NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College football team won its third-straight game by getting a fourth-down stop from its defense in the red zone to hold off Augsburg University, 41-36, on Homecoming and Family Weekend on Saturday afternoon at Klein Field at Manitou.
With St. Olaf (3-1, 2-0 MIAC) clinging to a five-point lead and Augsburg (3-1, 1-1 MIAC) facing a fourth-and-four at the 12-yard line, sophomore JDon Sowell broke up a pass intended for Tyrone Wilson inside the five-yard line to preserve the win. The Oles have scored 134 points during their three-game winning streak and have won five of the last six meetings in the series with the Auggies.
St. Olaf scored on its first seven possessions of the game and never trailed in the win but needed the late stop to seal the victory after Augsburg made it a one-score game with 2:21 remaining. Both teams averaged over six yards per play in the game and combined for 908 yards of offense.
Sophomore Christian Graske surpassed 100 rushing yards for the third-straight game, carrying the ball a career-high 26 times for 116 yards and a touchdown. The 26 carries were 11 more than Graske's previous career high. Senior Jordan Embry added 15 carries for 86 yards and a touchdown, as the Oles ran for 207 yards in the game.
Sophomore Theo Doran completed 19-of-29 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns, connecting with senior Payton Schott seven times for 101 yards and a score, and ran for another rscore. Sophomore Evan Hammonds had career highs in receptions (5) and receiving yards (77) in the win, while junior Derek Hansen hauled in his third touchdown of the season.
Defensively, junior Ben Hestorff and sophomore Tate Sauerwein each had nine tackles for the Oles, while junior Mark Thrower recorded seven solo tackles, a sack, two pass breakups, and a blocked extra point. Junior Jacob Halek registered an interception for the fourth-straight game to start the season.
Both offenses marched down the field in less than three minutes and scored touchdowns on their opening possessions of the game, as Augsburg answered a five-yard touchdown run by Embry with a two-yard run by Tre Lee to make it a 7-7 game just 5:11 in. On St. Olaf's next possession, Doran connected with Hammonds for back-to-back gains of 25 and 24 yards to eventually set up a 24-yard field goal by junior Collin Swan to put the Oles back on top.
Just 1:04 into the second quarter, St. Olaf extended its lead to 17-7 on a three-yard touchdown pass from Doran to Hansen to finish off a 10-play, 58-yard drive. The Auggies responded again with a nine-play, 75-yard drive of their own to make it a 17-13 game on a two-yard run by DJ Monroe before Thrower got a hand to the extra point to force it wide.
The Oles put together another 10-play scoring drive on their next possession to push their lead to 24-13, as Graske found the end zone from three yards out for his sixth touchdown run of the season, which ranks second in the MIAC. After Augsburg got a field goal to get back within a score, Doran barreled in from two yards out with 14 seconds to go in the half to give St. Olaf a 31-16 halftime lead. Graske had 52 total yards on the final drive of the half.
Out of halftime, the Auggies moved down the field for an opening touchdown, but the Oles answered with a 33-yard field goal by Swan to make it a 34-22 game. Augsburg wouldn't go away, however, scoring on a 23-yard pass from Cade Sheehan to Braden Tretter with 2:13 to go in the third quarter to send the game to the fourth quarter as a one-score contest.
Just two plays into the fourth quarter, Schott outjumped an Augsburg defensive back on a fourth-and-four play before racing down the sideline for a 39-yard touchdown, his fourth receiving touchdown in the last three games. Halek picked off a pass from the fourth game in a row to end the Auggies' next drive just outside the red zone, but the Oles' offense could not convert a fourth-and-four in Augsburg territory to give the ball back to the visitors.
The Auggies proceeded to cover 66 yards in 1:40 – including a 58-yard pass on a third-and-22 play – capped by Monroe's second two-yard scoring run of the game for what proved to be the final score of the game. Augsburg got a 34-second three-and-out from its defense and a 39-yard pass from Sheehan to Wilson to get inside the red zone late but was unable to come away with the potential game-winning touchdown.
St. Olaf crosses the Cannon River to take on crosstown-rival Carleton College in the battle for the Goat Trophy on Saturday, Oct. 8 at 1 p.m. at Laird Stadium.
Late stop gets St. Olaf Homecoming win over Augsburg
/seasons/2022/boxscores/20221001_4nr9.xml
2022
Augsburg
36
St. Olaf
41
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Augsburg (3-1) | 7 | 9 | 13 | 7 | 36 |
| St. Olaf (3-1) | 10 | 21 | 3 | 7 | 41 |
Oct 01, 2022