Rejoice, non-football fans! Your torturous days of hearing me rave about the football team are nearly complete. You just have to bear it for one more week.
As for me, I am hardly rejoicing. Yeah, I know the team has received a large majority of the spotlight since the genesis of these recaps, but rightfully so.
Let’s dig in.
Football (12-1, 9-0): Season ends in second-half meltdown
The Royals’ magical season came to an end Saturday in a 35-21 loss at North Central College (Ill.). It was a classic tale of two halves.
The Cardinals fought Bethel harder than any team has, defensively, all season. They found ways to match Bethel’s uniquely quick style of offense, making it a struggle for the Royals to carve through defenses like they usually do.
Still, Bethel kept itself within reach of North Central in the first half, facing, at most, a seven-point deficit.
With three minutes remaining in the second quarter, the Royals got the ball down 14-7. They were set to receive the second-half kickoff, so tying the game before halftime would increase their chances of taking down North Central in Naperville, something that hasn’t been done by any team since 2018. Interestingly enough, it was the Royals that year who beat the Cardinals in the NCAA playoffs.
So Bethel worked its way across the field before facing fourth and six from the Cardinals’ 14-yard line. Junior quarterback Cooper Drews fired a strike to NCAA-leading receiver Albert Rundell right at the mark to gain. Rundell was swarmed by Cardinals defenders but remained standing, attempting to eliminate any question of whether he crossed the first-down line.
Right as the line judge was about to blow his whistle to proclaim the play dead, Bethel center Jaeger Ash emerged from the mass of white and red, huffing and puffing towards the end zone, football cradled in his arm.
Touchdown Bethel.
It was one of the most absurd plays I have ever seen on a football field.
That is, until North Central called for a challenge of the play. However, Bethel head coach Mike McElroy said the challenge was specifically looking at whether Ash received the ball via a handoff or a forward pass. After several minutes of review, officials questionably determined Rundell was stopped for a first down, and the touchdown would not stand.
With just seconds remaining in the frame, Bethel found itself on the one-yard line. One last chance to tie it before the break.
Drews took the snap and attempted to power through the mass of blockers and tacklers to break the plain of the goal line, but he was stopped short as time expired. 14-7 Cardinals at half.
“We can sit back and look at all the things that could’ve gone [better],” McElroy said. “[We] challenged our guys to respond, and I thought they did, and then it didn’t go our way.”
The Royals gave up 14 more points in the third quarter as North Central seemingly put the game away, going into the fourth ahead 28-7.
The defending national champion Cardinals relied heavily on their rushing attack, outgaining Bethel on the ground 312-140. Although overall, the Royals fought hard all game and outgained North Central in total yards 400-395.
If not for the unfortunate plays before half, this game likely would have been a different story.
Still, looking ahead, the Royals will retain many of their starters on both sides of the ball next year. Key graduates include safety Devin Williams, left tackle Isaiah Ward, left guard Juan Orozco-Sanchez and right guard Luke Ainsely.
But McElroy continues to develop an attractive program, both culturally and statistically, meaning Arden Hills will be a popular recruiting destination.
Onto next year.
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Men’s basketball (3-5, 1-1): Royals remain competitive but cool off
It was an 0-2 week for the Royals men’s basketball team despite last week’s promising performances.
The Royals lost 72-64 at Augsburg Wednesday and 88-83 in overtime at Martin Luther College Saturday.
Against Augsburg, the Royals showcased impressive scoring performances from guard Sam Gingras (16 points), guard Jay Neubert (14 points) and guard Nick Burke (13 points, 13 rebounds).
A 21% mark from the three-point line, as well as 22 points allowed off turnovers for Bethel certainly didn’t help in the loss.
In the Martin Luther game, the Royals rallied to force overtime with 18 points from Burke and 16 from Gingras, but struggled to finish the Knights off in the extra frame.
The Royals play Saturday at the University of Wisconsin-Superior before taking Christmas break off until Dec. 30, when they host Simpson College.
Women’s basketball (5-1, 3-0): Everyone contributes in another undefeated week
Things are looking quite similar to last year with this women’s basketball squad.
The Royals took wins against Augsburg (84-44) Wednesday and the University of Wisconsin-River Falls (73-67) Saturday.
Without Elly Schmitz playing for the Royals Wednesday, junior forward Emily Erickson took control, as usual, with 17 points in the win. She shot an efficient five-for-six from the floor and seven-for-nine from the stripe.
Junior guard Macey Littlefield added 15, including three three-pointers as well. Anyone can rack up points in this lineup, as is continually demonstrated.
The Royals outscored Augsburg 50-24 in the paint Wednesday and shot 22 percentage points better than the Auggies.
Against River Falls, four more players contributed double-digit scoring performances, including the typically assist-heavy guard Coco Duininck (17 points), Erickson again (18 points), Schmitz (15 points) and senior forward Alli Born (12 points).
These games illustrate that this team can finish blowouts and compete down the stretch. Simply put, the Royals are scary. All the pieces are coming together for another dominant 2026 season.
Next, Bethel heads to Wisconsin Dells, Wisc., for two games against the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse Friday and Coe College Saturday.
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Men’s hockey (5-6-0, 2-2-0): Royals split with Raiders
After a 3-1 win over the Milwaukee School of Engineering Friday, the Royals lost 4-2 to those Raiders Saturday.
Senior forward Tyler Braccini scored twice in Friday’s win for the Royals, once in the second period on a power play and the second time in the third period on an empty net to secure the victory.
Saturday, the freshman Joe Yoon scored 15 minutes into the game to give the Royals an early lead before the Raiders scored four unanswered across all three periods.
Senior goalkeeper Austin Ryman allowed all four goals, tallying 29 saves Saturday.
The Royals are off for the rest of 2025 before opening 2026 Jan. 3 against St. Olaf College.
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Women’s hockey (4-3-2, 1-3-2): Royals rally for Friday victory
The Royals women’s hockey team played just one game this weekend after the cold temperatures forced their scheduled game at the Recreational Outdoor Center to be canceled.
So they played Marian University Friday and fought for a 5-3 win.
The Royals took leads of 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 and eventually 4-3 and 5-3 in the victory. Every time Bethel scored, Marian seemed to find an answer, except for the Royals’ three-goal third period.
Freshman forward Amelia McQuay earned a hat trick, including her first career goal after scoring the Royals’ second, third and fifth goals.
Freshman goalkeeper Ava Brennan earned a win in her first career start between the pipes.
The Royals remain off until 2026, when they play the Univiersity of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Jan. 3.
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Friends, it has been delightful. Thank you, readers, athletes, coaches, everyone for a memorable 2025 fall/winter season. I can’t believe it’s already been a whole semester of Penner’s Pen.
I’ll be in England all of January, so don’t look for any recaps then. I am sorry to the women’s basketball team, who is sure to do incredible things and won’t hear the praise from me they deserve.
I’m certain the men’s team will continue figuring things out as well, and I am thrilled to come back in February and cover the end of both seasons.
The Pen may look different during second semester as I take on the new role of managing editor for the Clarion. Am I still the sports editor? I think so, but I have new duties, as well.
So bear with me as I navigate that, but I promise to continue the sports coverage you love and crave. At the very least, listen to Double Coverage. There’s always good conversation happening there.
Until 2026, fly to England, finish “True Detective” on HBO and enjoy J-term.
Love y’all.
