NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College football team made it back-to-back wins in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play with a 35-27 victory over Macalester College on Saturday afternoon at Klein Field at Manitou.
Junior
Alec Mahoney had an 86-yard kickoff return and the game-sealing interception with 1:16 remaining as St. Olaf (3-5, 3-4 MIAC) topped Macalester (3-5, 2-5 MIAC) on Senior Day in the Oles' final home game of the season. The Oles' three MIAC victories this season have come by a combined total of 14 points.
Prior to the game, St. Olaf celebrated its senior class, including its student managers and filmers, and their families on the field. The Oles also honored Matthew Lee, who was killed in a shooting last September, on what would have been his Senior Day.
In a game that turned out to be a matchup of St. Olaf's running game against Macalester's passing game, the Scots outgained the Oles by 137 yards, but Mahoney's kickoff return just before halftime helped swing the game in St. Olaf's favor. The Oles outrushed the Scots by a 193-52 margin, while Macalester owned a 381-103 advantage in yardage through the air.
With St. Olaf playing without its starting running back in senior
Bryon Sauvy due to injury, junior
Landon Dillon stepped in and ran 25 times for 122 yards and a touchdown in the second 100-yard game of his career. Senior
Luke Crosby accounted for three total touchdowns. Crosby was 8-for-12 through the air for 103 yards with one touchdown and one interception while also rushing for two touchdowns.
Macalester's Jack Scully was 31-for-45 for 368 yards with three touchdowns and one interception, connecting with Carter Hayden eight times for 111 yards and a score and Jackson Janes 12 times for 110 yards and two scores. Janes also threw a 13-yard touchdown for the Scots.
After a scoreless first quarter, the two teams combined to score 34 points in the final 7:56 of the second quarter, leaving St. Olaf with a 21-13 halftime lead. Macalester got on the board first on a 13-yard pass from Janes to Will Watson, but St. Olaf answered just 2:22 later when Dillon got in from seven yards out two plays after he broke free for a 46-yard run to the nine-yard line.
The Scots responded with an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive but missed the extra point that would have tied the game at 14-14 with 32 seconds to go in the half. Mahoney ran the ensuing kickoff back 86 yards up the right sideline for a touchdown that resulted in a 21-13 halftime lead for the Oles.
After halftime, St. Olaf benefited from a short field after Macalester punted from its own end zone, scoring on a 17-yard run by Crosby on the first place to extend its lead to 28-13 with 9:43 to go in the third. Macalester responded with a 75-yard scoring drive to get back within eight.
Crosby's quarterback sneak three-and-a-half minutes into the fourth quarter pushed the Oles' lead back to 15 at 35-20, but the Scots closed the gap to eight again when Scully found Janes for a 12-yard score just 2:11 later. Still down by eight, Macalester got the ball back with a little over three minutes to go and marched inside the 30-yard line before Mahoney picked off a Scully pass and slid down, allowing the Oles to get one first down and end the game.
Mahoney tallied a team-high nine tackles (six solo) for St. Olaf, while senior
Tytan Small had three tackles for a loss among his eight tackles. Senior
Logan Butts added a sack and 1.5 tackles for a loss.
The Oles will go in search of a third win in a row with a trip to St. Paul to face Hamline University at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7.
