Football 9/22/07 -- St. Olaf 70, Augsburg 31

BOXSCORE

MINNEAPOLIS (9/22/07) -- With the two teams combining for 101 points and 1,092 yards of total offense, St. Olaf College claimed a 70-31 victory over host Augsburg College in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football game Saturday afternoon at Edor Nelson Field.

St. Olaf quarterback Matt Penz (Sr., Rochester, Minn./Mayo HS) completed 25-of-36 passing for 411 yards and five touchdowns, with Horace Gant (Sr., Pensacola, Fla./Pine Forest HS) catching 11 passes for 177 yards and three touchdowns and Andrew Schmiesing (Sr., Stillwater, Minn.) catching nine passes for 141 yards and a score.

Meanwhile, Augsburg quarterback Jordan Berg (Jr., Gaylord, Minn./Sibley East HS) completed 33-of-59 passing for 398 yards and four touchdowns. Royce Winford (Jr., Brooklyn Park, Minn./Osseo HS) caught 13 passes for 186 yards and a touchdown, and Mike Nourie (So., Nicollet, Minn.) caught 13 passes for 165 yards and three touchdowns.

St. Olaf, ranked No. 21 in the latest American Football Coaches Association Division III national poll and No. 22 in the D3Football.com national poll, remains unbeaten at 4-0 overall, 2-0 in MIAC play. Augsburg is now 1-2 overall, 0-2 in MIAC play. The result marked the seventh time St. Olaf has scored 70 or more points in a game in program history, while it was the first time Augsburg has ever surrendered 70 points in a game.

St. Olaf claimed 675 yards of total offense -- 425 yards of passing and 250 yards of rushing -- while Augsburg had 417 yards of total offense -- 421 yards passing and minus-4 yards of rushing. Augsburg cut the lead to 21-14 in the second quarter, but St. Olaf scored on six of its nine first-half drives, building a 42-17 first-half lead. Augsburg only turned the ball over twice -- once on a fumble and once on an interception -- while St. Olaf only turned the ball over once on an interception.

Ben Roff (Sr., Osseo, Minn.) and Jay Higgins (Jr., Lakeland, Minn./Stillwater HS) rushed for two touchdowns apiece for the Oles, while Evan Endsley (Jr., Eagan, Minn.) rushed for one touchdown and led the Oles with 52 rushing yards on eight carries. Endsley also caught three passes for 73 yards and a touchdown.

Jack Christopherson (Fr., Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo HS) connected on a 29-yard field goal in the second quarter for the Auggies.

Defensively, Augsburg linebacker Adam Ebert (So., Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View HS) led all players with 13 tackles (three solo), while Tony Landecker (Sr., Breezy Point, Minn./Brainerd HS) had nine tackles (eight solo) and Garrett Adamson (Jr., White Bear Lake, Minn./Hill-Murray HS) had seven tackles (three solo) and an interception. St. Olaf's defense was led by Charlie Mylrea (Sr., Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park HS) had nine tackles (seven solo), and Seth Hurias (So., Random Lake, Wis.) had eight tackles (three solo).

Both teams return to MIAC play next Sunday (9/29) at 1 p.m., as Augsburg plays at Concordia-Moorhead and St. Olaf hosts Gustavus.