MORRIS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris football team was unable to slow a potent aerial attack from Carleton College on Saturday in a 38-12 loss at Big Cat Stadium.

Both teams came up empty on their opening possessions of the game, but Carleton converted on fourth down with a 41-yard touchdown pass from Jack Curtis to Tyler Dimond to make it 7-0 midway through the first quarter. 

The Knights were driving again as the second quarter began and Curtis found Ntense Obono for a nine-yard touchdown with 30 seconds gone in the frame. Following a Minnesota Morris interception, Carleton went down the field again and Dimond's second touchdown grab of the game came from 31 yards out to give the visitors a 21-0 edge.

Before the first half was through, Minnesota Morris would put together two scoring drives, both of which resulted in field goals from Alex Happ. The first took more than eight minutes off the clock as the Cougars converted on a third down and later on a fourth down to keep the chains moving before stalling out inside the Carleton 10-yard line. Happ connected from 23 yards out to make it 21-3. 

After Carleton responded with a field goal of its own, Minnesota Morris had one more scoring drive before the break. Working with a short field, the Cougars moved deep into Knight territory with a couple completions from Marcus Reeb to Dylan Naughton before a face mask penalty got UMN Morris into the red zone. Happ hit on a 32-yard field goal in the final 40 seconds to pull the Cougars to within 24-6 at the intermission.

Carleton took the first drive of the second half down the field for a touchdown to make it 31-6 and neither team was able to sustain a drive throughout the rest of the third quarter. The Knights then took advantage of a Minnesota Morris turnover to score early in the fourth quarter and up their lead to 38-6. 

In the final moments of the contest, Ethan Klimek connected with Hunter Heruth for a 33-yard touchdown to finish the game with a touchdown for the Cougars. 

Reeb went 9-of-16 for 89 yards through the air, while Klimek was 6-of-10 for 60 yards. Izayah Boss led the running game with eight carries for 30 yards. Naughton hauled in five passes for 37 yards.

Alex Emmrich had 13 tackles in the game (eight solo), with Garrett Elison adding another nine (eight solo). Dylan Young finished with seven tackles and had both a forced fumble and fumble recovery. Chayce Meyer had three tackles for a loss, including 1.5 sacks.

Non-conference play continues next week for Minnesota Morris with a trip to Appleton, Wis. to take on Lawrence University at 12 p.m. on Sept. 23.