MINNEAPOLIS – The Augsburg University football team hosted Bethel University on its homecoming weekend in a battle of the top two teams in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's Skyline Division on Saturday afternoon, falling to the Royals 38-7 at Edor Nelson Field.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: #RV Bethel 38, Augsburg 7
LOCATION: Edor Nelson Field, Minneapolis, Minn.
RECORDS: Augsburg 4-2 overall (2-2 MIAC), Bethel 4-2 overall (3-1 MIAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Royals, who received 13 votes in the latest d3football.com poll, capitalized on four first-half turnovers by Augsburg to build a 24-0 lead in the first half. Augsburg's Lionel Gates (JR, Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong HS) intercepted a pass by Royals quarterback George Bolt late in the second quarter to set up a potential quick scoring drive, but quarterback Cade Sheehan's (SR, Rochester, Minn./Mayo HS) Hail Mary attempt was picked off in the end zone as time expired in the first half.
• After Bethel added two more touchdowns in the third quarter to extend the lead to 38-0, Augsburg found the end zone for the first and only time of the afternoon early in the fourth quarter when Sheehan fit a 26-yard pass to Braden Tretter (SR, Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice HS) through a tight window for a touchdown.
• Augsburg was limited to 242 yards of total offense on the day, with Sheehan accounting for 222 of those yards on a 25-of-37 passing performance. Tretter was his top target, hauling in eight receptions for 75 yards and a score. Sheehan's longest pass of the day, a 32-yard play, went to Michael Ims (Northfield, Minn./Northfield HS), who finished with three catches for 42 yards. The ground game struggled to find its footing, gaining just 60 yards on 28 carries as a team.
• Brandon Sjostrand (SR, Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy HS) led the Auggie defense with 10 total tackles and a forced fumble. Justin Tverberg (SR, Farmington, Minn./Hastings HS) tallied eight total tackles while reigning MIAC Defensive Player of the Week Jax Bokman (SO, Faribault, Minn./Bethlehem Academy HS) added seven. Hamsa Kahin (JR, Eden Prairie, Minn./Edina HS) finished with three tackles, including two for a loss, a sack, and two quarterback hurries.

FOR THE FOES
• Bethel quarterback George Bolt completed eight of his 16 passes for one touchdown and one interception, also adding eight carries for 21 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
• Aaron Ellingson was the bell cow running back for the Royals, rushing 17 times for 153 yards and a score. Riley Gritz added 15 carries for 53 yards and two touchdowns.

UP NEXT
• Augsburg will travel to Northfield, Minn. to take on St. Olaf College in MIAC action next Saturday, October 21, at 1 pm.