Sophomore Cody Petrich was neck-and-neck with Christian Adams during fall camp, but an illness near the end forced the team to give him a couple of extra weeks. After Saturday’s performance he may have solidified his spot and made it impossible for the Macalester Scots coaching staff to look anywhere else. The quarterback passed for 298-yards and 2-TDs and ran for 49-yards and another TD in the 45-35 Macalester win over Illinois College. That made the Scots 2-1.

Both teams were forced to punt after not being able to record a first down on their opening drives. On the Scots second drive they would score. Petrich started the possession by finding Alec Beatty for a 17-yard pass. It would be a four-yard pass to Beatty on second and goal that gave Macalester the lead. The kick failed and it was a 6-0 lead for the visitors.

On the Scots next possession, they would add to their lead. Starting from their own 33, the team moved 62-yards in 12-plays. They would reach the Blueboys five, but the drive would stall there. The coaching staff opted for the field goal, and Ben Haltmaier nailed the 23-yarder to make it 9-0.

Leading by nine, the Macalester Scots would improve their lead to 15 on their first possession of the second quarter. On third and six, Petrich found Beatty again, this time for 22-yards down to the Illinois College 36. Jacob Jones then burst outside and raced the distance for the touchdown. The two-point conversion failed and it was 15-0.

The game looked like it was going to be a rout when the Scots scored on their next possession. Petrich passed to RB Jeremy Stephan for 23-yards to get it started. Three plays later, the QB called his own number, racing 18-yards for the score to make it 22-0.

This game had blow out written all over it, but the Blueboys came alive following the score. Blake Matson led a five-play drive that went 82-yards. The QB completed two passes to get it going. On second and 11 at the IC 31, Matson went up top to Logan Uyetake for 69-yards and the touchdown. That made it 22-7.

With 2:50 left in the half, Macalester added three more points. Petrich’s pass to his favorite target, Alec Beatty, moved the ball 25-yards to the IC 16. The drive stalled there, but Haltmaier hit a 27-yard field goal to make it 25-7.

With a little under three minutes left, Matson led a drive that put made the Blueboys back within 11. Back-to-back completions to Uyetake moved the ball 39-yards to the Macalester 37. It looked like the drive would fail to continue there when Matson’s next three passes fell incomplete. However, on fourth and 10, he found Bo Davis for the touchdown to make the score 25-14.

Macalester would add a field goal on their first possession of the second half. Starting at the Blueboys 47, Petrich completed three passes to move the ball to the IC 8. There the drive would stall once again and Haltmaier hit a 25-yard field goal. That made it a 14-point Macalester lead.

The Blueboys responded right away. Matson completed a clutch pass to Ellsworth on third and 9 for 25-yards to the Macalester 43. On fourth and 3, Matson passed to Andy Webb for 12-yards and a first down, and Ellsworth grabbed a 24-yard completion for a touchdown to make it 28-21.

What was once a dominating 22-point lead was now down to just seven, but the Scots would score on their second possession following the Blueboys touchdown. Macalester would move 51-yards in 7-plays to extend the lead back to 14. Petrich’s 10-yard pass to Garrett Eichhorn got the drive started. Following a pass interference call against Illinois College that put the ball at the IC 33, Jacob Jones carried the ball three straight times. On a fourth and 6 call, Petrich found Jonathan Knee for 14-yards to the Illinois 15. With first and 10 at the 15, Petrich hit Beatty to make it 35-21.

The Blueboys responded right away. Mattson led his team on a methodical 11-play, 66-yard drive where he threw eight times on the drive, moving that ball to the Macalester eight. On third and one, Dyllan Bailey got the first down on a five-yard carry, and he would score from a yard out three-plays later to put the Scots lead back to seven.

It had been a wild third quarter, and the fourth was to be no different. On the first possession of the fourth quarter for Illinois College, it would take the Blueboys QB just 7-plays to move 87-yards and tie the score. Matson’s 36-yard strike to Uyetake on second and 9 really got things moving. On the seventh play of the drive he found Kyle Obertino for five-yards and the touchdown and, suddenly, the game was tied.

This was a disastrous turn of events that looked like the Macalester Scots were going to give this game away. However, Petrich remained calm and put his team back on top on the very next drive. The second play of the drive saw him complete an 11-yard pass to Stephan and, on the very next play, he hit Jack Striebich for 35-yards and a first down to the Illinois College 37. From there, the team moved to the Blueboys 16 where the drive would stall when Petrich was sacked on third and 16. That setup a 41-yard field goal, which Haltmaier drilled to put the Scots back on top.

The Macalester defense held on Illinois College’s next possession, forcing a punt that gave the Scots the ball at their own 20. The team was clinging to a three-point lead, but they would extend that lead back to 10 in short order. On a second and 10 play from their own 31, the Scots turned to a bit of trickery, using current wide receiver, former quarterback Alec Beatty. He threw a strike to Eichhorn, who raced to the end zone for the 69-yard touchdown to make it 45-35.

The Blueboys next drive stalled at that Macalester 33, turning the ball over on downs. That Scots would then run out the clock in the 45-35 victory.

Petrich finished 26-47 with 2-TDs and 298-yards passing. He also carried the ball 10-times for 49-yards and a score. Beatty had 8-catches for 114-yards and 2-touchdowns. He also threw the 69-yard touchdown pass. Jones carried the ball 19-times for 110-yards and a score. Eichhorn had 4-catches for 94-yards and a TD.

Matson threw 51 times in the contest, completing 31 for 418-yards and 4-scores. Uyetake made 8-catches for 175-yards and a TD. Ellsworth had 7-catches for 95-yards and Obertino made 6-receptions for 56-yards.

On defense the Scots were led by Phill Wettersten who made 12-tackles. Kainte Miles continues the impressive start to his Macalester career, making 10-tackles. Nick Egersdorf recorded his fourth sack of the season already.

Next weekend the Scots welcome Grinnell College to Macalester Stadium. Kickoff is 1 PM.

Boxscore

By Robert Pannier