The Scots played their final game of the 2002 season last Saturday Nov. 9 against the Knights of Carleton. In a game dubbed "The Brain Bowl" in which the two teams compete for "The Book of Knowledge" the Scots came out victors, 33-16, to finish their inaugural season as an Independent with a record of 5-5. This is the Scots first .500 or better season since 1986.

The Scots got on the board early in the first quarter. After Brandon Dixon '03 recovered a fumble on the Knights' 10-yard line, the Scots' offense sputtered and found themselves in a fourth down situation, so Andrew Connet '06 set up to attempt a field goal. The play, however, was a fake and when back-up quarterback Adam Heathcote '04 received the snap, he stood up and threw the ball ten yards across his body to hit Nick Kraemer '03 in the back of the endzone for the score. The point after was good and gave the Scots a 7-0 lead.

The Knights answered soon there after with a 43-yard touchdown run from back Erik Fisher to tie the score. The Knights then kicked a 32-yard field goal to open the second quarter to take a 10–7 lead. Only minutes later, the Knights found the endzone for the second time in the contest on a 72-yard touchdown pass from Ben Cooprider to receiver Ernie Asp. With 12 minutes left in the half, the Scots found themselves down by nine, 16-7.

The Scots, however, refused to let the Knights' lead stand. On the ensuing drive, quarterback Adam Denny '04 hit receiver Adam Johnson '03 four times, including a 36-yard touchdown pass. With the point after, the Scots had pulled within two, 16-14.

Carleton then received the kickoff only to have defensive end Andrew Porter '03 force a fumble on the first play, recovered by Gray Herzberg '04 on the Carleton 35-yard line. The Scots then drove down to the nine yard line, but had to settle for a field goal to make the score 17–16 in their favor.

The Scots put together an impressive 79-yard drive before the half, highlighted by a 28-yard pass from Denny to Heathcote and capped off by a one-yard Denny touchdown rush. Connet's kick was blocked, but the Scots lead was increased by to, 23-16.

The Scots carrying a lot of momentum dominated the second half. Running back Matt Munson '04 ran for 132 of his 166 total yards and a three-yard touchdown run. Munson finished the season with 916 rushing yards. The Scots' defense did not allow the Knights to put up any more points on the board and the final game of the year ended with a 33-16 score in favor of the Scots.

Johnson finished with 10 catches for 128 yards, while Denny went 15-for-36 for 187 yards. All-American defensive end Porter paced the Macalester defense with 10 tackles, including eight solo stops. He forced a Carleton fumble and registered his 15th quarterback sack of the season, bring his final career total to a school-record 41. Kraemer and Marshall Mullenbach '03 also forced fumbles for the Scots.

This is the last article that I will write about Scots' football. I have written about every game for the past three years and have watched every down of every game for the past two. I have thoroughly enjoyed doing all of it. I know I'll miss writing about football and don't know if I'll ever get an opportunity like this again. I started writing these articles for the love of the game of football in general but continued writing for the love of Macalester football and Macalester football players. I know that your efforts often go unrecognized by a portion of the college population; I just hope that my articles made you realize that there are a lot of us who really do care. I love you guys a lot and will miss working with you and watching you play. Thanks for the memories.