On a beautiful Saturday afternoon, things couldn’t have gone much better for interim head coach Jeff Pedersen (left) in his debut as mentor of the Grinnell College Pioneer football team.
The Pioneers rolled over Macalester College 45-35 at Rosenbloom Field, the output being the most points Grinnell has scored in a season opener since a 66-0 win over Principia in 1998. The 45 points were also the most scored by Grinnell in any game since a 48-35 win over Macalester in 2004.
On top of that, Robert Seer ’12 (right) tied a school record with four touchdown catches, equaling the number David Snider had against Knox in 1998. Seer had nine catches for 86 yards, while Logan Granera ’13 grabbed four passes for 120 yards. Mike Bogard ’12 completed 18-of-23 aerials for 264 yards.
Defensively, Andrew Clark ’14 and Ryan Fletcher ’11 each had 10 tackles, while Colton Feller ’14 added nine. Seth Gustafson ’14 had an interception and Fletcher forced a fumble.
Grinnell showed it meant business from the start, scoring on the first play from scrimmage as Granera took a Bogard pass 63 yards for the score. Bogard kicked the point after to make it 7-0 with 12:38 left in the first quarter.
Nick Hinojosa ’12 added a 2-yard TD run at the 4:41 mark for a 14-0 lead, with Cody Weber ’13 sparking the drive with runs of 10 and 14 yards. Macalester cut it to 14-7 by the end of the first period.
Grinnell went up 28-14 by halftime, with Seer hauling in an 11-yard TD pass from Bogard at the 13:40 mark and 8-yard scoring pass that was tipped from Mike McCabe ’13 at the :45 mark. Macalester scored one touchdown in the quarter, but was denied another when the Pioneers’ defense stood strong after the visitors had reached the 1-yard line.
The teams traded touchdowns in the third period, as Macalester first scored before Seer caught a 17-yard aerial from Bogard with 9:01 left. A 35-yard pass to Granera helped spark the drive.
Entering the fourth quarter up by 14, Grinnell struck almost immediately as Seer caught a 3-yard scoring pass from Bogard at the 14:03 mark. Macalester countered with a touchdown to make it 42-28, but Grinnell all but put the game out of reach when Bogard nailed a 35-yard field goal with 2:39 left. Macalester finished off the scoring in the final minute to account for the final score.
Grinnell heads to Monmouth College next Saturday to open Midwest Conference play against the two-time league champs. Game time is 1 p.m.
