ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — Wide receiver Jack Gilliland’s 90-yard kick return for a touchdown on the first play of the second half wasn’t enough as the No. 9-ranked St. Thomas football team fell to No. 5-ranked Bethel University 28-21 Saturday at Royal Stadium.

After two perfect conference records in the last two seasons, this loss marks the Tommies’ second MIAC defeat of the season. Coach Glenn Caruso said his team didn’t close out the game when it had the opportunity.

“This is new territory for us to be in a situation where we had an opportunity to close it out, and we did not, and it hurts,” Caruso said.

Despite the setback, St. Thomas scored 21 consecutive points in a 10-minute span at the start of the second half, including a touchdown from Gilliland and two from running back Jack Kaiser. Gilliland said his blockers set him up perfectly for the touchdown return.

“Obviously I can’t give any credit to myself,” Gilliland said. “It was wide open, anybody could’ve made that return.”

After Bethel quarterback Erik Peterson connected with wide receiver Mitch Hallstrom with 8:32 remaining in the first half for a 17-yard completion to the Tommie goal line, running back Marshall Klitzke dove over the pile for a 1-yard touchdown to put the Royals up 7-0.

Peterson threaded a pass to wide receiver Jay Hilbrands on a deep slant for a Bethel touchdown with 1:08 remaining in the first half. Defensive back Winter Cullen said Bethel executed its plays well Saturday.

“Every game you can always get better, learn from your mistakes,” Cullen said. “There’s always plays here and there that we messed up on. We can always do better, read things better and just learn.”

St. Thomas continued to struggle with ball control, fumbling twice in the first half. The second fumble set the Royals up on the Tommie 29-yard line for a Klitzke touchdown with 8:32 left in the first half, seven plays later.

Tommies regain momentum in the second half

Coming out of halftime down two touchdowns, Cullen said the Tommies used the break to regroup.

“At halftime, coach said it’s not a big deal,” Cullen said. “We always say at halftime the score is 0-0, so we just try to come out as fast as we can.”

Following Gilliland’s kick-return touchdown, linebacker Harry Pitera forced a Royal fumble, and the Tommies recovered on the Bethel 27-yard line. Fenske handed Kaiser the ball on five consecutive plays, finishing with a 5-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 14-14 with 12:04 remaining in the third quarter.

Caruso said he was pleased with Kaiser’s ball security throughout the game.

“Early on, I think he might have been maybe looking for too much,” Caruso said. “But much like last week, once he got into a rhythm, he was hitting those holes pretty good, and he had some pretty tough yards.”

On the next Bethel possession, Cullen intercepted Peterson’s pass on the St. Thomas 44-yard line. This set up Kaiser for a 6-yard touchdown run, putting the Tommies ahead 21-14 toward the end of the third quarter.

Following a seven-play, 63-yard drive, Klitzke rushed for a 2-yard game-winning touchdown that, paired with a 2-point conversion from running back Jesse Phenow, gave the Royals a 28-21 lead. Caruso said all three phases didn’t finish the way they needed to.

Kaiser carried the load on the ground for the Tommies, rushing for 140 yards and two touchdowns on 32 attempts. Fenske, who took all of the snaps Saturday, completed 15 of 28 passes for 155 yards and no touchdowns. Although this was the sophomore quarterback’s first collegiate start, Gilliland said Fenske plays like a seasoned veteran.

“Alex is a great quarterback,” Gilliland said. “He steps up in the pocket like he’s a senior. He’s got a great spiral; he’s just got a rocket arm, and he’s a great quarterback.”

Both teams piled up 352 yards offensively.

St. Thomas will look to improve its conference record against Hamline University Saturday at O’Shaughnessy Stadium.

Kyle Jonas can be reached at jona7984@stthomas.edu.