Box Score

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – The chances were there.
 
Which is what made Saturday afternoon's 17-10 loss at Bethel that much harder to swallow for senior tight end Joey Gendreau (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) and his teammates on the Saint John's football team.
 
"Not a lot of good things," Gendreau responded when asked what was going through his mind after a game when the Johnnies were stopped on fourth down twice deep in Royals' territory, including at the 1-yard line with the scored tied at 10 early in the third quarter.
 
SJU also missed a 31-yard field goal that would have given the Johnnies the lead with 8:33 remaining in the fourth.
 
"We had so many opportunities to win," Gendreau continued. "We have to be able to execute at a higher level."
 
SJU - ranked No. 4 in both the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) D3football.com Division III polls - fell to 2-1 in MIAC play and 3-1 overall. Bethel - ranked as high as No. 11 by the AFCA - stayed unbeaten (4-0, 3-0 MIAC) while picking up its first win over the Johnnies since 2022, and just its second since 2013.
 
"Missed opportunities," SJU head coach Gary Fasching '81 said. "That's what cost us. We were down there on the one-foot line at the beginning of the second half and we didn't get in. We missed a field goal. We got stopped on 4th-and-short at their 15 in the first half. We had too many missed opportunities. 

"That goes to show why every play in a game counts so much. You have to convert when you get the chance and we didn't do that today."
 
Both teams moved the football on an afternoon when the temperature reached the mid-80s (and warmer on the turf at Royal Stadium). Bethel finished with 354 yards of total offense and SJU piled up 320. Where the Royals held the advantage was in the running game, recording 180 yards on the ground while limiting the Johnnies to 82.
 
Freshman Taye Manns had the bulk of that Bethel total, carrying the ball 20 times for 127 yards, including a 23-yard scamper up the middle for a touchdown with 6:20 to play that put the Royals on top for good.
 
"We got caught not doing our jobs a few times and they made us pay," said SJU senior defensive lineman Zach Frank (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial), who finished with five tackles and one of his team's four sacks. "Good teams will do that."
 
After an interception on the opening drive of the game, Bethel got on the board first when Zach Bengtson kicked a 24-yard field goal with 5:58 remaining in the first quarter. It marked the first points the Johnnies had allowed all season.
 
But SJU rebounded to jump on top 7-3 when senior running back Caden Wheeler (Andover, Minn.) scored on a fourth-down touchdown run from the Royals' 1 with 6:47 remaining before halftime. Bethel, though, answered right back when junior Cooper Drews - who began his collegiate career at SJU - connected with classmate Tyler Terry on a 26-yard touchdown pass on the Royals' next possession.
 
"They're a good football team," Fasching said. "Very aggressive, physical and fast. Give them credit. They played a heckuva football game. But we didn't execute well at times either."
 
The Johnnies did tie the score 10-10 when junior Matt Hansen (Longmont, Colo./Niwot) connected on a 28-yard field goal as time expired in the first half. And that's where the score remained for much of the second half.
 
SJU had the ball first-and-goal at the Bethel 3 on its first drive of the third quarter, but on 4th-and-goal at the 1, Wheeler was stopped for a 1-yard loss.
 
"They played a great game, but it's hard because in some ways we beat ourselves," senior guard Ian DeGross (Elko, Minn./New Prague) said. "We didn't play Johnnie football and that's tough to swallow."
 
SJU reached the Bethel 14 on its next possession, but a field goal attempt by Hansen was wide left. The Royals then got the ball back and marched 80 yards in six plays to score on Manns' touchdown run.
 
The Johnnies punted the ball away with 4:21 remaining, pinning Bethel at its own 3. But the Royals were able to drive all the way to the SJU 30 where they faced a 4th-and-7 with 1:54 to play. Drews' pass fell incomplete, but SJU was whistled for pass interference. That gave Bethel a first down at the 15 and the Royals were able to run out the clock.

Once again, the Johnnies rotated at quarterback between junior Trey Feeney (Moorhead, Minn.) and senior Zander Dittbenner (Mankato, Minn./West). Feeney finished 19 of 23 passing for 181 yards with one interception. Dittbenner was 7 of 13 passing for 57 yards. He also carried the ball five times for 17 yards. Senior wide receiver Dylan Wheeler (St. Paul, Minn./Mounds View) led the way offensively with eight catches for 113 yards. The 100-yard receiving game was the 11th of Wheeler's career, which moves him into a tie with Adam Herbst '99 for third-most in SJU history.

Junior linebacker Aiden McMahon (Maple Grove, Minn.) had a monster game, finishing with a team-best 17 tackles (11 solo).

"This was a tough loss," Frank said. "We have to do a better job executing every play."
 
There remains plenty of season to go, but Saturday's win puts Bethel on the inside track in the race for the MIAC title. As for the Johnnies, Gendreau said every game becomes a must-win from here on out as they try to get back in the title chase or earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III playoff field.
 
"Every game is a playoff game for us now," said Gendreau, who failed to cross the 100-yard receiving mark for the first time this season, ending the day with four catches for 35 yards.
 
"We can't lose another one. But we also can't treat any game differently. We still have to come out and try to be the best Saint John's football team we can each and every week."

Another One-Score Loss in Arden Hills
The Johnnies are now 38-11 all-time against Bethel, including a 15-8 record on the Royals' home field. All eight losses in Arden Hills were decided by seven points or less: 1999 (24-20), 2000 (43-36), 2007 (17-14), 2008 (14-9), 2010 (17-14), 2012 (27-22), 2022 (28-24) and 2025 (17-10).

Rare October Loss
Saturday's defeat was the 21st in Fasching's 13-year tenure as head coach (113-21 record) and just the second during the month of October (42-2 record).

No Passing Touchdown
SJU did not pass for a touchdown for the first time since the 23-20 loss to Wartburg (Iowa) on Nov. 26, 2022, in the second round of the Division III playoffs. The occurrence was just the Johnnies' second in the last 108 games.

10 Points
The 10 points the Johnnies scored Saturday was their fewest in a single game since a 17-7 loss at North Central (Ill.) in the first round of the 2017 Division III playoffs.

Tackles Upon Tackles
McMahon's 17 total tackles are the most by a Johnnie since linebacker Taylor Dammermann made 19 stops (seven solo) in the 27-22 loss at Bethel on Nov. 10, 2012 (John Gagliardi's final game as head coach). The 11 solo stops were the most since linebacker Danno Wagner on Dec. 14, 2002, at Trinity (Texas) in the national semifinals.