ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — A frantic last-minute effort by Wartburg College to extend its NCAA Division III second-round playoff game fell six yards short, 34-27, Saturday afternoon against No. 6 Bethel University in suburban St. Paul.
A defensive battle — tied at 14 after three quarters — turned into a fourth-quarter track meet with two touchdowns, a field goal and a blocked point-after-touchdown returned for a score (one or two points, the officials weren't sure) in less than three-and-half-minutes.
But that flurry, which ended with the hosts ahead, 27-20, only set the stage for the final, heart-pounding 3:20 with the Knights (9-3) coming back to tie the game at 27, relinquishing the lead at 1:18, 34-27, and then making a dramatic last-effort to send the game into overtime that fell short when Brandon Domeyer was tackled at the Bethel 6 after taking a pass from scrambling quarterback Logan Schrader.
In the end, Bethel (12-0) rallied behind senior backup quarterback Tom Keefe, who replaced the Minnesota Athletic Conference's Most Valuable Player, Erik Peterson, knocked out of the game in the third quarter with a shoulder injury after going 15-22 for 239 yards and touchdown pass. For his part, the seldom-used Keefe went 9-12 for 148 yards and two critical touchdowns.
"He was Mr. Cool," said Royals Coach Steve Johnson. "That is the epitome of a senior quarterback who stayed — didn't just stay, but kept getting better and better."
All that overcame the would-be heroics of Knights' sophomore signalcaller Schrader (Killdeer, Ill.), who was 28-44 for 347 yards with touchdown passes of 36 and 73 yards to junior wide receiver Donald Miller (Maywood, Ill.); the hard-charging sophomore running back Domeyer (Manchester), who had 84 yards in 17 carries behind an aggressive offensive line; and a stout defense led by senior linebackers Ryan Billings (Sterling, Ill.) and Joey Naig (Emmetsburg).
"Obviously, it was a great college football game," said Wartburg Coach Rick Willis. "You had the back and forth that you expect in a great game. I'm so proud of our guys. I couldn't be prouder."
"Holy cow!" said Johnson.
It also was a far cry from the second game of the year when Bethel jumped out to a 30-0 lead to defeat Wartburg for the third straight time, 30-17. Schrader threw three interceptions in that game, including a pick-six near the end of the first half.
"We've improved a lot," said Schrader, who was not intercepted Saturday. "We had a rough outing that first time."
Indeed, it was different from the outset on what began as a sunny, relatively mild (36-degree) day with barely any wind — as opposed to the frigid, blustery conditions against Illinois Wesleyan University a week ago in Bloomington, Ill.
Wartburg deferred on the opening kickoff with Willis putting his faith in the defense to stop a Bethel team averaging more than 45 points-per-game after ringing up 70 against St. Scholastica a week ago. The Knights dominated a scoreless first quarter, twice marching into Bethel territory at the 36 and 40 before Bethel tackles for losses thwarted the drives.
The Knights seemingly had the Royals pinned at the Bethel 5 as the quarter ended, but two long Peterson passes enabled the hosts to get deep into Wartburg territory, where Brandon Marquardt went the final 29 yards untouched on a draw play. The 95-yard drive took four plays and 1:35. Andrew O'Reilly added the PAT with 13:38 to go in the half.
Wartburg answered in less than two minutes, mixing runs and passes on a five-play, 66-yard drive that culminated when Miller scored untouched from 36 yards on a bubble screen against the blitzing Royals.
'That was a great play call," admitted the Royals standout cornerback Josh Treimer.
Bethel regained the lead, 14-7, when Peterson hit a wide-open Jared Schultz for 80 yards with 5:12 to go in the half.
Wartburg, which took possession to start the second half, drew even on an eight-play, 65-yard drive that culminated with Schrader bulling into the end zone from three-yards out, but losing possession of the ball, which was recovered by lineman Bjorn Nelson (Maplewood, Minn.) for the score with11:32 left in the third. Bohlke's PAT tied it at 14, which was where it stood going into the final quarter.
That's when the offenses began a dizzying display.
"You start to get a feeling for things," Willis said. "And maybe there were things people had been setting up. But a lot of it was guys on both teams stepping up and making plays because their season was on the line."
Bethel was first to step up with a drive that began late in the third quarter at the Wartburg 7. Keefe's passing keyed the 80-yard march that stalled at the Wartburg 13, where O'Reilly made a line-drive field goal that barely cleared the crossbar to make it 17-14.
On the next play from scrimmage, Wartburg took the lead when Miller got behind the Royals' secondary and scampered 73 yards to make it Wartburg 20, Bethel, 17 with 12:38 to go.
It then got a little weird when Bohlke's PAT was blocked and Matt Melhorn returned it for a score that initially was ruled two points, downgraded to one, and eventually corrected to two.
So it was Wartburg 20, Bethel 18/19 when Keefe found Jared Schultz racing downfield for 56 yards at 9:37 and a two-point conversion made it Bethel 26/27, Wartburg 20. Minutes later, when the scoreboard was adjusted to officially make it Bethel 27, Wartburg 20, a roar went up from the crowd.
Back came the Knights on a nine-play, 59-yard drive with the key play Schrader's 33-yard pass to sophomore receiver Robbie Anstoetter (Farley). Schrader scambled for a big first down on fourth-and-three from the Bethel 9, only to fumble at the five, but Casey Krull, a junior from Allison recovered. Domeyer went up the middle to score, Bohlke made the PAT and with 3:30 to go, it was tied again, this time at 27.
But not for long. Keefe's passing took the Royals to Wartburg 24 where he hit Marquadt with a swing pass in the left flat. He dodged tacklers and got some key blocks to score, and the PAT made it 34-27 with 1:18 to go.
Wartburg's hopes got a boost from a roughing the passer penalty that prolonged its first series. Schrader's passes to Jordan Schmitt (sophomore, West Union) for 22 and to Domeyer for nine helped move the Knights to the Bethel 13. But two passes to Miller in the end zone fell incomplete and, on the final play with only two seconds left, Domeyer was tackled immediately as he caught the ball at the Bethel 6.
"I thought we would come back," Schrader said. "We practice that drill every Thursday."
"We'll fight to the very end," Billings said. "We've been in that situation as a team before."
Willis credited his assistant coaches and players for doing a "tremendous job" as the Knights improved dramatically during the course of the season en route to the Iowa Conference championship, citing the two Bethel games as providing "a clear contrast."
"The maturity and poise of our team was evident," he said.
This was the 21st consecutive year that Wartburg has had a winning season, ranking sixth among all NCAA schools, and first Sweet Sixteen appearance since making the quarterfinals in 2008.
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