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Knights, Scots renew rivalry for Book of Knowledge
The two highest-ranked academic institutions in Minnesota (according to US News & World Report) will battle for gridiron bragging rights when Carleton opens its home season by hosting Macalester. The two teams will be battling for the Book of Knowledge for the eighth time, symbolizing the rivalry between the top two liberal arts colleges in the state. The game has informally been dubbed the "Brain Bowl" for many years as well.
Both teams are coming off huge offensive performances last week. The Knights rolled up 417 yards of total offense and scored 41 first-half points in beating host Minnesota-Morris, 50-14. The Scots, meanwhile, snapped a 15-game losing streak that dated back to Oct. 2, 2004, by beating Principia (Ill.), 50-7.
Jackson sets school record with 6 TDs in victory
Junior running back R.J. Jackson (Roseville, Minn. / DeLaSalle) had an unbelievable record-setting performance in Carleton’s season opener, scoring six touchdowns in the first half in leading the Knights past UM-Morris, 50-14. Jackson set a new Carleton single-game record by scoring six touchdowns (on only 12 touches) in leading Carleton to a victory in new head coach Kurt Ramler’s debut. Jackson’s scores came on touchdown runs of 11, 30, 2 and 1 yards, a 46-yard screen pass and a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. He broke the previous Carleton record of five touchdowns and 30 points scored in one game, held jointly by Skye Flanagan ‘98, set against St. Thomas in 1996, and Jim Bradford ’92, set against Gustavus in 1990. Jackson played only one series in the second half as Carleton scored on its first five possessions of the game in taking a 41-7 lead at halftime. For the game he tallied 69 yards rushing on only 10 carries, 46 yards receiving and 93 yards on the kickoff return, leaving him with 208 all-purpose yards.
Honors for Jackson from MIAC, D3football.com
For his outstanding performance, R.J. Jackson has been named the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference offensive player of the week after his record-setting performance in the Knights’ season opening win. This marks the fifth time Jackson has been named MIAC player of the week. He has earned the award for his special teams play three times and twice on offense. Jackson is a two-time All-MIAC first team pick as a utility player and was All-MIAC second team last season at running back.
Additionally, Jackson was named the to the D3football.com's "Team of the Week."
Caspers has field day against Cougars
Senior quarterback Darren Caspers (Bemidji, Minn.) started off his final season of college football with a bang. Caspers was 14-for-19 for 233 yards and one touchdown, as he excelled in his first game in new head coach Kurt Ramler’s shotgun offense. His completion percentage of 73.7 percent and single-game efficiency rating of 194.06 were both career bests. He passed for 233 yards came in only eight series and marked the fourth time he’s surpassed 200 yards in a single game.
More numbers on Caspers
Darren Caspers needs only two more completions to move past John Nielson ’91 for fifth on Carleton’s all-time completions list, as he enters this week’s game with 302 career completions. He’s only the sixth Carleton quarterback to record 300 or more pass completions in a career. The yardage total also pushed him past the 3,000-yard mark for his career, as he now has 3,149 career yards passing. He ranks seventh at Carleton in that category.
Foss closes in on 300-tackle mark
Senior Randy Foss made five stops in limited action in last weekend's season opener, as the large lead allowed others to get time on defense. The five tackles leaves him at 283 for his career, placing him tenth on the all-time list. Only five players have recorded 300 or more tackles in their Carleton careers, with Scott Klein's '97 359 tackles standing as the current school record. If Foss can continue on his current pace of around nine tackles per game, he would overtake Klein by the end of the season, assuming he plays all 10 games this season.
Defensive front seven experienced, secondary not
Carleton returns six defensive starters from last year, but all are from the front seven. Senior linebacker Randy Foss moves into his fourth year as a starter and is flanked by second-year starters and juniors James Colbenson and Jerad Phelps. On the defensive line, third-year starter Pat Frett will combine with second-year starters Kaizan Yang and James Clark. Sophomore John Hanks is the lone member of the front seven who hasn't started at least one full season.
The secondary is a different story. Four sophomores have made their move into the starting line-up for the first time, as Nick Cesarek and Kane Bechstein, former teammates at Apple Valley's (Minn.) Eastview High School will start at the cornerback spots, Drew Ziller at strong safety and Reggie Snipes at free safety.
Offense has eight starters back
The Knights return a lot of offensive firepower from 2005 for new head coach Kurt Ramler to deploy. Senior quarterback Darren Caspers is back after starting 26 career games with 3,403 yards of total offense and 2,916 yards passing in his three-year career. Senior wide receiver Mike Kootsikas enters 2006 with 89 career receptions for 1,209 yards, both marks placing him in the top 10. Throw in versatile running backs R.J. Jackson and Wade Thompson, and plenty of weapons will be at Ramler’s disposal.
The running back tandem of Jackson and Thompson return after both posted solid 2005 campaigns. Jackson netted 713 rushing yards, gaining more than five yards per carry, and scored eight touchdowns; Thompson added 334 yards and five touchdowns.
Both are able pass receivers, as the duo combined for 48 receptions for 368 yards. Both are dangerous in the return game as well. Jackson is a two-time All-MIAC first team pick as a utility player/return specialist and averaged 30.8 yards per kick return and 15.8 yards per punt return, scoring a touchdown on both return types and Thompson added respectable averages of 19.2 yards per kick return and 9.8 yards per punt return.
Caspers will be aided by the experience of Matt Frank having a year’s worth of experience after he posted 21 receptions for 262 yards in his rookie season. Chris Gardner came on strong at the end of the season and ended with nine catches for 93 yards.
The offensive line suffered the loss of three-year starters Bobby McMillan ‘06 at center and Doug Lind ‘06 at right guard, but capable backups wait in the wings. Senior Aaron Fanta, Sam Larsen and Paul Klick are all back after starting last season, and Andrew Roberts tallied eight starts last year and has 16 career starts to his credit.
Jackson, Kootsikas named to All-America team
Carleton junior R.J. Jackson has been named to the Football Gazette preseason All-America second team as a return specialist and senior wide receiver Mike Kootsikas has earned preseason All-America honorable mention status.
Jackson, a two-time All-MIAC first team pick as a utility player, was a threat as a punt and kick returner in 2005. He averaged 15.8 yards per punt return and 30.8 yards per kick return, but fell short of the required attempts in both categories to qualify for the MIAC lead or NCAA ranking in both categories. He scored a punt return and kick return touchdown this season and needed only one more kick return to qualify for the national rankings, and would have ranked third in NCAA Division III with his kick return average. Jackson was all-region honorable mention by Football Gazette at the end of the 2005 season.
Jackson, the team’s leading rusher each of the last two seasons, averaged 71.3 yards rushing per game last season, sixth best in the conference. He ranked third in the MIAC all-purpose yards at 139.6 yards per game, seventh in scoring (6.6 pts./game), and sixth in touchdowns scored with 11.
Kootsikas was Carleton’s leading receiver for the second straight season, amassing 42 catches for 526 yards and three touchdowns. His best effort came in the penultimate contest of the season, as he tallied nine grabs for 128 yards against Gustavus Adolphus College. His 89 career receptions ranks eighth all-time at Carleton and he needs only 241 yards to move into the school’s all-time top 10 in career receiving yardage. His 4.45 receptions per game ranks fourth all-time at Carleton.
Jackson, Thompson reach historic milestone together
Sophomore R.J. Jackson and junior Wade Thompson both surpassed 1,000 career rushing yards last season. Jackson moved past the milestone with 79 yards in the Oct. 1, 2006, victory over Augsburg while Thompson's 52 yards against St. Olaf on Oct. 8 pushed him past the 1,000-yard mark. The pair are the 16th and 17th, respectively, to pass the milestone. It is the first time in Carleton football history that two teammates have reached 1,000 career rushing yards in the same season.
Explosive backs power Knight attack
With senior Wade Thompson and junior R.J. Jackson on the field, the Knights have a pair of explosive backs capable of breaking off long runs, catching passes or making something happen in the return game. Jackson, a two-time All-MIAC pick as a return man and All-MIAC second team selection at running back last season, averaged 5.3 yards per carry last year and scored eight touchdowns. He averaged 30.8 yards per kick return and scored touchdowns rushing, receiving, returning a punt and returning a kick. Thompson, meanwhile, scored five rushing touchdowns. Both have more than 1,000 career rushing yards
Knights' football live on air, over internet
For the third consecutive season, all 10 Carleton football games will be broadcast live on KQCL 95.9 FM/Power 96 out of Faribault, Minn. Award-winning sports director Gordy Kosfeld will be on the call in his second season as the voice of the Knights. Additionally, all the games will be carries live via the internet with Carleton's internet broadcast partner, Stretch Internet. Listeners can log on to Knights Online at www.carleton.edu/athletics and click on broadcasts to listen to Carleton football from anywhere in the world. The games are also archived on Knights Online for fans' listening pleasure after the game.
Next up: MIAC opener with Royals
The Knights host Bethel University in the MIAC opener for Carleton next weekend at Laird Stadium at 1 p.m.
