NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Sophomore Ethan Hess drilled a 29-yard field goal as time expired to cap a dramatic late comeback by the St. Olaf College football team in a 44-41 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) victory over the College of St. Scholastica on Saturday afternoon at Klein Field at Manitou.

With the score tied at 41-41, St. Scholastica (2-5, 1-5 MIAC) ate up over seven minutes of the clock while driving down to the four-yard line inside the final two minutes. Out of a timeout, the Saints fumbled on an exchange between the quarterback and running back when in position to at least kick the go-ahead field goal, allowing St. Olaf (3-4, 2-4 MIAC) to get the ball back. The Oles took advantage of the mishap by driving down the field to set up Hess' walk-off field goal as time expired.

St. Olaf racked up 534 yards of offense – including 390 yards on the ground for the program's highest single-game total since at least the early 1990s – in the win to defeat the Saints on a last-second field goal for the second season in a row. Junior Bryon Sauvy led the rushing barrage with 231 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries before leaving the game late in the third quarter. Sophomore Landon Dillon ran 14 times for a career-high 88 yards and a score, while senior Gus Gartzke had 86 yards on 10 carries.

Donald west was 22-for-37 for 284 yards and two touchdowns through the air and ran for another score for the Saints. Jevon Williams compiled 177 total yards – 98 rushing and 79 receiving – and ran for two touchdowns as well.

St. Olaf scored on its first three possessions to open up a 17-7 lead after one quarter. Sauvy opened the scoring with a 23-yard touchdown run on the Oles' second play from scrimmage before Hess connected on a 33-yard field goal five minutes later. After Williams go the Saints on the board with a two-yard run late in the first, Dillon plunged in from a yard out for his second collegiate touchdown a little over a minute later.

St. Scholastica scored 24 unanswered points in the second quarter to take a 31-17 lead into the halftime break. West scored on a five-yard run before finding Andrew Burgess for a 28-yard score that gave the Saints their first lead at 21-17 inside the final six minutes of the half. An eight-yard run by Williams and a field goal by Jacob Andrews in the final seconds of the half sent the visitors into the break up by two touchdowns.

To start the second half, St. Olaf marched 88 yards on 11 plays, culminating in a five-yard run by Sauvy to cut its deficit in half. St. Scholastica answered with a 14-play, 75-yard drive to push its lead back to 14, but the Oles quickly responded with an 11-yard touchdown pass from junior Luke Crosby to senior Will Skemp to get back within seven.

After kicking off from midfield due to an unsportsmanlike conduct on the Saints on the touchdown, St. Olaf recovered an onside kick that led to a 25-yard field goal by Hess to make it a four-point game after three quarters. St. Scholastica got a field goal on its next possession to go back up by seven before the Oles rattled off a 12-play, 85-yard drive that ended in a one-yard run by junior Rob Htoo to tie the game at 41-41 with 8:42 to go.

On the next possession, St. Scholastica methodically marched 58 yards on 15 plays to get down to the four-yard line before fumbling on a third-and-one play out of a timeout. Gartzke broke off runs of 17 and 15 yards on eight side of a 26-yard pass from Crosby to sophomore Erick Brunsvold to get the Oles within field-goal range and set the stage for Hess' game-winning kick.

Sophomore Alec Mahoney recorded a team-high eight total tackles for St. Olaf, while junior Tytan Small and senior Noah Barrett had seven apiece. Small also picked up a sack in the win. Fifth-year senior Jacob Vasquez had two tackles for a loss as well.

The Oles will visit Macalester College for a 7 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, Nov. 1 at Macalester Stadium in St. Paul.