RIVER FALLS, Wis. (uwrfsports.com) - The Falcons came up short in a comeback attempt against Bethel on Saturday by falling 32-27 to the Royals. A touchdown reception by Alex Herink in the closing minute wasn't enough to lift the Falcons, as Bethel ran out the clock on their final drive.

The Falcons started off the day with a three and out before the Royals took the ball for their first possession. They marched down the field on a 10-play, 52-yard drive before Jaran Roste completed a pass to Drew Larsen for a nine-yard touchdown to give the Royals a 7-0 lead. UWRF was forced to punt on the following drive and Bethel took over at their own 24 yard line. A 34-yard pass from Roste to Sam Gibas and a pass interference call on Blake Gleason helped the Royals move into Falcons territory. Gibas added a 16-yard rush before he took a handoff to the right side for a three-yard touchdown run, and Roste ran in the two-point conversion to make it 14-0. UWRF punted for their third straight drive in the final minutes of the first quarter, which was returned by Bethel's Tavian Swanson for 53 yards to the UWRF one-yard line. Gideon Erhabor ran the ball in on the following play to make it 20-0 in favor of Bethel. 

The first spark of the day for the Falcons came from kick returner Antoin Kealoha when he returned the following kickoff 61 yards to the Bethel 37-yard line. Two first down completions from Ben Beckman to Trenton Monson helped set up a one-yard Beckman touchdown run to cut the deficit to 20-7 in the first quarter.

The offense for both sides had a tougher time in the second quarter, putting up no points to head into halftime at 20-7. Own Schommer later had a booming 68-yard punt in the second quarter that forced the Royals to start on their own 21. Multiple UWRF penalties and a 38-yard run from Gibas set the Royals up in the UWRF red zone, but the Falcons forced a turnover on downs when Max Praschak and Ted Androli brought down Roste in the backfield on fourth down.

Bethel had a 261-111 yard advantage in the first half, with UWRF struggling to find running room with only 32 rushing yards. The Royals began to march down the field on their opening drive of the second half, but UWRF's Brett Wadman intercepted Roste's pass at the UWRF five-yard line to keep the game within striking distance. The team's traded possessions in the opening minutes of the third quarter before the Falcons took over on downs in their own territory. Completions to Alex Traxler and Evan Verhota were followed by a 38-yard touchdown pass from Beckman to Alex Herink on a deep fade route to make it 20-14. The catch was Herink's third of the season, all which resulted in touchdowns.

Jake Marsh entered the game for Roste on the next drive, with Gibas converting on an important fourth down conversion before Marsh completed a pass over two UWRF defensive backs to Joel Koenecke for an 18-yard touchdown pass. The two point conversion failed, keeping the score at 26-14. 

UWRF marched down the field in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, aided by two defensive penalties and a completed pass to Traxler after a Beckman bobbled snap. However, the Falcons couldn't complete any of their three shots at the end zone through the air and the Royals took over on downs with 11 minutes remaining. Charlie Sanders forced a fumble on the next drive at the 10-yard line, which the Falcons eventually converted on a Sam Altena four-yard rushing touchdown after a pass interference and holding call on both teams. Dylan Swerig's extra point attempt was blocked, but UWRF still managed to cut Bethel's lead to a one-score game at 26-20. 

Beckman threw a costly interception on a pass attempted for Nicholas Studer with five minutes remaining, and a pass from Marsh to Koenecke on third and five helped keep the Bethel drive alive with three minutes remaining. Gibas ran a counter on the following play to score his second touchdown of the afternoon and make the game 32-20.

The Falcons responded with a 40-yard touchdown from Beckman to Herink on a play where he outmuscled the defensive back to haul in the ball for his second touchdown of the day. Swerig added the extra point to make it a five-point game with one minute remaining. The Falcons saved all three of their timeouts and forced a third and long situation for the Royals, but a Gibas 15-yard rush sealed the win for Bethel as time ran out on a Falcons comeback.

Gibas finished the day with 154 yards on 25 carries as Bethel outrushed the Falcons 215-89. Roste and Marsh combined to throw for 253 yards and 2 touchdowns, with Koenecke being their favorite target with 6 receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown.

The Falcons were led on defense by linebacker Max Praschak's 19 tackles and one tackle for loss, and Mitch Dienger added 10 tackles from the safety position. Beckman finished the day 18-39 with 235 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception. Altena was the leading rusher with 19 carries for 55 yards, as Herink had two catches for 76 yards and Monson had four receptions for 62 yards.

With the loss the Falcons move to 1-1 on the season. UWRF will host Missouri Baptist next week at Ramer Field, who they beat 30-3 in 2017.