The Bethel Royals reached the NCAA Division III semifinals in 2007 and 2010, running into mighty Mount Union on both occasions. They were MIAC champions at 8-0 in 2013, then lost at home to North Central in the quarterfinals, when the field was frozen and the air was frigid, and all-important quarterback Erik Peterson was injured.
The Royals gave a rare loss to Glenn Caruso's St. Thomas machine in 2014, and then blew a playoff chance in the season's final game with a 62-61, two-overtime loss to Augsburg and quarterback Ayrton Scott.
St. John's had returned to first place that season, and entering every autumn the expectation was that the MIAC's Big Three would be the Tommies, the Johnnies and the Royals.
Dawson Brown intercepted three passes for Becker in the 2014 Prep Bowl, assisting greatly in the Bulldogs' upset victory over DeLaSalle for the Class 4A championship.
He then became the latest in a line of Becker standouts to head for Bethel to play for coach Steve Johnson.
"We've had a good connection with Bethel,'' said Dwight Lundeen, Becker's legendary coach. "I had two sons play there. It's almost a pipeline.''
Brown's parents were Bethel grads, his father, Todd, played there in the losing days before Johnson got things rolling, and Dawson had attended numerous Royals games as a fan. He arrived for fall practice in 2015 expecting what he had seen from the stands: fierce football and many victories.
"The freshmen that year were as good of a recruiting class as we've had here,'' said Johnson, winding down his 30th season at Bethel.