ROSEVILLE, Minn. – A sea of marshmallow-esque Bethel University Royals ran onto Reynolds’ Field, home of the University of Northwestern Eagles, to a chorus of boos from the home fans. Under stadium lights, Bethel rocked brand new uniforms in its season debut, a crisis averted.
“We didn’t have uniforms for a while,” Bethel head coach Mike McElroy said. “We got our white uniforms Thursday afternoon, so we were kind of scrambling on what we were gonna do.”
McElroy’s head coaching debut Saturday was anything but easy, despite what a 49-3 Royal win might suggest.
“It’s never easy,” McElroy said. “Our bus was late…we had to change a bunch of numbers.”
Many Royals’ fans made the six-mile trek down Snelling Avenue for the season opener and found plenty to cheer about in the first half.
The Royals offense got the ball first to begin the game, unveiling its new no-huddle approach. By utilizing wristbands and codes yelled from the sideline, new offensive coordinator Colin Duling scripted a quick and flawless first drive.
A 14-yard Aaron Ellingson touchdown capped off a six-play, 65-yard drive that lasted just two minutes and seven seconds to begin the 2024 season and the McElroy era.
“It was fun to see our offense roll,” McElroy said. “We really haven’t seen this offense in action at all, and so it’s fun to see it live.”
Sophomore quarterback Cooper Drews and the Bethel offense sent the Northwestern defense reeling early. The Royals scored on seven of their first eight drives, accumulating a 42-0 halftime lead.
(Ashlee Mortenson)
Drews led the offense for one more series to start the second half and fired a four-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Joey Kidder before calling it a night. From there, Bethel’s second team took over. Drews threw for a total 205 yards and two touchdowns.
“I really kind of worked with the guys around me,” Drews said. “I thought the O-line did a good job, the receivers did a good job and the coaches put us in a good situation. I was really happy to see everything come together.”
Junior running back David Geebli made his return late in the first quarter after a season-ending ankle injury against Wartburg cut his 2023 season short. After a fumble on his first carry, Geebli later punched it in, scoring a 7-yard touchdown.
Bethel’s running game carried the offense last year and didn’t slow down to start the 2024 season. Between six different players, the Royals totaled 223 rushing yards behind a powerful offensive line. Ellingson scored three of Bethel’s five rushing touchdowns on the night.
“Huge props to the O-line, they worked their tails off,” Ellingson said. “The holes were huge.”
(Ashlee Mortenson)
The Royals’ defense picked up right where they left off last season, pressuring Northwestern quarterback Caden Cantrell early-and-often. The pressure forced Cantrell to throw an errant pass into the middle of the field into the waiting arms of sophomore defensive back Matt Jung.
Jung intercepted a second Cantrell pass at the 9:46 mark of the first quarter, picking up right where he left off after a team leading seven interception season in 2023. Jung and the Royals’ defense limited the Eagles to just 84 total yards of offense.
“We prepared all week, [the coaches] put us in a good spot and it showed.” Jung said.
A blowout win is always welcomed, but McElroy said the team can still get better, and he hopes to build off his first win.
“The biggest jump is first game to second game,” McElroy said. “We’ll watch the film and we’ve got a big challenge next week, our home opener against Eau Claire.”
When the Royals take the field next Saturday at Royal Stadium, they’ll wear their new navy blue uniforms, and hopefully – to make McElroy’s job a little easier – the bus isn’t late.
