MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Junior Payton Schott caught the game-winning 14-yard touchdown from first year Theo Doran as the St. Olaf College football team closed out its season with a 35-28 victory at Augsburg University on the inaugural Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Championship Week on Saturday at Edor Nelson Field.

St. Olaf (5-5) led 28-7 at halftime before Augsburg (4-6) battled back to tie the game at 28-28 on a nine-yard pass from Cade Sheehan to Dominic Smith with 8:12 remaining. The Oles responded with a 15-play, 71-yard drive that took 6:44 off the clock, culminating in the 14-yard pass from Doran to Schott for the go-ahead score.

After the score, the Auggies started at their own 25-yard line but could not move the ball. Senior Nikoloz Vasadze had a sack on second down and sophomore Deonta Thomas broke up a pass to bring up a fourth-and-eight play. The St. Olaf defense made one final play, as sophomore Ben Hestorff corralled Sheehan for a three-yard loss to set up the Oles for victory formation.

Junior Jordan Embry carried the ball 33 times for 136 yards and a pair of touchdowns for his fifth 100-yard game of the season. Embry finished the season with 950 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns, which both rank just outside the top 10 in recorded program history.

Doran was 14-for-29 for 166 yards with three touchdowns and one interception in the win, connecting with Schott seven times for 68 yards and the winning touchdown. First year Nour Tayara hauled in three passes for 63 yards and a score, while sophomore Derek Hansen caught his team-leading fifth touchdown of the season.

After receiving the opening kickoff, St. Olaf went right down the field and scored on a four-yard pass from Doran to Hansen to quickly take the lead. The Oles forced a punt on Augsburg's first possession and scored their second-straight touchdown when Doran found Tayara for a 44-yard score to open up a 14-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the game.

The Auggies got on the board with a 14-play, 75-yard drive that consumed 6:19 of game time on their next possession, scoring on a two-yard run by DJ Monroe to get within a score. St. Olaf stretched its lead to 28-7 at the half thanks to touchdown runs of one and five yards by Embry 33 seconds apart in the final two minutes of the half.

A nine-yard touchdown pass from Sheehan to Braden Tretter midway through the quarter was the lone score of the third quarter as the Oles took a 28-14 lead into the fourth quarter. In the fourth, Augsburg quickly made it a one-score game when Monroe scored from one yard out after Tretter returned a punt to the St. Olaf one-yard line.

After the Auggies' defense forced a three-and-out, their offense proceeded to tie the game with 8:12 remaining on a nine-yard pass from Sheehan to Smith to cap an eight-play, 73-yard drive. St. Olaf's game-winning drive included four third-down conversions and nine carries by Embry before culminating in the touchdown from Doran to Schott.

Hestorff had a team-high nine tackles for the Oles, while senior Jordan Bartholomew and junior Josh Prom had seven apiece. Vasadze had 1.5 of St. Olaf's four sacks in the game, while sophomore Ben Kettelhut and first year Ryan Paulsen had interceptions in the victory.