a 40-27 victory in the Scots' return to the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) on Saturday at Klein Field at Manitou.
St. Olaf (2-1, 1-0 MIAC) led by just three, 24-21, at the half after kicking a field goal on the final play of the first half, but scored 16 unanswered points in the third quarter to open up a 19-point lead over Macalester (1-2, 0-1 MIAC), which was playing its first game in the MIAC after a 20-year hiatus. The meeting was the first in the series since 2005.
Junior Jordan Embry did most of St. Olaf's damage on the ground, carrying the ball a career-high 28 times for a career-best 182 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Embry has rushed for 352 yards and three touchdowns over the Oles' last two games.
First year Christian Graske added 87 yards on 12 carries for St. Olaf, which also got three touchdown passes from senior Lars Prestemon, two of which went to sophomore tight end Derek Hansen. Hansen led St. Olaf with four catches for 54 yards.
St. Olaf went three and out on its first possession and fumbled the snap on the ensuing punt, setting up Macalester in scoring position, and the Scots capitalized on their first play from scrimmage on a 19-yard touchdown run by Michael Poker. The Oles' next possession ended in a blocked punt, again setting up the visitors in scoring range, but the St. Olaf defense stopped Macalester on downs at the 13-yard line.
Trailing 7-0, the Oles covered 87 yards in 11 plays to march down the field and tie the game with 3:11 remaining in the opening quarter, scoring on a 38-yard catch-and-run touchdown from Prestemon to senior Gabe Alada. The Scots responded with a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive of their own that culminated in a four-yard touchdown run by Michael Nadeau to go back up by seven three minutes into the second quarter.
The teams traded turnovers on their next two possessions before St. Olaf tied the game at 14-14 midway through the second quarter on an eight-yard touchdown run by Embry that capped a series of six-straight running plays. After a three and out, the Oles got the ball back and took their first lead of the game when Prestemon found Hansen open in the back of the end zone on a fourth-and-goal play from the five-yard line with 3:03 left in the half.
Macalester answered with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Nadeau to Logan Pampel with 33 seconds to go in the half, but left enough time on the clock for the Oles to get a 39-yard field goal by first year Collin Swan. The attempt came on an untimed down after the Scots were called for a roughing the passer penalty on a throw into the end zone to end the half.
To start the second half, the St. Olaf defense forced Macalester to punt and blocked a punt in the end zone for a safety to extend the Oles' lead to 26-21. St. Olaf started the ensuing drive at midfield and opened up a 33-21 lead on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Prestemon to Hansen.
On the Oles' next possession, Embry broke free for a 66-yard touchdown up the right sideline to make it a 40-21 game with 4:31 to go in the third quarter. Macalester scored the lone points of the fourth quarter on a 26-yard touchdown pass from Nadeau to Nick Bice with 3:48 remaining.
Senior Nick Sabatino had a team-high 11 tackles for St. Olaf, including three for a loss, 1.5 sacks, and an interception. Juniors Kris Kurtz and Nick Prom, as well as senior Nikoloz Vasadze, had half a sack apiece. The Oles' defense held the Scots to 51 yards rushing and an average of 1.8 yards per rush in the game.
St. Olaf heads to Augsburg on Saturday, Oct. 2 for a 1 p.m. kickoff in Minneapolis.
Ground game helps St. Olaf top Macalester in its MIAC return
/seasons/2021/boxscores/20210925_w6lo.xml
2021
Macalester
27
St. Olaf
40
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Macalester (1-2) | 7 | 14 | 0 | 6 | 27 |
| St. Olaf (2-1) | 7 | 17 | 16 | 0 | 40 |
Sep 25, 2021