Football 9/14/02 -- Wisconsin-Eau Claire 37, Augsburg 13

BOXSCORE

MINNEAPOLIS (9/14/02) -- Jeremy Darnell threw for 266 yards and one touchdown, leading the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire to a 37-13 victory over host Augsburg College in a nonconference football game Saturday night at Edor Nelson Field.

In improving to 2-0 overall, the Blugolds compiled 471 yards of total offense, including 192 yards rushing. Augsburg drops to 1-1 on the season. Eau Claire has won the last three games in a row in the series over the Auggies.

Five different Blugolds scored touchdowns, as the Blugolds put together 86 offensive plays, compared to 57 for 312 yards for Augsburg. Eau Claire also took advantage of three Augsburg turnovers.

Eau Claire led 24-0 at halftime, taking advantage of several big plays to score on four of its eight first-half possessions. After a fumble on an Augsburg punt return, Eau Claire scored on a Nick Diciaula 28-yard field goal, then a 32-yard pass from Darnell to Brad Newton led to a 9-yard scoring rush by Darnell to end the first quarter.

A 46-yard pass from Darnell to Matt Evensen led to the Blugolds' next touchdown, a two-yard pass to Newton. In the closing minute of the first half, a 41-yard pass from Darnell to Erik Ferguson led to a 2-yard rushing touchdown by Brian Mitchell.

Augsburg scored both its touchdowns on long scoring plays from quarterback Dave Fransen to Mathew Shannon, a 61-yard completion in the third quarter and an 81-yard romp midway through the fourth.

Eau Claire claimed second-half touchdowns on a 14-yard rush by Joe Gast and a 19-yard rush by Mike Hennessey.

Eleven different Blugolds rushed the football, led by Mitchell's 56 yards and Gast's 45. Ten different Blugolds caught passes, led by Jason Foemmel's 66 yards on five catches, Evensen's 56 yards on three catches and Newton's 52 yards on four catches.

Augsburg's Fransen threw for 268 yards, the bulk coming on the two long touchdown passes to Shannon, who had 142 yards. T.J. Bramwell caught nine passes for 45 yards.

Eau Claire's defense limited Augsburg to just 44 net rushing yards, 22 by Ben Paul.

Brad Gawronski had eight tackles (four solo) to lead the Blugold defense, with Justin Greenwood accumulating 4.5 tackles (three solo). Augsburg's defense was paced by Chad Scheitel, who had 10 tackles (seven solo), and Joe Cullen, who had eight tackles (six solo) and one sack.

Augsburg plays at St. Olaf next Saturday at 1 p.m., while Eau Claire plays at Wisconsin-Stout next Saturday at 7 p.m.
Football 9/14/02 -- Wisconsin-Eau Claire at Augsburg Game Notes

THE GAME: The Augsburg College Auggies (1-0 overall, 0-0 MIAC; 4-6 in 2001) host the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Blugolds (1-0 overall, 0-0 WIAC; 8-2 in 2001) in a nonconference football game on Saturday, September 14 at 7 p.m., at Edor Nelson Field (capacity 2,000) in Minneapolis, Minn.

COACHES: Augsburg head coach Jack Osberg (Augsburg '62) is in his 12th season and currently has a 54-58 career mark. Wisconsin-Eau Claire coach Todd Hoffner (Valley City State '89) is in his fourth season and is 17-14 overall.

RADIO: Augsburg football has a new home this season on the radio, on KCCO-AM 950 in the Twin Cities. Returning for their fifth season of broacasting Auggie football are Tom Witschen on play-by-play, with Russ Bohaty on analysis. Because of broadcast restrictions, Auggie football games will not able to be cybercast on the Internet this season. Wisconsin-Eau Claire games are broadcast on WBIZ-AM 1400 in Eau Claire, with Mike Sullivan on the call. Fans can listen to the WBIZ broadcast online by clicking on this link (www.sportsradio1400.com) and clicking on the "Listen Live" icon.

SERIES: This is the 11th game in the all-time series between Augsburg and Wisconsin-Eau Claire, a series the Blugolds lead 5-4-1. The series was renewed in 2000, and the Blugolds have won the last two games in the series, 17-13 on Sept. 9, 2000 at Augsburg and 37-14 on Sept. 8, 2001 at Eau Claire. Previously, the teams played each year in the second game of the regular season from 1966 to 1973: Sept. 17, 1966 at Augsburg, 7-7 tie; Sept. 16, 1967 at Eau Claire, 21-20 UWEC win; Sept. 14, 1968 at Augsburg, 39-12 Augsburg win; Sept. 13, 1969 at Eau Claire, 20-19 Augsburg win; Sept. 19, 1970 at Augsburg, 7-6 UWEC win; Sept. 18, 1971 at Augsburg, 33-8 UWEC win; Sept. 16, 1972 at Augsburg, 20-0 Augsburg win; Sept. 15, 1973 at Eau Claire, 21-17 Augsburg win.

LAST YEAR: Wisconsin-Eau Claire football team rolled to its second straight victory over a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference team, with a 37-14 triumph over Augsburg in the Blugolds' home opener at Carson Park. It was Augsburg's season-opener. The Blugolds outgained the Auggies, 430-188, and controlled the ball for 34:06 of playing time to 25:54 for Augsburg.

The Blugolds turned an Augsburg fumble and an interception into 10 points midway through the first quarter and never looked back. Nick Draeger recovered the fumble at the Auggies' 41 and Justin Miller intercepted at the Augsburg 21. Andy Rohloff hit a 32-yard field goal and Don Kahl took a five-yard pass from Brian Rasmussen for the TD. The Blugolds built the lead to 22-0 at intermission after Rasmussen found Jason Foemmel on a 14-yard pass in the second quarter and, moments later, Chad Crutchley returned a punt 66 yards for a score. The Blugolds opened up a 30-0 lead early in the fourth quarter when Jeremy Bergeron caught a 19-yard toss from Rasmussen to cap a 77-yard, 10-play drive. Augsburg managed two consolation touchdowns in the final seven minutes of the game, sandwiched around a 2-yard TD run by Eau Claire's Tim Gunderson. Ben Paul scored his first collegiate touchdown on a two-yard rush with 6:53 left, and Mark Johnson caught a 46-yard touchdown pass from Dave Fransen in the closing minute.

Rasmussen completed 22 of 46 passes for 244 yards while redshirt freshman Dave Garrison rushed for 105 yards on 26 carries. Foemmel and Brad Newton each caught five passes while Bergeron and Garrison added four receptions each. Paul's 53 yards on nine carries led the Auggies, while Johnson caught 4 passes for 74 yards. Fransen completed just nine of 23 passes for 117 yards, and was picked off twice.

The Blugold defense sacked Augsburg quarterback Fransen six times for losses totaling 33 yards. Nick Goeser led the way with three sacks. The defense also picked off two passes and recovered two fumbles. Larry Lyden led the Auggies with 13.5 tackles (12 solo), while Luke Wittrock had 7.5 tackles (6 solo). Shane Gunderson and Brent Peroutka each had a pass interception for the Auggie defense.

AUGSBURG LAST WEEK: T.J. Bramwell (Sr., Tomah, Wis.) tied a single-game school record with three rushing touchdowns, leading Augsburg to a season-opening 44-14 victory over Dakota State University (S.D.) last Saturday at Edor Nelson Field. Bramwell rushed for 85 yards on 13 carries, helping Augsburg to its biggest opening-day win since a 45-13 triumph over Mayville State (N.D.) in 1998. It was the season-opener for both teams. Bramwell tied a single-game school record with his three rushing scores, tying a mark set by Marty Alger (vs. St. Olaf, 1993) and Mike Strandness (vs. Carleton, 1994).

Augsburg trailed 7-0 late in the first quarter, then scored 44 unanswered points, including three two-point conversions on touchdowns. Augsburg scored on five consecutive drives spanning the first and second quarters. The Auggies outgained the Trojans by a 383-192 yard margin, and Augsburg, normally a strong passing team, gained 214 yards on the ground. Ben Paul (Jr., St. Paul, Minn./Johnson HS), who gained 81 yards on 11 carries, opened the scoring with a three-yard score in the final minute of play in the first quarter, completing a seven-play, 71-yard drive. Bramwell scored his first touchdown, a six-yarder, with 11:39 left in the second quarter, and one play after forcing a Dakota State fumble, Augsburg wide receiver Mathew Shannon (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn./Washburn HS) sprinted for a 28-yard score on an end-around reverse. Augsburg's next drive was capped by Bramwell's second score of the day, a seven-yard run.

Just before halftime, Augsburg scored an unlikely touchdown on a 60-yard interception return by Andy Matzke (So., Faribault, Minn.). It appeared that there was movement on the line from both teams on the play, but no penalty flag was thrown, and when Dakota State quarterback Tom Nielsen (So., Madison, S.D.) attempted a quick pass, it was intercepted by an open Matzke, who sprinted untouched to the end zone. Augsburg completed its scoring early in the fourth quarter, when Bramwell scored his third touchdown of the day, on a three-yard run. Dakota State ended the scoring on the ensuing kickoff, when Fester Huot (Fr., Rosemead, Calif.) returned the kick 92 yards for a touchdown.

Augsburg quarterback Dave Fransen (Sr., Frmington, Minn.) completed 11 of 19 passes for 147 yards. Yarzue Slowon (So., Crystal, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong HS), a transfer making his Auggie debut, caught four passes for 67 yards, and Shannon caught two passes for 31 yards. Reserve quarterback Tony George (Fr., Blaine, Minn.), the holder on Auggie extra-point attempts, threw three two-point conversions, all to Pat Lofboom (So., Stillwater, Minn./Mahtomedi HS). Chad Scheitel (Sr., Worthington, Minn.) led Augsburg's defense with 5.0 tackles (three solo), while Mitch Theisen (Sr., Waverly, Minn./Buffalo HS) had 4.5 tackles (two solo). Joe Cullen (So., Coon Rapids, Minn.) had 1.5 sacks.

WISCONSIN-EAU CLAIRE LAST WEEK: In a game that saw a furious start followed by a ferocious comeback, Wisconsin-Eau Claire knocked out St. John's University 28-21 in overtime before a capacity crowd of 6,500 at Eau Claire's Carson Park. The Johnnies were ranked first in Division III by Street & Smith and Sports Illustrated and second in the d3football.com pre-season polls. The Blugolds were ranked 22nd by d3football.com.

After the Blugold defense held the Johnnie offense to a three-and-out on the game's opening possession, cornerback Derek Sikora (Fr., Neillsville, Wis.) went 75 yards down the left sideline on a punt return, along with a two-point conversion, to give the Blugolds an early 8-0 lead just 2:04 into the game. An errant pass by Johnnie quarterback Ryan Keating was intercepted by cornerback Justin Miller (Sr., Woodbury, Minn.) at the St. John's 31-yard line leading to a one-yard quarterback sneak over right guard Mike Bestul (Sr., Chippewa Falls, Wis.) with 9:43 remaining in the first quarter to push the Blugold lead to 14-0. The turnover bug bit the Johnnies once again as Sikora forced and recovered a fumble off a completed pass. The Blugolds responded with a five-play, 89-yard drive capped with a 15-yard touchdown by tailback Joe Gast (Fr., Waconia, Minn.) to extend the lead to 21-0 with 3:47 to go in the first quarter.

The Johnnies would break into the scoring column in the third quarter when they went 39 yards in 10 plays, culminating with a Blake Elliott one-yard run cut the lead to 21-7. With the Blugolds unable to get their offense on track in the second half, the Johnnies continued to chop away at the lead in the fourth quarter when Elliott struck again, this time on a 38-yard touchdown reception with 5:05 to go in regulation that saw the Blugold lead shrink to 21-14. With 3:53 remaining in regulation the Johnnies started their final drive on their own 12-yard line. Keating completed 7-of-7 passes on the drive that ended with a one-yard quarterback sneak with 14 seconds in regulation which eventually sent the game into overtime.

Winning the coin toss and electing to begin on offense, the Blugolds began the extra session with an illegal-procedure penalty that placed the ball on the 30-yard line. With the first play of overtime quarterback Jeremy Darnell (Fr., Withee, Wis./Owen-Withee HS) threw a ball into the right side of the end zone that appeared to be thrown right into double coverage. Adjusting to the ball and timing his leap, wide receiver Erik Ferguson (Jr., Eyota, Minn./Dover-Eyota HS) elevated above a Johnnie defended to make a spectacular touchdown catch. The ensuing PAT was good and the Blugolds took a 28-21 lead. On the Johnnies's first offensive play in overtime, Elliot received a pitch running towards the left side of the field and attempted to throw the ball back to Keating. The Blugold defense stayed home as Mike LaBarbera (Jr., Eau Claire, Wis./Memorial HS) rotated over to cover Keating while Miller came up from the deep right-third of the field to intercept the overthrown ball to preserve the Blugold victory.

Darnell went 7-for-20 for 121 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions in his Blugold debut. Brian Mitchell (Fr., Carol Stream, Ill.) carried the ball 24 times for 93 yards while Gast gained 61 yards on 14 carries for the Blugolds. Defensively, inside linebacker Brad Gawronski (Sr., Reedsburg, Wis./Webb HS) finished the game with 10 solo tackles, three tackles for loss and one sack to total 13 tackles. Sikora ended the game with 11 tackles, all solo.

ON THE INJURY FRONT: Augsburg defensive tackle Kyle Koch (Sr., Austin, Minn.) suffered a shoulder injury during last week's game and will miss the Wisconsin-Eau Claire contest. He is expected to return next week. Chike Ochiagha (So., Savage, Minn./Holy Angels HS) will start in Koch's place.

OSBERG CLOSING IN ON SCHOOL WINS RECORD: Augsburg head coach Jack Osberg has been the architect of a rebirth of Augsburg College football since he was named head coach in 1991. In his 12th season with the Auggies, he now has a 54-58 career record, the second-most wins in school history, just two behind the school's all-time wins record, Edor Nelson's 56 victories (56-118-10) from 1947-69. He has the most MIAC wins (43-55-0) of any Augsburg coach, and his career winning percentage of .477 is second-best in school history. Bill Caris (1972-75) was 19-19, for the school's best winning percentage of .500. Osberg has the third-longest tenure among current MIAC football coaches, behind St. John's John Gagliardi (54th season, 50th at St. John's in 2002) and Bethel's Steve Johnson (14th season).

AUGSBURG, MIAC AGAINST THE WIAC: Saturday's meeting with Wisconsin-Eau Claire marks the third straight season Augsburg has played the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference school. Prior to the teams resuming the series in 2000, the last WIAC opponent for the Auggies was in 1992. On Sept. 12, 1992, Augsburg topped Wisconsin-Superior 31-3 at Augsburg. Ironically, Augsburg's win was the last football game in UW-Superior history; the school's administration dropped football a week later because of low participation numbers. All-time against WIAC opponents, Augsburg is 17-28-3 dating back to 1941: Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 4-5-1; Wisconsin-La Crosse, 0-1-0; Wisconsin-River Falls, 10-17-2; Wisconsin-Stevens Point, 1-2-0; Wisconsin-Stout, 0-2-0; Wisconsin-Superior, 2-1-0.

Schools in the MIAC and WIAC have rarely faced each other in recent years in the regular season. But, because of the change in the MIAC schedule due to Macalester's departure to an independent schedule, MIAC schools have scheduled six games against their foes from the WIAC this season. Wisconsin-Eau Claire is playing three games against MIAC foes (St. John's on Sept. 7, Augsburg on Sept. 14, Bethel on Oct. 5). Since 1989, there have been only 15 meetings of WIAC and MIAC schools in the regular season. In that time, the MIAC is 4-11 against the WIAC. Including playoff games, the MIAC is 8-14 against the WIAC. St. John's has six of the MIAC's wins; Augsburg and St. Thomas have one each.

All-time MIAC vs. WIAC matchups since 1989:
Sept. 9, 1989 -- UW-Superior 27, Gustavus 14
Sept. 8, 1990 -- St. John's 35, UW-Superior 7
Sept. 8, 1990 -- UW-Platteville 24, Carleton 16
Nov. 17, 1990 (playoffs) -- St. Thomas 24, UW-Whitewater 23
Sept. 7, 1991 -- UW-Platteville 30, Carleton 22
Nov. 23, 1991 (playoffs) -- St. John's 29, UW-La Crosse 10
Sept. 12, 1992 -- Augsburg 31, UW-Superior 3
Sept. 12, 1992 -- UW-River Falls 38, St. Thomas 14
Sept. 11, 1993 -- UW-River Falls 34, St. Thomas 16
Nov. 27, 1993 (playoffs) -- St. John's 47, UW-La Crosse 25
Sept. 10, 1994 -- UW-River Falls 37, St. Thomas 21
Sept. 9, 1995 -- UW-River Falls 54, St. Thomas 28
Nov. 18, 1995 (playoffs) -- UW-La Crosse 45, Concordia-Moorhead 7
Nov. 30, 1996 (playoffs) -- UW-La Crosse 37, St. John's 30
Nov. 21, 1998 (playoffs) -- UW-Eau Claire 10, St. John's 7
Sept. 11, 1999 -- St. John's 40, UW-Eau Claire 28
Nov. 20, 1999 (playoffs) -- St. John's 23, UW-Stevens Point 10
Sept. 2, 2000 -- St. John's 49, UW-Eau Claire 14
Sept. 9, 2000 -- UW-Eau Claire 17, Augsburg 14
Sept. 1, 2001 -- UW-Eau Claire 25, St. John's 10
Sept. 8, 2001 -- UW-Eau Claire 37, Augsburg 14
Sept. 7, 2002 -- UW-Eau Claire 28, St. John's 21 (OT)
Sept. 14, 2002 -- UW-Eau Claire at Augsburg, 7 p.m.
Sept. 21, 2002 -- UW-Whitewater at St. John's, 1 p.m.
Sept. 28, 2002 -- UW-Stout at St. Thomas, 1 p.m.
Oct. 5, 2002 -- UW-Eau Claire at Bethel, 1 p.m.
Oct. 19, 2002 -- Concordia-Moorhead at UW-Stout, 1 p.m.

AUGSBURG'S SUCCESS ON FAKE GRASS, AT NIGHT: With fellow MIAC school St. John's christening its new artificial-turf surface this season, Augsburg's Edor Nelson Field is one of two artificial-turf fields in the MIAC and one of only four among Minnesota colleges (the others are the University of Minnesota at the Metrodome and Minnesota-Duluth). At Edor Nelson Field, affectionately known as "The Cage" by Auggies, Augsburg has put together at 30-22 record in head coach Jack Osberg's tenure (since 1991). Since the field opened in 1984, Augsburg is 33-49-1 at home. On artificial-turf fields (including games at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome and Fargo, N.D., Fargodome), Augsburg is 37-27 since 1991 and 40-58-1 since 1984. Augsburg is also one of the few MIAC schools to play night games every season. Head coach Jack Osberg has scheduled at least one night game (kickoffs starting after 4 p.m.) each year since 1992. The Auggies have a 10-7 record in night contests.

FIRST SEASON WITH TWO REGULAR-SEASON NONCONFERENCE GAMES SINCE 1983: With Macalester dropping its MIAC affiliation for football for the next five seasons, Augsburg will be playing two nonconference games in its 10-game regular-season schedule. After Carleton joined the MIAC in 1983 to give the conference 10 football schools, Augsburg has played nine conference games every year since then, with the exception of 1991, when a game against Gustavus was cancelled due to the infamous Halloween blizzard. Augsburg's last regular-season schedule with two nonconference games was 1983, when Augsburg defeated Buena Vista (Iowa) 29-24 on Sept. 3 and lost to Bemidji State 23-7 at the Metrodome on Nov. 20. That season, Augsburg went 4-7, the only year that Augsburg has had an 11-game regular season. Augsburg played three nonconference games in its MIAC championship season of 1997 (10-2), with its regular season win at Valley City State (N.D., 24-20 on Sept. 6) and two games in the NCAA Division III national playoffs (34-22 win over Concordia-Moorhead at the Fargodome on Nov. 15 and 61-21 loss at Simpson (Iowa) on Nov. 22.).

THE "MUDDLE HUDDLE": Augsburg assistant coach Ron Scott, who helps run the special teams, calls it the "Muddle Huddle." It's also been referred to as the "Daffy Duck" formation by other teams. It's the creative formation for extra-point conversion attempts that befuddled Dakota State last week. Lining up most of the squad -- the linemen and wings -- to the sideline, with just the snapper, quarterback Tony George (Fr., Blaine, Minn.) and running back/receiver Pat Lofboom (So., Stillwater, Minn./Mahtomedi HS) in the center of the field, the Auggies claimed three 2-point conversion passes, while kicker Mike Pontius (Sr., Champlin, Minn./Anoka HS) went 2-for-3 when the "Muddle Huddle" shifted to the more conventional PAT kick attempt. In going 3-for-3 on 2-point conversions, the Auggies have already eclipsed their total for all of last year on conversions (1-of-1) and the total is already the most successful season for 2-point conversions for Augsburg since 1988 (5-for-9).

SCOUTING THE AUGGIES: In previewing the 2002 season, Augsburg head coach Jack Osberg noted that one of his goals for the Auggies was to "start strong and finish strong," shooting for more consistency throughout the season.

So far, so good. Behind a balanced offensive performance and a defense that forced five turnovers, Augsburg cruised to a 44-14 home win over Dakota State (S.D.) in the season-opener last week. Now, the shooting-for-consistency part kicks in, as Augsburg hosts one of the strongest teams in the region, Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

The win over Dakota State was keyed by several factors, primarily the balance provided by new offensive coordinator Jim Roback's multiple offense. Augsburg put together 389 yards of total offense -- 214 on the ground and 169 through the air. The solid running back duo of T.J. Bramwell (Sr., Tomah, Wis.) and Ben Paul (Jr., St. Paul, Minn./Johnson HS) was effective, with Bramwell gaining 85 yards and tying a single-game school record with three rushing touchdowns, and Paul gaining 81 yards. Both averaged more than six yards per carry on Saturday, thanks to the protection and forward surge of an experienced offensive line that helped Augsburg to an overall gain of 5.6 yards per play on Saturday, a marked improvement over last season's 4.0 yards-per-play average.

Throw in a few trick plays, like the 28-yard end-around touchdown by wide receiver Mathew Shannon (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn./Washburn HS) and the creative formation for touchdown conversions that resulted in three 2-point conversion pass completions from Tony George (Fr., Blaine, Minn.) to Pat Lofboom (So., Stillwater, Minn./Mahtomedi HS), and Augsburg's offense is off an running.

Defensively, Augsburg looked strong, especially after giving up the opening score of the game. The game-opening, 14-play, 58-yard drive for Dakota State took 7:35, fully a quarter of the team's 28:42 time of possesion in the entire game. But after the score, Augsburg's defense shut down the Trojans, forcing six punts, four fumbles and an interception on Dakota State's remaining offensive drives (the Trojans' other TD came on a kickoff return).

Augsburg's defense recorded two sacks, three quarterback hurries and held the Trojans to just 71 passing and 121 rushing yards in the game, an impressive performance considering that just three defensive starters returned from last year's lineup. Chad Scheitel (Sr., Worthington, Minn.) led a young Auggie secondary with 5.0 tackles (three solo), while Andy Matzke (So., Faribault, Minn.) scored on a 60-yard interception return. Linebackers Mitch Theisen (Sr., Waverly, Minn./Buffalo HS) and Brandon Fox (Jr., Springfield, Minn.), and linemen Joe Cullen (So., Coon Rapids, Minn.), Kyle Koch (Sr., Austin, Minn.) and Derek Kuhlman (Sr., Rush City, Minn.) all had strong games for the Auggies, and will be counted on to step up their effors against a strong Wisconsin-Eau Claire squad this week.

SCOUTING THE BLUGOLDS: Wisconsin-Eau Claire could probably apply for honorary membership in the MIAC, as the Blugolds are playing all three of their nonconference games against MIAC schools. The Blugolds topped MIAC favorite St. John's 28-21 last Saturday, face Augsburg this weekend and will play at Bethel on Oct. 5.

Eau Claire is coming off an 8-2 season, a campaign where the Blugolds tied Wisconsin-Stevens Point for the WIAC championship; Stevens Point advanced to the NCAA Division III national playoffs by virtue of a 30-27, two-overtime win over Eau Claire in the final game of the season, one of two double-overtime games the Blugolds lost last year.

One of the biggest improvements the Blugolds made from the 2000 season to the 2001 season was in defensive performance. To win eight games, which matched the third-best victory total in school history, the Blugolds held NCAA playoff team St. John's to 10 points, Division I-AA Valparaiso (Ind.) to nine, shut out defending WIAC champion Stout and limited perennial WIAC power La Crosse to seven points. The Blugolds outscored their opponents 280-152 last season and normally got the jump on their foes by outscoring them 70-7 in the first quarter. The defense allowed opponents an average of 3.0 yards per rush and held opponents to a 94.29 pass efficiency rating.

This season, nine of the 11 defensive starters return, including all-conference defensive end Austin Crow (Jr., Woodbury, Minn.) and all-conference linebacker Brad Gawronski (Sr., Reedsburg, Wis./Webb HS). The key loss is strong safety Jay Hoyord, a Hewlett-Packard second team All-American and Football Gazette third team All-American. He led the team in tackles (101), pass interceptions (6) and fumble recoveries (3). Crow led the team in sacks (12) and tackles for loss (20), while Gawronski was third in tackles and second in interceptions (5).

Offensively, the Blugolds lost their entire backfield, with quarterback Brian Rasmussen, tailback Darrell Souhrada and fullback Josh Stieler. Souhrada averaged over 148 yards per game in each of the past two seasons. Sophomore Dave Garrison (So., Apple Valley, Minn.) is a top candidate to replace Souhrada after starting three games as a freshman when Souhrada was sidelined with an injury. Sophomores Nels Fredrickson (So., Burnsville, Minn.) and Jeremy Darnell (So., Withee, Wis./Owen-Withee HS) are the top candidates for the signal-calling position. Fredrickson was thrust into a starting role when Rasmussen missed last year's La Crosse game with an injury and directed the Blugolds to a 10-7 triumph that earned them a share of the conference title. However, Darnell came on strong in spring ball and in two European games to push Fredrickson for time behind center. Darnell received all the snaps in Eau Claire's win over St. John's last week.

In addition to the backfield losses, the Blugolds have needed to replace three-year starters Jon Polasky and Bob Schmidt, a d3football.com second team All-American and Football Gazette third team All-American, in the offensive line. Mike Bestul (Sr., Chippewa Falls, Wis.), an all-conference second team pick and first team Academic All-American, heads the list of four returning players with significant experience in the trenches, the others being Andy Jepsen (Sr., Centuria, Wis./Unity HS), P. J. Madson (Sr., Green Bay, Wis./Notre Dame HS) and Brian McIntyre (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn./Woodbury HS).

The top two receivers in number of catches are back in the persons of tight end Brad Newton (Sr., Baldwin, Wis./Baldwin-Woodville HS), an all-conference first team selection, and Jason Foemmel (Sr., Marshfield, Wis.), who caught five TD passes. Foemmel has had two great seasons in a row according to Hoffner, and will serve as a team captain this fall. The Blugolds have averaged better than 25 points per game since Hoffner became head coach but he faces his biggest challenge relative to the amount of rebuilding needed on the offensive side of the ball.

On the offensive line, redshirt Dennis Peterson (Fr., Waterville, Minn./Waterville-Elysian-Morristown HS) will offer a 280-pound body with tons of promise, according to Hoffner. Redshirt Joe Gast (Fr., Waconia, Minn.) will be a top candidate at running back along with newcomer Brian Mitchell (Fr., Carol Stream, Ill.), while redshirt Andrew Jones (Fr., Wild Rose, Wis.) should rank among the top four linebackers and Eric Schemenauer (Fr., Chippewa Falls, Wis.) will be a contender on the defensive line.

NEXT WEEK: Augsburg opens MIAC play with a contest at St. Olaf next Saturday (9/21) at 1 p.m. at Nothfield, Minn. Wisconsin-Eau Claire opens WIAC play with a game at Wisconsin-Stout on Saturday at 7 p.m. in Menomonie, Wis.

AUGSBURG TWO-DEEP ROSTER -- OFFENSE
LT -- 77-Jesse Naughton (Sr., 6-4, 230), 73-Eric Olson * (So., 6-2, 315)
LG -- 56-Brad Motl (Sr., 5-11, 230) OR 57-Lincoln Langhorst (Sr., 5-10, 255)
C -- 65-Adam Hoffmann (So., 6-1, 225) OR 59-Rich Nelson (Sr., 6-3, 225)
RG -- 63-Bob Eckstrom (Sr., 6-0, 295), 72-Nate Savola (Jr., 5-11, 225)
RT -- 79-Nate Anderson (Jr., 6-5, 240), 78-James Brue (Sr., 6-3, 265) OR 60-Andy Johnson (So., 6-4, 335)
TE -- 82-Tony Warren (Sr., 6-3, 225), 84-Matt Quale (So., 6-3, 220)
WR -- 4-Sammy Gross (Sr., 5-10, 170), 2-Yarzue Slowon (So., 6-0, 190)
WR -- 1-Luke Wright (Sr., 6-3, 200), 83-Mathew Shannon (Jr., 5-11, 180)
RB -- 27-Ben Paul (Jr., 6-2, 210), 6-Pat Lofboom (So., 6-0, 190)
RB -- 44-T.J. Bramwell (Sr., 5-10, 190), 33-Joe Starks (So., 5-8, 200)
QB -- 14-Dave Fransen (Sr., 6-4, 190), 7-John Tieben (Sr., 6-1, 185), 12-Tony George (Fr., 6-2, 175)

WISCONSIN-EAU CLAIRE TWO-DEEP ROSTER -- DEFENSE
DL/Wide -- 37-Nick Draeger (Sr., 6-0, 210), 42-Justin Greenwood (So., 6-1, 200)
DL/End -- 56-Dan Larson (Sr., 6-2, 245), 73-Dan Lyrenmann (So., 6-0, 250)
DL/Nose -- 54-Aaron Wolf (Sr., 6-0, 260), 51-Dave Maas (So., 5-10, 245)
DL/Tackle -- 97-Nick Goeser (Sr., 6-3, 255), 99-Eric Schemenaur (Fr., 6-2, 240)
DL/Stud -- 93-Austin Crow (Jr., 6-3, 225), 50-Brent Crank (So., 6-0, 215)
MLB -- 8-Brad Gawronski (Sr., 6-1, 215), 13-Josh Molnar (So., 5-9, 200)
SLB -- 33-Mike Mularoni (Jr., 6-1, 230), 26-Andrew Jones (Fr., 5-11, 210)
CB -- 30-Derek Sikora (Fr., 5-8, 170), 10-Steve Julius (Fr., 5-10, 175)
FS -- 7-Pat Cummings (Jr., 6-3, 225), 1-Billy Diercks (Jr., 5-11, 175)
S/Rover -- 6-Mike LaBarbera (Jr., 5-10, 175), 1-Mike Eubanks (Sr., 5-9, 190)
CB -- 24-Justin Miller (Sr., 6-0, 210), 3-Mike Sinz (Fr., 5-9, 165)

AUGSBURG TWO-DEEP ROSTER -- DEFENSE
DE -- 98-Derek Kuhlman (Sr., 6-2, 225), 90-Jacob Koelln (Fr., 6-0, 235)
DT -- 94-Chike Ochiagha (So., 5-10, 255), 89-Tom Stefanacci (Jr., 6-0, 245)
DT -- 96-Sam Harmer (Jr., 6-2, 230), 98-Derek Kuhlman (Sr., 6-2, 225)
DE -- 47-Joe Cullen (So., 6-0, 215), 90-Jacob Koelln (Fr., 6-0, 235)
SLB -- 29-Brandon Fox (Jr., 6-2, 205), 49-Jon Kozitza (Jr., 6-0, 190)
MLB -- 42-Andy Stephenson (Sr., 6-0, 255), 41-John Golnitz (So., 6-3, 200)
WLB -- 40-Mitch Theisen (Sr., 6-2, 215), 35-Jake Schmiesing (Jr., 6-1, 200)
CB -- 22-Andy Matzke (So., 6-2, 190), 24-Joe Holman (Sr., 5-11, 160)
SS -- 3-Chad Scheitel (Sr., 5-10, 175), 21-Ross Peroutka (Fr., 6-1, 185)
FS -- 48-Jordan Hastings (Fr., 6-4, 190), 34-Jim Gunderson (So., 5-11, 190)
CB -- 28-Luke Carlson (Jr., 5-10, 180), 32-Taylor Kroger (Fr., 6-0, 190)

WISCONSIN-EAU CLAIRE TWO-DEEP ROSTER -- OFFENSE
QB -- 15-Jeremy Darnell (So., 6-1, 230), 17-Jesse Krzyzanowski (Fr., 6-1, 190)
TB -- 21-Brian Mitchell (Fr., 5-7, 185), 27-Dave Garrison (So., 5-9, 185)
FB -- 38-Luke Kedrowski (Sr., 6-0, 235), 32-Joe Gast (Fr., 5-9, 185)
SE -- 9-Erik Ferguson (Jr., 5-11, 175), 18-Perry Cloud (Sr., 6-2, 195)
SE -- 81-Jason Foemmel (Sr., 6-0, 200), 80-Matt Evenson (Fr., 6-1, 165)
TE -- 11-Brad Newton (Sr., 6-5, 245), 89-Dan Kahl (So., 6-4, 225)
LT -- 71-P.J. Madson (Sr., 6-5, 265), 55-Dave Scholz (Fr., 6-3, 235)
LG -- 77-Matt Pope (Jr., 6-1, 300), 65-Pete Monfre (So., 6-1, 265)
C -- 62-Andy Jepsen (Sr., 6-2, 270), 53-Eric Johnson (Jr., 6-1, 235)
RG -- 66-Mike Bestul (Sr., 5-11, 275), 64-Brett Etzel (Jr., 6-0, 235)
RT -- 61-Brian McIntyre (Sr., 6-1, 275), 76-Travis Mast (Sr., 6-3, 275)

AUGSBURG SPECIALISTS
K -- 85-Mike Pontius (Sr., 5-9, 175), 87-Kim Jaktund (So., 6-0, 210)
P -- 91-Nick Schlieman (Fr., 6-4, 220), 81-Andrew Powell (So., 6-5, 195)
LS -- 25-Tim Stowe (Jr., 5-8, 190), 59-Rich Nelson (Sr., 6-3, 225)
SS -- 73-Eric Olson * (So., 6-2, 315), 59-Rich Nelson (Sr., 6-3, 225)
H -- 12-Tony George (Fr., 6-2, 175), 14-Dave Fransen (Sr., 6-4, 190)
KR -- 2-Yarzue Slowon (So., 6-0, 190), 44-T.J. Bramwell (Sr., 5-10, 190)
PR -- 2-Yarzue Slowon (So., 6-0, 190), 44-T.J. Bramwell (Sr., 5-10, 190)

WISCONSIN-EAU CLAIRE SPECIALISTS
K -- 25-Nick Diciaula (Jr., 5-10, 170), 20-Andy Schneider (Fr., 5-8, 170)
P -- 5-Matt Brink (Jr., 6-0, 170)