ST. PAUL, Minn. – The St. Olaf College football team recorded its first shutout in nearly 13 years by blanking Macalester College by a 29-0 score in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) opener for both teams on Saturday night at Macalester Stadium.
On a night that saw senior Theo Doran become the program's all-time leader in career passing yards, the defense was the story for St. Olaf (3-0, 1-0 MIAC), which picked up its 20th victory in the last 22 meetings with Macalester (0-3, 0-1 MIAC). The shutout was the Oles' first in 114 games – a span of 4,718 days – since a 40-0 home win over Hamline University on Oct. 29, 2011.
Doran entered the night needing 113 yards to surpass Brian Senske '04 for the program's all-time record in passing yards (6,780) and did so by going 16-for-24 for 274 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also ran five times for 35 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Junior Gus Gartzke recorded the first 100-yard game of his career by carrying the ball a career-high 26 times for a career-best 125 yards and a score.
Senior Devin McNearny registered his first 100-yard receiving game in a St. Olaf uniform by hauling in a career-high seven receptions for 130 yards, while fifth-year senior Derek Hansen had six catches for 52 yards and a score. Senior Evan Hammonds added a pair of catches for 82 yards.
Defensively, fifth-year senior Ben Kettelhut and junior Noah Barrett tied for the team lead with eight tackles. Barrett, who ranked in the top five in NCAA Division III with 6.5 tackles for a loss coming into the game, added 2.5 more tackles for a loss and had a sack for the third game in a row to start the season.
After St. Olaf received the opening kickoff, Macalester's Noah Bresson intercepted Doran on a pass off the hands of an Ole receiver on the second play from scrimmage to set up the Scots at the St. Olaf 44-yard line. Macalester got one first down before sophomore defensive lineman Logan Butts broke up a pass on a fourth-and-two play at the St. Olaf 26-yard line to turn the Scots over on downs.
On the next possession, Doran found Hammonds for a 54-yard pass down the middle to get the Oles inside the five-yard line and, two plays later, Gartzke rumbled into the end zone for the first points of the game just over five minutes in. After a three-and-out, the Oles covered 60 yards in five plays for their second consecutive touchdown, with Doran hitting McNearny for a 34-yard pass up the right sideline for the big play of the drive. Doran ran for a nine-yard touchdown on the next play, and a successful two-point conversion made it 15-0 with 6:25 left in the first quarter.
Doran's first rushing touchdown of the night marked the final points of the game until the fourth quarter. After a combined 13 possessions in the opening half, the two teams combined for just five possessions in the second half, with St. Olaf scoring touchdowns on both of their opportunities with the ball.
Macalester received the ball to open the third quarter and proceeded to march 80 yards in 21 plays but came up empty. The Scots had a first-and-goal at the one-yard line before the Oles' defense made a stand to turn the hosts over on downs on a drive that ate up 11:11 off the clock.
On the next possession, St. Olaf put together a 13-play, 98-yard touchdown drive that was capped by a four-yard run by Doran for his second rushing touchdown of the night. The Oles converted a third-and-10 at their own two-yard line on a 13-yard run by Gartzke to get the drive going.
Doran found a wide-open Hansen in the back of the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown on St. Olaf's second and final possession of the second half to close the scoring with 3:53 remaining. Both Ole scoring drives lasted more than six minutes.
After missing out on a shutout on a touchdown by Luther College with five seconds remaining two weeks ago, St. Olaf finished off the shutout this time around by keeping the Scots out of the end zone on the final play of the game. Macalester put together an 11-play, 72-yard drive on the final possession and nearly got into the end zone, but Kettelhut pushed Gabe Kasper out of bounds at the three-yard line after a 24-yard catch on the final play of the game.
In the first of three consecutive home games, the Oles will match up with Hamline University on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 1 p.m. at Klein Field at Manitou.
Defense pitches first shutout since 2011 in St. Olaf's MIAC opener
/seasons/2024/boxscores/20240928_zhgg.xml
2024
St. Olaf
29
Macalester
0
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Olaf (3-0) | 15 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 29 |
| Macalester (0-3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Sep 28, 2024