Reusse: Bethel has the answer, and the plays, to handle adversity

Recent seasons of Bethel football have included this mystery: Who will be the featured running back for coach Steve Johnson on this afternoon?

St. Thomas was the visitor to Royal Stadium on Saturday and it turned out that Marshall Klitzke, a fierce junior from Annandale and Providence Academy, was going to get the largest share of carries in what became Bethel's 35-24 victory.

Was that the plan — to send the most physical runner at the extra-physical Tommies?

Klitzke shrugged and said: "If it was, I didn't know about it. We start the game and see what happens. And we don't care who gets the ball; whatever is best for the team.''

Klitzke scored the game's first touchdown on a 4-yard run that started the Royals to a 21-0 halftime lead. He scored again on a 38-yard run early in the fourth quarter that made it 28-14 and seemed to thwart a St. Thomas comeback.

It did not.

The Tommies were back to within 28-24 with 3 minutes left. Bethel was facing fourth-and-2 at midfield. Johnson kept his offense on the field, and he wasn't bluffing.

"We had a play for that situation,'' Johnson said. "We practice our two-point conversion plays every week, and that's one of them.''

The play called for Bridge Tusler, the explosive freshman, to get Tommies following him to Bethel's right, then to have quarterback Erik Peterson throw it back to the left to the other running back.

The preferred running back to take that throwback would be Brandon Marquardt, the fast, sure-handed senior. Except:

"The Tommies would've known that was coming if Brandon was in the backfield,'' Johnson said. "We scored on them with Brandon on that play last year.''

Klitzke would be the receiver. The Tommies had a defender nearby and Peterson had to throw the pass to Klitzke's back shoulder.

Do you have trusted hands?

"Last year, not so much,'' Klitzke said. "I worked a lot this summer to improve my pass catching.''

Klitzke snared the pass and converted the first down. When that happened, the Tommies were looking at a second straight tough-to-take loss on the hill at Bethel.

A year ago, St. Thomas led 21-14 entering the fourth quarter and lost 28-21. That Bethel rally was ignited with a 27-yard TD on the throwback to Marquardt.

So, now Klitzke has trusted hands?

"They will throw to me,'' Klitzke said, then added, "It's never happened before on fourth down, though,''

Klitzke had 15 carries for 86 yards and two touchdowns, putting his season total at six. Marquardt had six carries for 57 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown with 1.3 seconds left as Bethel was running out the clock. Tusler scored on an 8-yard run and a 27-yard pass.

When Tusler took in that 27-yarder over his shoulder and stepped into the end zone, it was 21-0 for the Royals and looked like a mismatch. At halftime, Tommies coach Glenn Caruso switched from Matt O'Connell (he's had an ankle problem) to John Gould at quarterback, and things got very interesting.

Josh Treimer and David Morgan, the senior members of Bethel's outstanding secondary, each had an interception as O'Connell seemed to have trouble stepping into his throws. Gould came in, started improvising, and Bethel lost a few receivers during the comeback. The Tommies also recovered an on-side kick and intercepted a pass on a ricochet.

Bethel needed a defensive stand inside the 10 to force Paul Graupner's 25-yard field goal and leave it at 28-24 with 7:45 left.

"That stop was huge,'' Treimer said. "That's what makes us a good team. We don't back away from adversity. We lean into adversity head-on.''

St. Thomas had 10-0 regular seasons from 2010 to 2012, with Division III playoff trips to the national quarterfinals, semifinals and finals, in that order. The Tommies will miss the playoffs for a second consecutive year after taking this second MIAC loss.

Bethel is on top of the MIAC at 5-0 and has a 14-game conference winning streak. The next two are at Gustavus and St. John's, so there's potential for adversity.

The Royals have an experienced, hard-edged collection of athletes to lean into it. You have to like their chances.

Patrick Reusse can be heard 3-6 p.m. weekdays on AM-1500. • preusse@startribune.com