Josh Treimer and his fellow starting defensive backs spend a lot of time together off the field as well. Photo by Nathan Klok, NKlokPhoto.com

A team that works well together wins together. And apparently, living together doesn’t hurt either.

That’s what four of Bethel’s defensive backs have found out this season.

Josh Treimer, Dan Leidall, Matt Mehlhorn and Mark Torppey – the Royals’ opening week starters at both cornerback spots and safety positions – are all roommates and have learned that their strong relationship off the field has benefited Bethel’s football team on Saturdays.

“It's not really, ‘we’re defensive backs, we got to live together,’ ” Treimer explained. “I think we just kind of gravitated toward each other. We have similar interests. We were able to develop some connections and, over time, that turned into pretty deep relationships.”

The four players spend the majority of their time together, except when attending classes. Although they have common interests away from the gridiron, a lot of that shared time is spent focusing on football.

“We don’t always allocate time directly for talking football. It’s one of those things that just come up in conversation,” Treimer said. “The coaches do a great job of communicating with us and relating their expectations of us. But at the same time, they grant us some freedom in different calls — who’s taking which receiver and whatnot. So we’re able to communicate that throughout the week and really get on the same page.

“Honestly, that chemistry really comes to fruition on Saturdays.”

Bethel coach Steve Johnson said the defensive backs’ living arrangement has made them a stronger group.

“Because they live together, there is a trust factor and a communication factor that translates to football,” Johnson said. “They’re making their communication an everyday deal.”

Though it’s not uncommon for teammates to also be roommates, Johnson said having key people in an entire position group is unique.

The coach also said the group is compassionate with each other and pick one another up after a tough play.

“Most guys don’t know what it’s like to get beat deep,” Johnson said with a laugh.

Johnson tipped his cap to Treimer – the lone senior in the residence – for his willingness to guide the secondary.

“There’s a cohesiveness in our group,” Johnson said. “(Treimer) is just a great leader for us. He’s a tough sucker. He’s fast, he’s bright – you know, every single thing you want your players to be.”

Treimer had one of Bethel’s three interceptions in a 35-24 win over rival St. Thomas. The victory over then-No. 22 UST gave the No. 11 Royals their sixth win in a row and kept them atop the MIAC standings.

“Turnovers are an instrumental part of the football game. They can generate huge momentum swings,” said Treimer, who has a team-high three interceptions this season. “But to be honest with you, it all starts up front. The front seven were bringing pressure all day and they were causing the quarterback to make some errant throws.”

Bethel is rolling after dropping its first game of the year to Wartburg, which has since risen to No. 6 in the Top 25 poll.

“I think part of it was, we hadn’t had a game under our belt yet,” Treimer said. “And then at the same time, you just to give credit where credit’s due. Wartburg is an incredibly good team and it’s looking like they’re going to run the table.”

But since that loss, Bethel has secured wins over ranked opponents in Concordia-Moorhead and now the Tommies to build a 5-0 MIAC record.

Treimer and the secondary will have another test this week at Gustavus Adolphus before traveling to No. 19 St. John’s the following week.

“(Gustavus’) aerial attack has been on another level this season and their quarterback and receivers are having a pretty big statistical season,” Treimer said. “It’s going to be a big challenge for us in the secondary, specifically, and our defense, as a whole, going up against a dynamic offense like they have.”

Bethel is looking to repeat as MIAC champions and return to the D-III playoffs, where the team advanced to the national quarterfinals in 2013. But the Royals are not resting on last season’s laurels.

“This is a new team. With a new team comes new expectations and new players and new talents and different outcomes,” Treimer said. “We can’t continuously look backwards and expect what we accomplished last year to make our season this year successful.”

Warhawks head to Platteville

This weekend, UW-Whitewater defeated UW-Oshkosh, 24-7, and UW-Platteville shut out UW-Stout, 21-0, to set up a first-place showdown in the WIAC.

Both nationally ranked teams enter the game with 4-0 conference records and are the only teams with unbeaten records in league play.

The last time the Warhawks played at Ralph Davis Pioneer Stadium, they escaped with a 27-26 win. The Pioneers scored a touchdown with 13 seconds to play, but UW-W was able to knock away a two-point conversion pass attempt.

This weekend, Platteville will try to beat Whitewater for the first time since 2004 while the Warhawks look to extend their 24-game winning streak.

The rest of the West

Loras picked up its first IIAC win since Sept. 29, 2012. The Duhawks intercepted four passes and defeated Simpson, 27-24, to snap a 13-game conference losing streak. … UW-River Falls won its first WIAC game in 12 tries, defeating UW-Eau Claire, 20-10. … Pacific recorded its first shutout since the 1972 season, blanking George Fox, 36-0. … DeJuan Wright scored a touchdown in the final minutes to lift UW-Stevens Point to a 24-17 win over UW-La Crosse. The two teams combined for 11 turnovers in the game. … Linfield only gave up 36 first-half yards on defense and threw 42 points on the board in the first quarter on its way to a 59-7 win at Lewis and Clark. … Concordia-Moorhead and St. John’s picked up home wins over MIAC foes Hamline and Carleton, respectively, to remain within a game and a half of Bethel. … Bryan Scott threw for 284 yards and added a pair of 40-plus yard touchdowns to help Occidental best Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 21-14. … Buena Vista picked up its fifth win in a row – a 44-39 win at Dubuque – to stay tied with Wartburg atop the IIAC standings. … Pomona-Pitzer scored touchdowns on a muffed punt and a blocked punt, blanking Whittier 24-0. … Behind three touchdown passes by Tyler Harper, St. Scholastica stayed unbeaten in the UMAC with a 59-0 win versus Eureka. … Josh Osborn went over 100-yards rushing for the eighth straight game in Central’s 45-21 win at Coe. … Jeremiah McKibbins rushed for 211 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries to lift Chapman over Cal Lutheran, 45-21. … Westminster (Mo.) forced three turnovers and bested Northwestern (Minn.) 24-13. … Redlands scored 43 straight points in a 64-28 win at La Verne.

Number of the week

9 — as in the number of turnovers forced by Whitworth in a 62-30 win over Puget Sound. The Pirates intercepted seven passes and recovered two fumbles. Quarterback Bryan Peterson also had a big game, setting a school record with seven touchdown passes in a game and setting a new program mark with his 600th career completion.

Rank 'em

Nine teams from the West Region are ranked in this week’s Top 25.

UW-Whitewater remained the No. 1 ranked team, but received fewer first place votes (23) than a week ago.

Linfield and Wartburg spend another week ranked Nos. 5 and 6, respectively, and Bethel stayed put at No. 11.

UW-Platteville slid three spots to No. 16. MIAC rivals Concordia-Moorhead and St. John’s jumped up two spots apiece to Nos. 18 and 19, respectively.

UW-Stevens Point fell one spot to No. 20 and Chapman rose one position to No. 24.

St. Thomas fell out of the Top 25, but received votes (11). Gustavus Adolphus also received votes (4) this week.

Looking ahead

In addition to the aforementioned Bethel/Gustavus Adolphus and UW-Whitewater/UW-Platteville matchups, there are a number of other key games this week.

No. 6 Wartburg travels to Buena Vista Saturday as the two teams put their 4-0 IIAC records on the line.

No. 18 Concordia-Moorhead will play at previously ranked St. Thomas.

Willamette plays at No. 5 Linfield while Pacific travels to take on Lewis and Clark. Both Linfield and Pacific are looking to keep their Northwest Conference records spotless.

Chapman and Redlands will try to keep their winning streaks alive with games versus La Verne and at Whittier, respectively.

Both Greenville and Westminster (Mo.) will try to keep pace in the UMAC when the Panthers visit Priest Field in Fulton.

Be heard

Do you have a story idea for the Around the West column? Contact me about approaching milestones, broken records, break-out players or any other storylines in the West. Or just drop me a note and let me know what you like or don’t about the column. All ideas and feedback are welcome. Email me at josh.smith@d3sports.com or follow me on Twitter at @DU_Josh_Smith.