Football

Category: Football

Ground game leads Macalester past Vikings

APPLETON, Wis. — The Macalester College football team ran for 416 yards Saturday and went on to a 35-7 Midwest Conference North Division win over Lawrence University at Ron Roberts Field at the Banta Bowl.

Zandy Stowell had 25 carries for 193 yards and two touchdowns, and quarterback Alec Beatty ran 13 times for 179 yards for two touchdowns for the Scots (4-3, 2-1 MWC).

Lawrence quarterback Ryan Butterfield was 11-for-19 for 75 yards and a touchdown. Jacob Berman caught five passes for 44 yards for the Vikings (1-6, 0-3). Lawrence’s Terrence Simon had five carries for 29 yards, and he had three punt returns for 55 yards.

Linebacker Jacob Lueck had a career-high 17 tackles for Lawrence, and Tony Harth and Dan Rothbauer recorded 11 stops apiece. Harth also had 2.0 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss.

Beatty changed the tone of the game with his speed when he entered at the start of the second quarter. His first run went 73 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 Macalester lead.

Lawrence was forced to punt on the ensuing possession, but the ball touched the Scots’ Trey Johnson and Alic Riedel scooped it up for the Vikings. Butterfield hit Wes Hetcher with a 19-yard scoring pass on the next play to tie the game at 7-7.

Macalester went 78 yards in 12 plays on the next possession to take back the lead. Beatty ran the final five yards for the score and a 14-7 lead.

Simon had an electric 44-yard punt return early in the third quarter to put Lawrence in business at the Macalester 19-yard line. Macalester came up with a big stop on third down, and Pat O’Mahoney’s 40-yard field goal was wide left.

The Scots then had scoring drives of eight and seven plays, all runs, in the third quarter. Beatty scored from three yards out and Stowell had a one-yard plunge and Macalester led 28-7 after three quarters.

The Scots added a fourth-quarter touchdown on Stowell’s 22-yard run after Macalester got a short field when a Lawrence fake punt attempt failed.

Box score

Burlingame passes Carroll past Vikings

APPLETON, Wis. — Kyle Burlingame tossed four touchdown passes and ran for two more scores to lead the Carroll University football team to a 42-6 Midwest Conference North Division win Saturday night over Lawrence University.

Burlingame’s big game spoiled the rededication of Ron Roberts Field at the Banta Bowl. The Carroll quarterback was 15-of-26 passing for 273 yards and four touchdowns. He also ran 11 times for 79 yards and scored on runs of 19 and four yards.

Kevin Jennings caught six passes for 147 yards and three touchdown for the Pioneers (3-3, 1-1 MWC North).

Quarterback Ryan Butterfield completed 6-of-7 passes for 96 yards a touchdown for the Vikings (1-5, 0-2) before leaving the game with an injury. Sophomore receiver Terrence Simon caught five passes for 76 yards and a touchdown for the Vikings.

Lawrence was limited to just 196 yards of offense while Carroll piled up 616 yards.

Jennings caught touchdown passes of 65 and 64 yards to stake Carroll to a 14-0 lead. Simon then caught a 56-yard scoring pass from Butterfield to trim the margin to 14-6 with 5:39 left in the opening half.

Burlingame then capped an 82-yard drive with a 19-yard scoring run with just 42 seconds left in the first half, and the Pioneers led 21-6 at the half.

The Pioneers took the opening drive of the second half, and Jennings capped a 61-yard drive with a four-yard touchdown catch for a 28-6 lead. Ryan Fuchs later caught another Burlingame touchdown pass, and Burlingame added a four-yard touchdown run to complete the scoring.

The big blemish on the night for Burlingame was a pair of interceptions. The Vikings stopped a pair of first-half drive with interceptions in their own end zone. Sophomores Alic Riedel and Carl Olsen both picked off passes for the Vikings. Olson and Jacob Lueck both recorded a game-high nine tackles for Lawrence.

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Football preview: Lawrence vs. Carroll

APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University football team returns from the bye week for the Hall of Fame game against Carroll University. The Midwest Conference North Division game is set to kick off Saturday at 5 p.m. on Ron Roberts Field at the Banta Bowl.

Prior to the game, the official rededication ceremony for Ron Roberts Field at the Banta Bowl will take place. Lawrence President Mark Burstein will be joined by Director of Athletics Mike Szkodzinski and multiple dignitaries to celebrate the renovation of the 50-year-old stadium.

Halftime of the game will see the introduction of this year’s Lawrence Intercollegiate Athletic Hall of Fame class. The group is former student-athletes Shannon Arendt LaRoux, Steve Blomberg, Shelley Ebert Navis, Courtney Miller Cameron and Felice Porrata and long-time swim coach Kurt Kirner.

Preview

Banta Bowl rededication caps busy weekend at Lawrence

bowl_coverAPPLETON, Wis. — The rededication of the Banta Bowl caps an epic weekend as Lawrence University also celebrates Fall Festival and hosts the Intercollegiate Athletic Hall of Fame ceremony.

School officials, led by President Mark Burstein, will conduct the rededication ceremony at 4:40 p.m. on Ron Roberts Field at the Banta Bowl. Burstein will be joined by Director of Athletics Mike Szkodzinski, All-America quarterback Chuck McKee ’68, lead donors Tom Rogers ’65, and Steve ’62 and Joan Gilboy and members of the family of legendary coach Ron Roberts.

Rogers, Steve Gilboy and Ron Roberts Jr., ’84, will serve as honorary captains as the Lawrence football team takes on Carroll University at 5 p.m.

Saturday’s events on Roberts Field begin at 11 a.m. when the Lawrence women’s soccer team faces Grinnell College. The men’s match vs. Grinnell follows at 1:30 p.m. In addition to the action on Roberts Field, the Lawrence volleyball team faces Northland College at 6 p.m. inside Alexander Gymnasium.

The rededication ceremony caps a hectic six-month renovation of the iconic stadium, which opened for play in 1965. The $4.5 million project has given the Banta Bowl a new life as it now serves as the home for men’s and women’s soccer in addition to football.

The stadium floor was raised four feet and expanded to accommodate both football and soccer. The natural grass surface was replaced with FieldTurf, an artificial surface that allows for more and varied use of the facility. The transformation of the field was made possible by Rogers’ gift, and he renamed it Roberts Field to honor Lawrence’s renowned coach.

The Gilboy Athletic Center, the new building constructed beyond the north end zone, was made possible by a gift from Steve and Joan Gilboy. The building houses the Lawrence locker room, a visiting team room, the training room, concessions, bathrooms and ticketing.

The facility also features new aluminum bleachers, an LED scoreboard adorned with “Roberts Field” and improved sound system.

A memorial to Bernie Heselton, long-time coach and director of athletics, is under the Lawrence flag. Heselton served as Lawrence football coach from 1938-64, won six Midwest Conference championships and served as director of athletics and head golf coach.

A memorial for Carl Berghult ’64, a friend and fraternity brother of Rogers, rests under the American flag. Berghult, a native of Chicago, Ill., was a running back for the Vikings and played in the final years of Heselton’s tenure. After graduating from Lawrence, Berghult was a lieutenant (j.g.) in the United States Naval Reserve, and he was killed in the flight deck fire aboard the USS Enterprise on Jan. 14, 1969.

The weekend’s festivities kick off with the induction ceremony for the Lawrence Hall of Fame on Friday evening at the Warch Campus Center. Five former student-athletes and one former coach are being inducted.

Long-time swimming and diving coach Kurt Kirner joins eight of his former swimmers in the Hall of Fame. Kirner coached from 1991-2007, won a pair of league titles and was honored as Midwest Conference Coach of the Year three times. Former softball and volleyball star Shannon Arendt, who earned all-conference honors four times, is joined by four-time all-conference basketball selection Felice Porrata. Two great runners, Courtney Miller and Shelley Ebert, combined to win 13 conference track titles and led the cross country team to a pair of league championships. The other inductee is former baseball and football star Steve Blomberg, who played five seasons in the minor leagues after leaving Lawrence.

Vikings fall short at Grinnell

GRINNELL, Iowa — The Lawrence University football team fell short with a second-half rally Saturday at Grinnell College and dropped a 28-20 non-conference decision to the Pioneers at Rosenbloom Field.

Lawrence (1-4) trailed 28-14 at the half but held the Pioneers scoreless after the break. The Vikings got a pair of field goals from Pat O’Mahoney but couldn’t reach the end zone in the second half.

Lawrence quarterback Ryan Butterfield completed 13-of-25 passes for 117 yards, and ran 12 times for 68 yards. Freshman Terrence Simon ran five times for 85 yards and scored his first collegiate touchdown for the Vikings. Sophomore Donnel Haley added 61 yards on 14 carries for the Vikings.

Grinnell quarterback Sam Poulos was 17-of-26 for 183 yards and two touchdowns.

Grinnell (1-3) built a 21-7 lead with the help of touchdown passes of 67 and 19 yards by Poulos. Lawrence sliced the lead to 21-14 after Simon ripped off a 66-yard run with 3:05 left in the second quarter.

Emmi Sandoval then returned the ensuing kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown to push Grinnell’s lead to 28-14 at the half. Lawrence had not allowed a kickoff return for a touchdown since Lake Forest’s Casey Urlacher did it back in 2001.

The Vikings trimmed the lead to 28-17 when O’Mahoney booted a 30-yard field goal with 6:54 left in the third quarter. The Vikings cut the advantage to 28-20 when O’Mahoney connected on a 34-yard field with 5:08 remaining in the fourth quarter, but that’s as close as Lawrence would get.

Lawrence won the statistical battle as the Vikings out-gained Grinnell 351-301. Lawrence piled up 210 yards on the ground and averaged 5.0 yards per carry.

Box score

Big play, long drive propel Knox past Vikings

APPLETON, Wis. — A big play jump-started the Knox College offense and a long scoring drive sealed the Prairie Fire’s 20-6 non-conference win over Lawrence University on Saturday at Ron Roberts Field at the Banta Bowl.

Knox (2-1) got a 79-yard run on the second play of third quarter to set up its first touchdown, and the Prairie Fire went on a drive that ate up 7:10 of the fourth quarter to grab a two-touchdown lead.

Nick Edlund ran 20 times for 156 yards, and Jared Zanger scored all three touchdowns for Knox.

Lawrence quarterback Ryan Butterfield was 7-for-14 for 80 yards and ran seven times for 35 yards. Quarterback Kemani Pittman, who splits time with Butterfield, was 7-of-12 passing for 55 yards.

The game was scoreless at the half after Knox dodged a bullet early in the game. Lawrence (1-3) took the opening kickoff and drove right down the field. Butterfield had nine-yard touchdown run called back on a penalty, and Lawrence later faced fourth-and-2 at the Knox three-yard line. Butterfield’s pass just missed Trevor Spina at the goal line and Knox took over on downs.

Knox took the opening kickoff of the second half, and Edlund broke free for a 79-yard run on the second play. He was pushed out of bounds at the Lawrence one-yard line, and Zanger scored on the next play for a 7-0 lead.

The Prairie Fire took over after a punt later in the third quarter at the Lawrence 42. Aided by a personal foul penalty, Knox moved to the Lawrence 12, and Zanger ran it in from there for a 13-0 edge.

Lawrence got on the board with a nice scoring drive early in the fourth quarter. Lawrence looked like it had been stopped when it faced fourth-and-6 at the Knox 34, but Butterfield faked a punt and raced 22 yards to the Knox 12. The Vikings then benefited from a pass interference penalty to get a first down at the two-yard line. Dalton Sendelbach barreled into the end zone on the next play to cut the lead to 13-6.

Knox took the next possession and moved 79 yards in 12 plays, eating up more than seven minutes in the process, to grab a 20-6 lead. Zander scored a two-yard run with 3:27 left to seal the victory.

Box score

Lawrence to take part in Coach To Cure MD on Saturday

APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University football program will participate in Coach To Cure MD, the national game day charity project of the American Football Coaches Association, during Saturday’s game on Ron Roberts Field at the Banta Bowl.

The Vikings face Knox College in a nonconference game, and kickoff is set for 1 p.m.

Now celebrating its eighth year, Coach To Cure MD seeks to raise awareness and money to fund research for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, the most prolific lethal genetic disorder of childhood.

During Saturday’s games around the nation, the Lawrence coaching staff will join thousands of AFCA members wearing Coach To Cure MD shoulder patches on the sidelines to raise awareness of the program. Since its inception, Coach To Cure MD has raise more than $1 million.

Fans will be asked to donate to Coach To Cure MD at the game on Saturday. To donate $5, text the word “Cure” to 90999 or you can visit coachtocuremd.org to make a donation.