area college update
GAME OF THE WEEK
Bethel (4-0, 2-0) at Concordia (Moorhead) (4-0, 2-0), 1 p.m. Saturday: After outlasting previously unbeaten Augsburg last week, Bethel, which is ranked No. 5 in the d3football.com poll, takes on the unbeaten Cobbers for sole possession of first place in the MIAC. The Royals are averaging 41.5 points per game. The Cobbers, who are ranked No. 22 in the d3football.com poll, were idle last Saturday. Bethel, which edged the Cobbers 15-14 last year, has won the past four meetings between the two.
WEEK 6 STORY LINES
• Martin Luther sophomore QB Luke Rothe leads Division III in points responsible for. Rothe has had a hand in 124 points (11 passing TDs, seven rushing TDs and eight two-point conversions) for the Knights. Last Saturday, Rothe rushed for 257 yards (second best in school history) and passed for 183 yards in the Knights' 68-51 victory over Iowa Wesleyan.
• St. John's QB Connor Bruns has played well for the Johnnies in his return to the starting position. Bruns has passed for 940 yards and six TDs in four starts since Nick Martin, who started the Johnnies' season opener, was injured. Bruns started five games last season before being injured. Martin started the Johnnies' final five games last season.
• Phillip Klaphake, in his fourth season as the starting QB for St. Cloud State, could become the third player in NCAA Division II history to pass for at least 10,000 yards and rush for at least 2,000 in his career. Klaphake has passed for 8,948 yards and rushed for 2,014. Klaphake, from Princeton, Minn., is a standout in the classroom, as well. Last week, he was named one of the 24 semifinalists from Division II for the Campbell Trophy, presented by the National Football Foundation to the top scholar-athlete in college football.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Anthony Dean, WR, SW Minnesota State: The 6-2 senior from Tampa, Fla., caught 11 passes for an NSIC single-game record 308 yards in the Mustangs' 55-48 loss to Sioux Falls. On the season, Dean has 26 receptions for an NSIC-leading 540 yards and eight TDs.
Michael Juberian, LB, Augsburg: The 6-0 junior from Richfield leads the MIAC with 14.2 tackles per game. Juberian, a transfer from St. Thomas, had 19 tackles (six solo) in the Auggies' 31-28 loss to Bethel.
BY THE NUMBERS
263 Tackles (a school career record) for Bethel LB Seth Mathis. A senior who has 36 tackles in four games this season, Mathis broke the previous record of 253.5.
404 Passing yards (a school single-game record) for Minnesota-Morris freshman Donnie Mavencamp in the Cougars' 50-45 loss to Northwestern (Roseville). Mavencamp was making his first career start.
697 Yards (a school single-game record) for St. Thomas in a 65-6 victory over Carleton. The Tommies rushed for 354 yards and passed for 343 yards.
JOEL RIPPEL
