The last time the Macalester College football team faced Grinnell College, the Scots beat the Pioneers so badly that Grinnell canceled its football season. Their game on Sept. 6 — though far from that blowout — carries a different satisfaction for Mac. For the first time in 665 days, the Scots have won a football game.
Last fall was not kind to Macalester. There are many numbers that reflect this fact, but the most poignant were the two that appeared atop its schedule at season’s end: 0 and 10. The team did not win a game.
As with any year, those 10 losses carried context. Five of them came within three points or fewer — but the other five came at a deficit of 29 or more. The team battled constant injuries and had to plug holes with inexperienced players. But in the words of legendary coach Bill Parcells, “You are what your record says you are.”
“I’d be lying if I said I was at peace with last season,” Head Coach Phil Nicoladies said. “I think my relationship with it has improved, but it still some days follows you around like a dark cloud. When you pour so much into something and you don’t see results, especially in some of the heartbreaking fashion that we lostvgames last year, it was tough to come to terms with it.”
Now, for at least a little while, that dark cloud has cleared. Macalester’s 20-15 victory over the Pioneers healed some 665-day-old scars. That’s not to say it came easily. After the Scots built a 20-2 lead in the third quarter, they surrendered a touchdown and a pick-six with under six minutes to go in the fourth. With 4:30 left, Mac nabbed the pair of first downs they needed to run the clock out and win the game.
“We always talk about a binary result, finding a way to win the game,” Nicolaides said. “Last year, there were so many games where we were one or two plays away from winning. So, for us to execute those one or two plays and then pick up a couple first downs down the stretch when we needed to, it was really encouraging.”
Through the losses last season, Nicolaides says that his team gained what he calls “anti-fragility.” Rather than simply bouncing back, he wants his team to come back stronger.
“We learned how to compete,” Nicolaides said. “Now, it’s about learning how to win, how to finish some of these close games, how to come out on top. That’s the mindset this year. It’s not good enough to just try really hard and play hard. There’s got to be a certain level of execution and attention to detail that we may have lacked last year.”
While the execution on Saturday may not have been perfect, Mac won nonetheless. With their first victory in the books, here’s a look at the keys to the Scots’ success this season.
First up, every football team has to answer the quarterback question. For three years, Mac had a no-brainer: Michael Nadeau ’23. At Macalester, Nadeau cemented himself as the best quarterback in program history. When he graduated, he held the school record in touchdown passes, passing yards and completions in a single game, in a single season and in a career.
2024 — the Scots’ first Nadeau-less season since 2018 — saw a revolving door open up at the quarterback position. Four different players threw more than 50 passes.
During spring practices and training camp leading up to this season, Nicolaides and his staff auditioned different players for the team’s lead role. In the end, they landed on Jack Scully ’28.
Last season, Scully went 44-for 82 for 420 passing yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. Most of his success came against the College of St. Scholastica, a bottom-half Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) team. During one game in Duluth, he went 21-for-42 for 302 yards and threw all four of his touchdown passes.
This summer’s training camp helped Scully win the spot for this year. Nicolaides said the young quarterback showed he could be a game manager, not just run plays.
The sophomore’s third collegiate start last Saturday against Grinnell demonstrated some of that ability. He went 27-for-44 for 274 yards and two touchdowns. His offensive line let him hang in the pocket to find the open man for short completions and go long when he felt comfortable.
Scully led the Scots to the end zone on their first drive of the game. After going scoreless the rest of the first half, Mac’s drive to open the second produced their best play of the day when Scully threw a short pass to Paxton Boyd ’28 who turned and took it the remaining 34 yards to score.
“I talk to our quarterbacks a lot about a guy like Tom Brady,” Nicolaides said. “Tom Brady wasn’t always all over highlight reels. He was good at knowing where to go with the football … that’s all that was. Jack made the right decision, got the ball in Paxton Boyd’s hands, and [Boyd’s] a hell of a playmaker … he caught a shorter route, made a couple guys miss, and was able to smell blood when he got inside the five and get that thing in the end zone.”
Scully was far from flawless, though. He threw two interceptions, including his aforementioned pick-six that allowed Grinnell to climb back into the game with 4:30 left, and fumbled the ball at Mac’s 10-yard line in the second quarter.
Scully will have to clean up those turnovers if the Scots want to win games when MIAC play begins next week. Still, the signs are there for what could be a productive season under center for the sophomore.
Scully had help on the gridiron on Saturday. Despite major shakeups across the roster, Macalester’s offensive line remains one of its brightest spots.
While the 2024 Scots ranked in the bottom half of most statistical categories — and ninth or tenth in many — they ranked fourth in sacks against, at 20 allowed on the season. Most of the main men up front have returned for this season, including Adam Lail ’26, Sam Casillas ’26, Justus DeLoach ’26, Max Clifford ’26 and Noel Raehl ’26.
“We’re pretty young at a lot of positions, but the offensive line is not one of them,” Nicolaides said. “We’ve got a lot of guys, three-, four-year starters, some of [whom] were injured last year, and we’re expecting them to really take something off Jack [Scully]’s plate, and establish a running game and protect well. If the offensive line plays well, it makes the quarterback’s job a heck of a lot easier.”
In Game 1, they did just that. Mac’s front kept a clean pocket, and Scully never got sacked. The team netted 92 yards on the ground, mostly behind efforts from running backs Tucker Snow ’28 and David Frechette ’29, with Vasco Sierra ’26 out for the game.
Last year, the Scots ranked last in the MIAC in yards per rush. If they can improve upon their performance against Grinnell, they’ll give Scully a break and create a more dangerous offense.
On the other side of the ball, Mac has another slate of questions. The Scots lost defensive standouts Justin Potts ’25, Max Menache ’25 and Cam Latvis ’25 to graduation. Even with that trio last year, their defense gave up the most yards per game in the MIAC.
To avoid falling further behind the competition, the Scots need a boost from their rookie class. In Game 1, they got that boost from Matt Hernandez ’29, Asher Niemi ’29 and Niko Zacharias ’29. After Scully’s turnovers and after the Scots muffed a punt to give the Pioneers the ball back at the 50, Mac’s defense got the ball back without giving up points.
“Our defense was put in some tough situations, and they responded so well,” Nicolaides said. “That’s character more than anything else, and we’ve talked so much about ‘anti-fragility’ … So, [we] see our defense get a couple big fourth down stops … you never know at the time, but it ends up being a one-score game, and all of a sudden, those fourth down stops early won us the game.”
Tough situations will mark the remainder of the Scots’ season. After a bye this week, they’ll go to Northfield, Minn. to play Carleton in the Book of Knowledge game. The Golden Knights and the Scots have not matched up since 2022, but Carleton holds a 52-9-1 advantage in the all-time series. Next Saturday, they will compete for that elusive 10th win.
