GAME STATISTICS

NORTHFIELD, Minn. (10/11/08) -- It was an old-fashioned college football shootout on Saturday afternoon between Augsburg College and Carleton College on Saturday at Carleton's Laird Stadium.

The teams combined for 1,005 yards of total offense. Ninety points were put on the scoreboard. The game featured two high-powered passing offenses that marched the ball up and down the field efficiently all afternoon, with just one turnover in the game. The teams scored on 11 of 22 drives.

And in the end, just one of the teams that entered the game unbeaten remained that way, as the host Knights improved to 5-0 by knocking the Auggies from the ranks of the unbeaten in a wild 49-41 contest.

Quarterback #Jordan Berg *# (SR, Gaylord, Minn./Sibley East HS), already Augsburg's career record-holder in every passing category, added to his lustre with the second 500-yard passing game of his career, as he completed 42-of-62 passing for 508 yards and four touchdowns. Wide receiver #Royce Winford *# (SR, Brooklyn Park, Minn./Osseo HS) caught 10 passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns, and teammate #Muneer Al-Hameed# (SO, Woodbury, Minn./Minneapolis Washburn HS) caught 13 passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns.

But Carleton quarterback Shane Henfling provided a match for the Auggies, completing 21-of-27 passing for 266 yards and four touchdowns, and running back Jon Lien rushed for 168 yards on 25 carries with two scores.

With the win, Carleton improved to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play, improving to 5-0 for the first time since its MIAC title season of 1992. Meanwhile, Augsburg, which entered the game ranked No. 22 in the D3Football.com Division III national poll and No. 23 in the American Football Coaches Association Division III national poll, dropped to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in MIAC play.

In just his 25th career game, Berg improved upon his school records for passing touchdowns (61), pass attempts (1,100), pass completions (664) and pass yardage (7,326). Meanwhile, Winford became just the second Augsburg receiver in school history to eclipse the 200-reception mark for his career. He now has 203 catches for 2,710 yards and 34 touchdowns in his career -- all second to Scott Hvistendahl (1995-98), who caught 285 passes for 4,696 yards and 40 touchdowns in his career.

Augsburg opened the scoring in the first quarter, as a 15-play, 69-yard drive was capped by a Berg one-yard scoring plunge. The second quarter featured 49 points, as the Knights and Auggies matched each other drive-for-drive. Al-Hameed scored twice on touchdown passes fo 19 and 15 yards from Berg, while #Jason Potts# (SR, Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong HS) rushed for a one-yard score. In addition to a Lien one-yard touchdown run, Henfling threw three touchdown passes in the second quarter -- a 27-yard strike to Steve Ramey, a 16-yard pass to Chris Gardner and a 26-yard pass on the final play of the first half to Dylan Bothun.

The Auggies took a 35-28 lead midway through the third quarter, as a nine-play, 70-yard drive was capped by a Berg 3-yard scoring pass to Winford. But the Knights took the ball back down the field, capping a seven-play, 74-yard drive with a 14-yard touchdown run by Lien. The Knights then surprised the Auggies with an onside kick, recovered by the Knights at the Augsburg 45-yard line. Four plays later, Henfling gave the Knights the lead with a five-yard pass to Will McGivern-Smith.

Entering the fourth quarter, an Auggie drive was stalled at the Augsburg 43-yard line, and a punt by #Jack Christopherson# (SO, Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo HS) was blocked by Carleton's Drew Ziller, who scooped up the ball and ran 25-yards for what would eventually be the game-winning touchdown.

Augsburg trimmed the lead to eight points on its next drive, as a 13-play, 60-yard drive was capped by a three-yard touchdown pass from Berg to Winford, but the Knights' defense held firm on Augsburg's next drive, forcing the Auggies to turn the ball over on downs. Augsburg forced a Carleton punt with 34 seconds left, but a Berg pass was intercepted by Ziller, clinching the win for the Knights.

Augsburg put together 564 yards of total offense (508 passing, 56 rushing), while Carleton had 441 yards of offense (266 passing, 175 rushing). However, one of the key numbers in the game was penalties, as Augsburg was whistled 12 times for 117 yards, while Carleton was whistled three times for 25 yards.

Potts had another solid all-around game for the Auggies, gaining 58 yards on 15 rushes, while catching six passes for 59 yards. #Dan Brown# (FY, Osseo, Minn.) caught five passes for 70 yards, and #Mike Nourie# (JR, Nicollet, Minn.) caught five passes for 47 yards. For Carleton, Bothun caught six passes for 97 yards, Erik Fabry caught six passes for 62 yards and Gardner caught five passes for 56 yards.

Defensively, Augsburg was led by #Donovan Bates# (SR, White Bear Lake, Minn.), who had 12 tackles (nine solo). #Adam Mead# (SO, St. Francis, Minn.) had eight tackles (two solo) and #John Hibbs# (SO, Watertown, Minn./Watertown-Mayer HS) had seven tackles (four solo). Carleton was led by Tim Mulso, who had 13 tackles (four solo), Kane Bechstein had 10 tackles (four solo) and Ziller had nine tackles (seven solo).

Both teams return to MIAC play next Saturday (10/18) at 1 p.m., as Augsburg hosts Concordia-Moorhead and Carleton hosts Gustavus.