<e were moments early in the second half when it looked like Carleton College was capable of a monumental upset, but in the end, the relentless rushing attack of No. 19 University of St. Thomas was too much for the Knights, as the visitors pulled away late for a 48-28 win.
Carleton (3-4, 1-4 MIAC) tied the game 14-14 midway through the third quarter when linebacker Tim Mulso’s diving interception at midfield, set up a 2-yard touchdown scamper by sophomore quarterback Vaughn Schmid
Following the score, the Knights barely missed recovering a sneaky on-sides kick, but the scare woke up the Tommie offense, which, aided by several questionable pieces of officiating, found the endzone on five of its next six possessions and went on to outscore Carleton 34-14 for the remainder of the contest.
The final score was not representative of the fight Carleton put up against one of the nation’s top teams. The Knights’ 28 points scored were the most allowed by St. Thomas (6-1, 5-1 MIAC) all season as the Carleton outgained the Tommies 400-394 in total offense on the day. Schmid threw for 244 yards and two touchdowns on 22-of-40 passing for the Knights, while Anthony “Touchdown” Kemper caught seven passes for a career-high 123 yards and his team-leading seventh touchdown grab of the season.
Ultimately, however, the Tommie ground attack was too efficient, with the visitors averaging 6.8 yards per carry en route to six rushing touchdowns. St. Thomas never put together a drive longer than nine plays, as Ben Wartman led a multi-headed attack with 124 yards and two scores.
Though the Tommies took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, the Knights got on the board with 1:08 left in the period on Schmid’s one-yard touchdown plunge
Both defenses stiffened up in the second quarter as neither team scored again before halftime. The Tommies drove deep into Carleton territory on their final possession of the half, but Neil Kolstad picked off Greg Morse in the end zone with 3:40 remaining to silence the threat.
The interceptions continued when the teams returned from the locker rooms, as the Tommies picked Schmid, but three plays later, Mulso’s athletic snag of a Morse pass gave the ball back to Carleton and positioned the Knights for Schmid’s second touchdown run of the day.
Head coach Kurt Ramler, hoping to catch the opponent off guard, called for an on-sides kick after the score. Freshman kicker David Miller lifted the ball past the requisite 10 yards and seemingly into the arms of the dashing Kemper, but the sophomore never gained possession according to the referees, and the Tommie return team knocked the ball to the ground and swarmed on it.
Starting on the Carleton 46-yardline, it took only four Wartman rushes to put St. Thomas back on top. Then the Tommies turned on the heat, scoring three more times to make things comfortable. The Knights fought back on fourth quarter touchdown catches by Phil Blue and Kemper, but it was too little too late. Carleton heads to Hamline tomorrow for a 1 p.m. game.