NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Carleton College took back possession of the Goat Trophy with a 26-7 victory over crosstown rival St. Olaf. With the victory, the Knights improved to 5-0 on the season, their first 5-0 start since 2008.
On a day when Carleton (5-0, 3-0 MIAC) quarterback Jonathan Singleton ’23 broke the program’s career passing record, it was his legs that did significant damage as he ran for a career-best 132 yards and added a five-yard touchdown run. Singleton ended up with 157 passing yards and two more touchdown passes.
Overall, the Knights finished with a 452-242 advantage in total offense and a nearly 14-minute edge in time of possession.
Aiden Chang ’23 added a career-best 115 yards on 23 carries as Carleton amassed 295 yards on the ground, the Knights’ highest rushing output since accumulating 299 yards at Knox College on Sept. 12, 2015.
Carleton was first on the scoreboard after Ntense Obono ’25 finished a 12-play, 81-yard drive with a five-yard reception from Singleton on fourth-and-goal with 16 seconds left in the opening quarter.
St. Olaf (3-2, 2-1 MIAC) answered back with a scoring drive of its own, capped by a 40-yard touchdown pass from Theo Doran to Payton Schott.
During the Knights’ next possession, Singleton’s 10-yard pass to Garrett Siff ’25 gave the Carleton signal caller 5,434 career passing yards and moved him past C.G. Shoap (5,429 yards) and into first place in team annals. Singleton concluded the day with 5,561 career passing yards.
A 20-yard field goal by Trent Ramirez ’23 in the closing seconds of the first half gave Carleton a 10-7 lead at intermission.
Another long Carleton drive early in the third quarter resulted in a 26-yard field goal for Ramirez.
Singleton, who entered the day with only 68 rushing yards on the season, made it a two-possession game late in the third quarter when he barreled in from five yards out.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Carleton linebacker Isaac Simons ’23 intercepted Doran in St. Olaf territory, and two plays later Singleton and Obono connected on their second touchdown of the day, this one from 16 yards out that concluded the scoring. That gave Singleton 17 touchdown passes on the campaign, already tied for ninth on the program’s single-season leaderboard.
Simons’ eight tackles were tied for most on the Carleton defense. He had two tackles for loss, two quarterback hurries and an interception.
With this result, Carleton snapped a seven-game losing streak to St. Olaf and brought the Goat Trophy to the east side of the Cannon River for the first time since 2013. The Knights are now guaranteed to have back-to-back seasons with at least five victories for the first time since 1992 (9-2) and 1993 (6-4).
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton hosts the College of St. Scholastica for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, Oct. 15. It will be Homecoming at Laird Stadium, including a special halftime ceremony to recognize the 1992 MIAC Championship team as well as re-naming the playing surface in honor of longtime coach Bob Sullivan.
