Football 10/13/07 -- St. Thomas 50, Augsburg 33

BOXSCORE

MINNEAPOLIS (10/13/07) -- Wide receiver P.J. Theisen (Sr., Elko, Minn./New Prague HS) caught 11 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown, setting a University of St. Thomas school record for career receptions with 177, as the Tommies (2-4 overall, 2-2 MIAC) rallied with 27 unanswered points in the second half to overtake Augsburg College 50-33 in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football game Saturday afternoon at Augsburg's Edor Nelson Field.

Wide receiver Royce Winford (Jr., Brooklyn Park, Minn./Osseo HS) caught 14 passes for 241 yards and two touchdowns for Augsburg (2-4 overall, 0-4 MIAC). Winford's mark is the second-most receiving yards in a single game in school history, behind the 271 yards by Scott Hvistendahl in a 1998 game.

The teams combined for 1,040 yards of total offense, with St. Thomas compiling 610 yards (441 passing, 169 rushing) on 88 plays, and Augsburg compiling 430 yards (425 passing, 5 rushing) on 80 plays.

Theisen's 177 career receptions breaks the St. Thomas school record of 174, originally set by Jim Gustafson. Theisen caught a 39-yard touchdown pass from quarterback David Sauer (Jr., Cold Spring, Minn./Rocori HS) with 4:40 left in the third quarter, giving the Tommies the lead to stay at 37-33. Sauer completed 35-of-46 passes for 441 yards and three touchdowns in the game for the Tommies.

Augsburg led 20-17 at halftime and 33-23 midway through the third quarter, but four unanswered touchdowns from the Tommies squelched the Auggies' attempt for its second straight victory.

Winford reached the 100-yard mark in receiving for the fourth time in his six games this season with the 241-yard effort. He scored on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Berg (Jr., Gaylord, Minn./Sibley East HS) in the first quarter and on a 53-yard reception on a halfback pass by Jason Potts (Jr., Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong HS) midway through the third quarter. With 49 receptions for 758 yards and seven touchdowns, Winford is now averaging 126.3 yards per game this season.

Mike Nourie (So., Nicollet, Minn.) also reached the century mark in receiving for the second time this season, with 147 yards on 11 catches with three touchdowns for the Auggies. He caught scoring passes of seven, 20 and 23 yards from Berg. Nourie now has 44 receptions for 501 yards this season, a 100.2-yards-per-game average.

Berg completed 30-of-56 passes for 372 yards and four touchdowns, but was intercepted three times. The Auggies also fumbled the ball away once in the game, while St. Thomas did not have a turnover in the game.

Jake Casey (Sr., White Bear Lake, Minn.) rushed for 100 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown, one of four rushing touchdowns on the day for the Tommies. He also caught a touchdown pass and had four receptions for 61 yards. Sauer, Adam Stein (Sr., St. Paul, Minn./Central HS) and Mikkel Haugen (Jr., Kenyon, Minn./Kenyon-Wanamingo HS) also rushed for scores. Sam Moen (So., Mahtomedi, Minn.) caught seven passes for 93 yards and a touchdown.

Pat Sommerstad (Sr., Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview HS) led the Tommies with 10 tackles (five solo), while Tony Danna (Fr., Lake Elmo, Minn./Hill-Murray HS) and Joe Pyka (So., Columbia Heights, Minn./Fridley HS) had seven tackles (three solo) and a sack apiece, with Danna adding an interception and Pyka contributing a pass breakup. As a team, St. Thomas collected five sacks on the day.

Augsburg was led defensively by Garrett Adamson (Jr., White Bear Lake, Minn./Hill-Murray HS), who had 13 tackles (one solo). Adam Mead (Fr., St. Francis, Minn.) and Alex Glasenapp (So., Minneapolis, Minn./South HS) had 11 tackles (four solo) and a sack apiece, while Sean Kelly (Jr., Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View HS) had 10 tackles (three solo).

Both teams return to MIAC play next Saturday (10/20) at 1 p.m., with Augsburg playing at Carleton and St. Thomas hosting Concordia-Moorhead.