MEQUON, Wis. -- Waylon Hartwick (SR, Minneapolis, Minn./South HS) rushed 25 times for 98 yards and scored two second-half touchdowns, including the eventual game-winner with 5:23 left in the fourth quarter, as Augsburg College claimed a 34-31, season-opening victory over host Concordia University-Wisconsin in a nonconference football game on Saturday afternoon at Century Stadium.
Augsburg (1-0) rallied from a 24-13, third-quarter deficit to claim the victory over Concordia-Wisconsin (0-1). The start of the game was delayed by two hours due to inclement weather in the area.
Hartwick scored on a five-yard pass from quarterback Marcus Brumm (SR, Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South HS) with 3:55 left in the third quarter, then scored the game-winning touchdown on a 10-yard run with 5:23 left to play. In addition to his 98 rushing yards, Hartwick also caught three passes for 22 yards in the win.
Trailing 24-21 late in the third quarter, Augsburg took the lead back as safety Felix Coleman (FY, Alexandria, Minn./Jefferson HS), playing in his first collegiate game, picked off a pass and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown, giving the Auggies a 28-24 advantage.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Falcons' Carlton Nolen intercepted an Augsburg pass and returned it to the Auggie 15-yard line, and three plays later, Erik West put the Falcons in front again, catching a 10-yard touchdown pass from Patrick Czerwiec.
But a Czerwiec interception -- by Brandon Hinton (JR, Rock Hill, S.C./South Pointe HS) with 9:02 left -- set the stage for the final Auggie comeback. Hartwick rushed six times for 27 yards on the final eight-play, 42-yard drive, including the go-ahead 10-yard score.
Brumm completed 17-of-38 passes for 167 yards and a touchdown for the Auggies, who put together 341 yards of total offense, compared to 232 for Concordia. Adam Carl (SO, Eagan, Minn.) caught five passes for 63 yards for the Auggies, while Tyler Swanson (JR, Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North HS) caught four passes for 42 yards.
Wesley Waytashek (JR, Little Falls, Minn.) connected on two first-half field goals -- a 33-yarder and 28-yarder -- to put the Auggies ahead 6-3 early in the second quarter. But Concordia took the lead for the first time in the game on its next drive, as Joseph Paul capped a six-play, 55-yard drive with a 16-yard touchdown run.
Augsburg took back the advantage on its next drive, as a 10-play, 80-yard march was finished with running back Jerise Washington's (FY, Roseville, Minn./Mounds View HS) first collegiate touchdown, a two-yard run with 6:44 left in the second quarter.
Concordia gained its biggest lead of the game with back-to-back touchdowns -- on a 31-yard scoring run by Austin Carlton with 2:32 left in the first half, and a four-yard pass from Czerwiec to Ryan Saporski midway through the third quarter.
Carlton rushed 13 times for 99 yards for Concordia, while Czerwiec completed 12-of-25 passes for 98 yards, with three passes for 30 yards going to West.
Defensively, Edmond Smith (SR, Minneapolis, Minn./North HS) led the Auggies with eight tackles (five solo) and a sack, while Aaron Perry (JR, Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial HS) and Adam Sonntag (JR, Green Lake, Wis.) had seven tackles each. Tony Rickoff (SR, Winona, Minn.) had two tackles-for-loss, including a sack.
For Concordia, Zac Wielepski had 12 tackles (six solo), and Brandon Sanko had nine tackles (six solo) and a sack.
Augsburg is idle next week and opens Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Sept. 17 at 1 p.m. with the annual battle for "The Hammer" trophy at Hamline. Concordia-Wisconsin hosts another MIAC team in a nonconference game next Saturday (9/10) at 1 p.m., hosting Bethel.