ST. PETER, Minn. – Carleton College (3-3, 1-3 MIAC) built a 21-6 lead in the third quarter but could not withstand final-minute heroics by Gustavus Adolphus, as the Knights lost, 28-21. Sophomore quarterback Vaughn Schmid (Mahtomedi, Minn.) threw for 258 yards and two touchdowns in the defeat. The Gusties (3-3, 2-2 MIAC) got the game-winning touchdown with 14 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
Both of Schmid’s scoring strikes were hauled in by sophomore Anthony Kemper (Prior Lake, Minn.), who finished with four grabs for 48 yards. He now has six touchdowns in his first six career games.
Gustavus took the opening kickoff and marched 46 yards, but the Carleton defense held in the red zone and then blocked the Gusties’ 35-yard field goal. Kyle Jacobs scooped up the loose ball and ran it back to the Gustavus 31-yard line. The Knights needed five plays to reach the endzone, which they did on Jon Lien’s (So./Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes) one-yard plunge, helping Carleton take the early 7-0 lead.
Following a strong kickoff return by Joe Welch, the Gusties found the endzone at the end of a seven-play, 39-yard drive, but the extra-point misfired as the Knights blocked their second kick of the afternoon.
Early in the second quarter, Kemper hauled in an 18-yard touchdown pass from Schmid, who was 4-of-5 for 54 yards on the scoring drive.
Carleton started the second half by marching 74 yards on nine plays as Kemper perfectly timed his leap to pull down an 18-yard touchdown strike from Schmid, putting the Knights in front 21-6.
Gustavus got a huge momentum shift on the ensuing kickoff as Welch brought it back 87 yards for a touchdown, the third-longest kick return in Gusties history. The home team went for two, and Jordan becker’s pass to Cameron Maurer made the score 21-14 with over 25 minutes of football still to be played.
Both defenses stepped up as none of the next seven drives covered more than 20 yards. Finally after Schmid interception gave the Gusties a short field, Becker accounted for 41 of 43 yards with either his feet or his arm and finished the drive with a five-yard strike to Cody Sukalski.
Carleton sent the field-goal unit on to try a 32-yarder with 2:33 to go, but the kick was blocked. On the ensuing drive, Gustavus gained 39 yards on the ground before Elliott Herdina hauled in a 15-yard touchdown reception with 14 seconds remaining.
This was the 13th straight year the Gusties have held off Carleton, with the last two happening in heartbreaking fashion. A year ago, it was an overtime loss that featured a pair of blocked extra points. This year it was Gustavus’ second final-seconds touchdown in as many weeks.
Schmid completed 25 of 44 passes, connecting with eight different receivers. His top target was sophomore Eric Fabry (Apple Valley, Minn.), who notched a team-best six receptions for 60 yards. Lien amassed 148 total yards, finishing with three catches for 46 yards in addition to 24 rushes for 82 yards and a touchdown.
The Knights’ linebacking corps was busy. Tim Mulso (Jr./Welcome, Minn./Martin County West) led the defense with 14 tackles, including 1.5 sacks. Sophomores Justin Rotman (Minnetonka, Minn.) and Mark Skoglund (Murdock, Minn./Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg) each figured in 11 tackles.
In fact, all four MIAC games went down to the wire on Saturday. The Carleton-Gustavus game was actually the earliest contest to be decided (14 seconds left). Bethel edged Hamline 20-17 on a field goal as time expired. Saint John’s defeated St. Thomas 20-17 in overtime, and Augsburg also pulled out an overtime victory at Concordia, 27-20.
The Knights return home to play St. Thomas next Saturday at 1 p.m. Knights Online will feature a live video webcast of the game beginning at 12:45 p.m.
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