ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — The Augsburg University football team dropped a 63-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest at Bethel University on Saturday at Royal Stadium. Bethel entered Saturday's game ranked No. 16 in the latest D3football.com Division III national poll and No. 17 in the American Football Coaches Association Division III national poll.
THE BASICS
SCORE: Bethel 63, Augsburg 0
LOCATION: Royal Stadium, Arden Hills, Minn.
RECORDS: Augsburg 1-4 overall (1-3 MIAC), Bethel 3-2 overall (3-1 MIAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Auggies finished with seven first downs, 110 passing yards and 38 rushing yards, while Bethel totaled 577 yards. The Auggies defense came away with two interceptions, but the Royals scored in each of the first three quarters.
The Auggies spent much of the first quarter defending Bethel possessions, as the home team scored four touchdowns and led 28-0 by the end of the quarter. After Bethel's opening touchdown, the Auggies answered with their best drive of the quarter:
Caden Rodkewich hit
Iggie Cooper for 24 yards on third-and-9, connected with
CJ Ritchie for 8 more, and Ritchie converted a third-and-1 before the drive ended on downs at the Bethel 34. Bethel responded with a 66-yard touchdown drive, then began another possession at the Auggies' 38-yard line after an onside kick and scored again at 3:11. The Auggies' next drive gained 3 yards before a
Kevin Kargozar punt, and Bethel added a late 31-yard rushing touchdown with 42 seconds left before the Auggies ran one final play to close the quarter.
The Auggies fell further behind on the first snap of the second quarter when Nick Colyer intercepted Rodkewich at the Auggies' 22-yard line and returned it for a touchdown, with the extra point making it 35-0. After the Auggies punted on their next series, Bethel covered 62 yards in four plays and pushed the score to 42-0, but the Auggies' next possession reached the Bethel 29 behind a 15-yard face-mask penalty and
Ahmias Hart's 29-yard third-down completion to Cooper before a fourth-down interception ended the drive. Bethel later extended the score to 49-0 on a 10-play, 76-yard drive despite
RJ Chakolis' tackle for loss to open the possession, and the Auggies responded with a 35-yard kickoff return by Cooper plus a third-down completion from Rodkewich to
Derrick Sando before punting to the Bethel 3.
Anselmo Marquez-Reagan Jr. gave the Auggies their takeaway at 3:19, intercepting Cooper Drews at the Bethel 10 and returning it to the 3, but the offense lost yardage and turned it over on downs at the Bethel 7.
The Auggies spent much of the third quarter defending short fields, as a punt set up Bethel at the Auggies' 32-yard line and Cooper Drews hit Alex Weiss for a 6-yard touchdown at 11:09, followed by the kick that made it 56-0. After another Auggies three-and-out, Bethel drove 50 yards and Cole Gerrell scored on a 30-yard run at 8:21, with the extra point moving the score to 63-0. The Auggies' next possession gained 25 yards, with Sando opening it with a 4-yard run and Rodkewich finding Ritchie for a 19-yard first down before a lost fumble ended the drive near midfield. The Auggies defense followed with two stops, holding Bethel to 5 yards before a touchback punt and later getting a 2-yard tackle for loss from
Jamir Horton to help force another punt.
The Auggies kept Bethel off the scoreboard in the fourth quarter, with
Foster Mulvehill intercepting Cole Gerrell at the Auggies' 44-yard line early in the quarter and the defense later forcing a punt after
Daniel Fitzgerald-Rosa's third-down tackle for loss. The offense had its best early chance after the takeaway, as Rodkewich hit
Patrick Mix for 8 yards to set up fourth-and-1 at the Bethel 47, but the drive ended on downs. The Auggies picked up their lone first down of the quarter on a Bethel penalty during their next possession, while Kargozar handled all three Auggies punts, including a 41-yarder from the Auggies' 18-yard line.
AUGSBURG TOP PERFORMERS
•
Anselmo Marquez-Reagan Jr.: 9 total tackles, 1 interception for 7 yards
•
Iggie Cooper: 2 receptions for 53 yards
•
RJ Chakolis: 9 total tackles, reaching 50 tackles for the season and bringing his Auggie career total to 152
•
Daniel Fitzgerald-Rosa: 8 total tackles, his second consecutive game with at least 8 tackles
•
Foster Mulvehill: 3 total tackles, 1 interception
BETHEL TOP PERFORMERS
• David Geebli: 106 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns on 14 carries, 23-yard touchdown reception
• Cooper Drews: Completed 17 of 25 passes for 184 yards and 3 touchdowns, 53 rushing yards and 1 touchdown on 3 carries
• Taye Manns: 108 rushing yards and 1 touchdown on 13 carries
UP NEXT
The Auggies host Macalester College at noon Saturday, Oct. 17, at Edor Nelson Field in Minneapolis, for Augsburg's Homecoming game.
