Bethel and Wartburg's matchup displayed best of D-III football — in more ways than one

You can make a case that all competitors in Division III football are underdogs. They have put heart and soul into the most gruesome of North American team sports while being turned aside or overlooked by coaches and recruiters from three higher levels of collegiate competition.

What D-III does have in common with those other levels is that the power is spread across a very thin layer at the top — and with primarily the same teams there year after year.

When those D-III powers happen to meet in a nonconference September setting, the competition can be fierce, but there is also mutual respect that does not seem forced.

There was one of these contests on Saturday — Wartburg, a national semifinalist in 2022, and Bethel, a national quarterfinalist, in Arden Hills. The smashmouth contest ended with the odd score of Wartburg 16, Bethel 2, and when it was over, this occurred:

Both teams heard speeches from their coaches and then mingled on-field with fans and parents, and after almost 30 minutes of this, they started heading toward the locker rooms.

As players from both teams walked near one another across a parking lot, a Wartburg defensive player asked about a Bethel offensive lineman and then said:

"Tell him to keep his eyes down in his stance. He looked at me almost every time when the play was coming that way."

This wasn't taunting; this was information that might give a younger player a chance not to repeat that "tell" when St. John's is the Royals' opponent in a couple of weeks in a meeting of traditional MIAC powers.

Wartburg came in rated No. 3 in D-III, and Bethel was No. 16. The Knights' lofty status is easy to explain: They have almost everyone back from last year's playoff run, which included a well-earned upset at St. John's in the second round.

Almost everyone — as in 19 senior starters, with 11 of those in their fifth year. Included are running back Hunter Clasen and linebacker Owen Grover, both early contenders for the Gagliardi Trophy for the top Division III player.

Bethel quarterback Jaran Roste was among four Gagliardi finalists in 2022. His long stretch running the Royals ended, and he's now helping coach as well as working with Bethel's BUILD program to assist students with intellectual disabilities.

Steve Johnson, in Year 35 as Bethel coach, was talking on the sideline before the game and said, "We're going to have to play offense a different way without Roste."

Run more? "To a degree, but also come up with different ways to get the ball to our four outstanding receivers," he said.

Johnson then pointed 20 yards away and said, "The running back over there, No. 5 … that's David Geebli. We started using him more as last season progressed. He's a special runner, a special kid.

"He was born in Liberia. His family moved here, and he played in high school for Coon Rapids. He could've gone FCS level, but he's low-key and liked the atmosphere here."

Bethel often gives carries to a variety of backs, but on Saturday for nearly the entire first half, only Geebli got a carry as a running back. The mobile and ultra-experienced defensive line smacked him, and then came the linebackers — 19 carries for 66 yards, always fighting forward.

On the 19th carry, with a minute to go in the half, Geebli made the 2 yards required for a first down. Then there he was, still on the ground and yelling in pain. As it turned out, he had a severely broken ankle and would later leave in an ambulance.

"When he stopped yelling, David started sobbing because he knew it was bad, and he knew he wouldn't be able to help his teammates, and there's nothing more important to him," Johnson said.

Bethel's only points at that moment came when Jacob Holmen blocked an extra point and Nate Farm picked it up and sped away from everyone to the opposite end for that rare two-pointer.

It stayed that way, as Bethel could not find that other way to get the ball to Joey Kidder (three catches, 27 yards) and Co.

The Royals defense had been ultra-aggressive in going after Clasen in the first half. He rushed for 247 yards and six TDs in the opener vs. Monmouth. On Saturday, he had eight carries for 22 yards at halftime, then had a few bursts in the second half and finished with 112 yards.

"I enjoy playing tough competition, and those guys were tough," Clasen said. "That running back in the first half … how is he?"

Broken ankle. Out for the season. "Really? That is awful," the Wartburg star said.