Bethel advances out of first round with ease

The often-stymied Royals shut out Concordia (Wis.) and will play a second-round game for the first time.

By La Velle E. Neal III, Star Tribune

Last update: November 17, 2007 - 11:45 PM

Rise on Thanksgiving morning. Play a little football. Eat a lot of turkey. It's a ritual for many during this time of year.

Bethel coach Steve Johnson can't wait. It's been a dream of his to hold practice on Turkey Day, because it would mean that his Royals were alive in the postseason. He's had some good teams in the past, but Johnson has been relegated to touch-football games around the neighborhood every Thanksgiving because Bethel never made it out of the first round.

But he's blessed this year with a speedy, experienced team that on Saturday whipped Concordia (Wis.) 28-0. The Royals will play host next week to Wisconsin-Eau Claire, which rallied to beat St. Norbert 24-20 on Saturday.

So Thursday, Bethel will practice at around 9:45 a.m. in preparation for the next round of the postseason after ending an 0-for-4 run in the first round.

"The dads are going to come watch and have cider," Johnson said. "It's going to be a fun deal."

Johnson said injuries and bad matchups played a factor in some of their previous first-round flops. On Saturday, Bethel was home in front of its ThunderStix-wielding fans against a team that couldn't handle the Royals' speed on offense and defense.

Bethel (10-1) opened the game with a nine-play, 60-yard touchdown drive, culminating with a 3-yard run by quarterback Ben Wetzell. The mismatch was on, as Logan Flannery and Dusty Wahl ran for touchdowns and Wetzell threw for another before the half was over. If not for fumbles by Wahl and Flannery in that half, the game would have been a rout sooner.

The offensive line, led by center Tommy Davis and guard Brad Dahlman, punished Concordia all game long. Bethel rushed for 283 yards, including 131 yards on 22 carries by Flannery.

"Their defensive coach came up to me after the game," Flannery said. "He just said, 'I've never seen an offensive line like that.'"

Concordia (7-4) had only two first downs by halftime. The Royals' speed on defense didn't let the Falcons turn the corner on sweeps. Defensive end Andrew Johnson spent the day in Concordia's backfield. Safety Jamie Wagner was everywhere, and safety Brandon Carr picked off two passes.

"We had a great defensive plan," Johnson said. "I looked at film, and I didn't feel that they had seen much speed defensively as we would have."

The only thing that can slow down the Royals these days is tryptophan -- which they will enjoy Thursday after a nice practice before their first second-round game.

"I've been here five years now and we've made the playoffs in three of those five years," Wetzell said. "I've been around some good teams and seen some good players go through and not be able to win in the playoffs. For us, the big thing is that now we have done it. We're good as anyone, I think. So we can just keep rolling."

La Velle E. Neal III • lneal@startribune.com

Recent Sports stories

Henderson continuing to strive toward peak - November 17, 2007

Henderson continuing to strive toward peak - The Vikings middle linebacker is not at top form since his injury layoff, but he still sets a high personal standard for his performance. More