Ben Alvord, a sophomore making his first collegiate start in place of injured Division I transfer Jackson Erdmann, passed for 211 yards and three touchdowns, and St. John’s reeled off 35 consecutive points after falling behind by a touchdown to shock Bethel 42-27 at Arden Hills.
Erdmann sat out the game after suffering a concussion Sept. 24 against St. Thomas.
MIAC STANDINGS
| St. Thomas | 3-0 | 5-0 |
| Concordia | 2-0 | 3-1 |
| St. John’s | 2-1 | 4-1 |
| Hamline | 1-1 | 3-1 |
| Gustavus | 1-2 | 3-2 |
| Augsburg | 1-2 | 1-4 |
| Bethel | 1-2 | 1-4 |
| Carleton | 1-2 | 1-4 |
| St. Olaf | 1-3 | 1-3 |
MIAC SCOREBOARD
- St. Thomas 55, Augsburg 7
- St. John’s 42, Bethel 27
- Concordia 46, Gustavus 21
- Carleton 34, Hamline 31
Bethel (1-2 MIAC, 1-4 overall) scored first with 9:40 to play in the first quarter on Brady Bomsta’s 1-yard run.
At the 4:17 mark, Alvord connected with Evan Clark for 40 yards and a touchdown to tie things up. Zack Sundly ran the ball into the endzone from 5 yards out 4 seconds into the second quarter to put St. John’s (2-1, 4-1) in the lead for good.
With 2:25 remaining before halftime, Alvord hit Matt Miller from 20 yards out. Then only 1:11 later, Alvord hooked up with Clark on a 49-yard touchdown play that gave the Johnnies a 28-7 lead at the break.
Sundly added a 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter before Bethel could answer on a 59-yard scoring pass from Trey Anderson to Bryce Marquardt.
The St. John’s defense forced five turnovers.
Concordia 46, Gustavus 21
Chad Johnson rushed for 190 yards on 21 carries and scored four touchdowns as Concordia-Moorhead crushed Gustavus Adolphus at St. Peter.
The Cobbers (2-0, 3-1) gained 418 yards total and averaged 6.3 yards a play.
For Gustavus (1-2, 3-2), Christian Haffner completed 19 of 29 passes for 234 yards, including a 77-yard strike to Josh Kirk in the third quarter that cut Concordia’s lead to 20-14.
Carleton 34, Hamline 31
Brandt Davis kicked a 30-yard field goal as time ran out to give Carleton (1-2, 1-4) the victory in a passing shootout at Northfield. The kick capped a Carleton rally from eight points down with eight minutes to play in the game.
Kyle Johnson’s 37-yard field goal put Hamline (1-1, 3-1) ahead 31-23 with 8:01 remaining in the fourth quarter. Carleton quarterback Ethan Trujillo ran 10 yards to score with 3:27 to play, and hit Mack Journell with a pass for the two-point conversion to tie it at 31-31.
Davis also kicked a 36-yard field goal early in the second quarter.
Trujillo completed 29 of 48 passes for 362 yards in a duel with Hamline’s Justice Spriggs, who hit on 19 of 34 passes for 269 yards and a touchdown. Spriggs also ran 11 yards for a score late in the second quarter to put Hamline ahead 21-16 at the half.