In MIAC: St. Olaf defeats Augsburg 24-20

111015_MIAC_roundup St. John’s 24, Gustavus 16

St. John’s (3-4 overall, 2-3 MIAC) ended its three-game losing streak with a 24-16 road victory over Gustavus (1-6, 1-4).

Similar to last fall’s match up, the Johnnies defense held strong and forced the Gusties to settle for a 20-yard field goal in the first quarter. Following a Johnnie fumble on the kickoff, the Gusties went 44-yards on seven plays ending in a one-yard touchdown run from sophomore running back Phillip Butler.

Junior Johnnies kicker Jimmie Mattson put St. John’s on the scoreboard at the end of the first quarter, tying a school record with a 52-yard field goal.

After turnovers from both teams, sophomore quarterback Ben Krebsbach scrambled into the end zone to give the Johnnies a 10-9 lead.

Gustavus took the ball 53-yards before turning the ball over on downs. Johnnies sophomore quarterback Connor Bruns came off the bench and connected with senior wide receiver Sam Pederson to make the score 17-9.

The Gusties then scored a 26-yard touchdown on a pass from senior quarterback Logan Becker to senior wide receiver Elliot Herdina.

The Johnnies used a late fourth quarter touchdown run by Stephen Johnson to take an eight point lead with 3:42 left to play. St. John’s shut down the Gusties on their final two drives of the game to hold on for the win.

St. John’s improves to 3-4 overall and 2-3 in the MIAC with the victory, while Gustavus drops to 1-6 overall and 1-4 in the MIAC.

The Gusties will travel to St. Thomas Saturday to face the undefeated Tommies while St. John’s is at home against Carleton.

St. Olaf 24, Augsburg 20

St. Olaf (6-1, 4-1) beat Augsburg (4-3, 3-3) on the Auggies’ turf 24-20.

The Oles took the lead on a 32-yard run by junior quarterback Dan Dobson with 9:20 left in the game. Augsburg regained possession and drove the ball inside the Oles’ five-yard line where it was first-and-goal from the four-yard line.

The Ole defense then stopped the Auggies on four consecutive plays, forcing a turnover on downs with 2:33 left.

St. Olaf picked up a pair of first downs and kneeled for the victory in the fourth quarter.

The Auggies ran 87 plays for 460 yards while St. Olaf ran 57 plays for 381 yards.

St. Olaf hosts Hamline next Saturday while Augsburg hosts Macalester in a non-league game.

Carleton 23, Macalester 17

After trailing Macalester (3-4) at halftime 10-7, Carleton (2-5, 1-4) battled back in the second half to win 23-17 in overtime.

Macalester got on the board early with a 36-yard field goal at the end of the first quarter. Carleton’s senior running back Jon Lien scored the team’s first touchdown of the day two minutes before halftime.

The Scots took a 10-7 lead with 10 seconds left in the first half on a three-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Clark Bledsoe to junior tight end Sam Marshall.

Macalester added to its lead on a 11-yard rush by Bledsoe late in the third quarter. The touchdown was answered less than a minute later when Lien scored his second touchdown for the Knights on a 58-yard run. The Scots were ahead by three points at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

A 30-yard field goal for the Knights brought the game to overtime. Carleton then capitalized in overtime when Lien score his third touchdown of the game.

The Knights will travel to Collegeville Saturday for a MIAC-showdown against St. Johns. Macalester will host Trinity Bible College.

Concordia-Moorhead 35, Hamline 15

Concordia-Moorhead (6-2, 4-2) defeated Hamline (0-7, 0-5) 35-15 in the Pipers homecoming game.

The Piper defense helped out well against junior fullback Brett Baune. Baune scored twice but rushed for 75 yards below his season average.

Baune’s two touchdowns gave the Cobbers a 14-0 lead in the second quarter. During the second quarter, Hamline senior defensive lineman Michael Doherty recovered a Concordia-Moorhead fumble, but the Pipers were forced to settle for junior linebacker Alex Ferguson’s first career field goal.

On their next drive, the Cobbers drove down the field to score making it 21-3.

On the ensuing kickoff, senior wide receiver Tim Queck took the ball eight yards and threw it back to freshman defensive back Damon Woods who ran 80 yards for a touchdown.

Cobbers’ senior quarterback Michael Dunham then scored two touchdowns in the third quarter to give Concordia-Moorhead a comfortable lead. Freshman running back Corey Touchette ran in his first college touchdown for Hamline, but it was not enough.

Hamline will play at St. Olaf Saturday while Concordia-Moorhead hosts Bethel.