ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Augsburg University football team broke from a 14-14 halftime tie with 23 unanswered points across four scoring drives in the second half, beating Hamline University 37-14 on Saturday in the battle for "The Hammer" traveling trophy, closing the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference seasons for both schools.
THE BASICS
SCORE: Augsburg 37, Hamline 14
LOCATION: Klas Field, St. Paul, Minn.
RECORDS: Augsburg 3-7 overall (3-6 MIAC), Hamline 1-9 overall (0-9 MIAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The win was Augsburg's seventh straight over Hamline in the battle for "The Hammer" traveling trophy, and Augsburg has won 13 of the last 16 meetings between the two schools. Since "The Hammer" trophy game was established in 2005, Augsburg is 17-4 in the teams' 21 meetings.
The game was the final collegiate contest for 15 Augsburg seniors —
Ahadu Alemu,
Ade Batz-Rogers, Chakolis,
Ben Davis,
Corey DeLoach,
Ari Gaiters,
Alejandro Herrera,
Carter Johnson,
Jaxon Jones, Kilgore,
Anselmo Marquez-Reagan Jr.,
Foster Mulvehill,
Jaedon Nygaard, Rodkewich and student coach
Tysean Hughes.
The Auggies' defense recorded three interceptions and one fumble recovery, and the Pipers were held scoreless in the second half. The Auggies finished with 286 passing yards and 163 rushing yards, with three touchdown passes and two rushing touchdowns.
The Auggies answered the Pipers' opening touchdown with a 78-yard, nine-play drive, with
Carter Johnson breaking runs of 20 and 19 yards and finishing the possession with a 19-yard touchdown before
Kevin Kargozar's extra point tied the score at 7-7. Earlier, the Pipers moved 71 yards on their first possession and went ahead on Daylen Cummings' 3-yard run, aided by two Auggies penalties that produced first downs. The Auggies' defense then held after the Pipers crossed midfield on their next series, forcing an incomplete pass on fourth-and-3 from the Auggies' 40-yard line with 2:25 left in the first quarter.
Caden Rodkewich followed with a 27-yard completion to
CJ Ritchie, and
Derrick Sando added runs of 11 and 10 yards as the Auggies reached the Pipers' 8-yard line before the quarter ended with the score tied 7-7.
Opening the second quarter at the Pipers' 8-yard line, the Auggies finished the possession with Rodkewich's 1-yard touchdown run, followed by Kargozar's extra point for a 14-7 lead at 12:47. The Auggies' defense answered the Pipers' next scoring threat by holding after the Pipers reached the Auggies' 26, where the Pipers missed a 36-yard field goal, and later forced a punt after
Jamir Horton stopped a run for no gain and
Isaiah Deloach made a tackle on a short quarterback run. The Auggies' next sustained possession started with
Tykelian Hyshaw-Moore's 12-yard punt return and included a third-down conversion by Sando and a 7-yard completion from Rodkewich to
Ben Davis, but it ended on downs at the Pipers' 39. The Pipers then drove 61 yards in the final minutes and tied the game on a 3-yard quarterback run and extra point with 37 seconds left, sending the teams into halftime at 14-14.
The Auggies broke a 14-14 tie with a 73-yard opening drive, as Rodkewich hit
Iggie Cooper for 47 yards before finding Ritchie for a 4-yard touchdown and Kargozar's extra point made it 21-14. After the defense forced a Pipers punt, the Auggies went 61 yards in four plays, with Sando runs of 11 and 6 yards and a 20-yard Rodkewich completion to Cooper setting up Rodkewich's 24-yard touchdown pass to Ritchie.
Josiah Paige sacked Daylen Cummings on the next Pipers possession, helping the Auggies force another punt, and the offense followed with a 78-yard drive that ended on Kargozar's 18-yard field goal with 54 seconds left.
The Auggies outgained Hamline by a 202-6 margin in the third quarter, including 151 yards through the air, and scored 16 points to take a commanding 30-14 lead.
The Auggies kept the Pipers off the scoreboard in the fourth quarter, coming away with four takeaways and a late turnover on downs before closing out a 37-14 win.
RJ Chakolis intercepted a pass at the Pipers' 42 early in the quarter, and
Daniel Fitzgerald-Rosa ended a later red-zone drive with an interception at the Auggies' 4 before adding another pick at the Auggies' 42.
After the Pipers reached the Auggies' 4 midway through the quarter, Fitzgerald-Rosa recovered a fumble at the Auggies' 18, and the offense answered with
Carter Johnson's 15-yard run before Rodkewich found
EJ Kilgore for a 68-yard touchdown at 2:52. It was Augsburg's longest play from scrimmage of the season. Kargozar's extra point made it 37-14, and the Auggies followed by stopping the Pipers on fourth-and-7 from the Auggies' 27 with 1:21 left.
AUGSBURG TOP PERFORMERS
•
Caden Rodkewich: 19-for-27 passing, 286 passing yards, 3 passing touchdowns, 1 rushing touchdown
•
CJ Ritchie: 7 receptions, 94 receiving yards, 2 receiving touchdowns
•
Carter Johnson: 103 rushing yards on 14 carries, 1 rushing touchdown
•
Daniel Fitzgerald-Rosa: 2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery, 3 tackles
•
RJ Chakolis: 6 tackles, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble
HAMLINE TOP PERFORMERS
• Daylen Cummings: 21-for-35 passing for 264 yards, 20 rushing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns on 12 carries
• Tristan Falkowski: 5 receptions for 93 yards
• Ty Burgoon: 6 receptions for 69 yards
• Robert McCoy: 5 tackles, 1.5 sacks
• Eric Denhardt: 1 interception
