NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College football team reclaimed possession of the Troll Trophy for the first time since 2011 with a 17-16 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) victory over Concordia-Moorhead on Saturday afternoon at Klein Field at Manitou.

After a first half that included just one field goal for each team, St. Olaf (2-0, 1-0 MIAC) and Concordia (1-1, 0-1 MIAC) both scored a pair of touchdowns in the second half, but the Cobbers were unable to convert the potential game-tying PAT on their touchdown with 3:52 to go in the fourth quarter. The Cobbers got the ball back with 1:00 to go with the chance to win, but sophomore Alec Mahoney picked off a pass on the first play of the drive to seal the victory.

The win snapped Concordia's eight-game winning streak in the series in the first head-to-head meeting since 2019 due to the MIAC's unbalanced schedule. The victory also came just eight days after the Oles lost one of their own in junior linebacker Matt Lee in a shooting in South St. Paul.

Senior Gus Gartzke carried the load offensively for St. Olaf, rushing a career-high 32 times for 93 yards and a touchdown. Senior Will Skemp had the first 100-yard receiving game of his career with seven receptions for 157 yards, including a 61-yard touchdown from first year Michael Gonzales.

Mahoney led the Oles' defense with eight total tackles, including one for a loss, a forced fumble, and the game-clinching interception. Senior Toby Kahl also added an interception, while senior Tony Avila-Tovalin tallied five solo tackles, a fumble recovery, and a pass breakup.

After a three-and-out by the defense to start the game, St. Olaf took advantage of a short punt to put a field goal on the board on its first possession, as sophomore Ethan Hess connected from 27 yards to open the scoring. The Cobbers were approaching the red zone on the ensuing possession before Mahoney forced a fumble that Avila-Tovalin fell on at the 33-yard line to stop the drive.

Concordia took advantage of a muffed punt with a 38-yard field goal by Mitchell Druley with 6:34 to go in the half to tie the game at 3-3. St. Olaf held the visitors to 64 yards on 24 plays (2.67 yards per play) in the opening half.

On their first possession of the second half, the Oles marched 80 yards in 16 plays on a drive that lasted over seven minutes and culminated in a one-yard touchdown run by Gartzke on fourth-and-goal to take a 10-3 lead. The Cobbers answered quickly with a 45-yard pass play on the first play of the drive and, later, an 18-yard touchdown strike from Jersey Selzler to Alejandro Sanchez to tie the game again in the final minute of the third.

On his second collegiate pass attempt, Gonzales hit a streaking Skemp down the middle for a 61-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Kahl picked off Selzler on the Oles' five-yard line on the next possession, but Concordia got an interception of its own to set up a seven-yard touchdown run by Griffin Babolian with 3:45 to go that promised to tie the game, but a miscue on the ensuing PAT kept St. Olaf ahead by one.

The next three possessions were all three-and-outs, leaving the door open for Concordia's offense, but Mahoney snared Selzler's pass over the middle with 55 seconds to go, allowing the Oles to kneel down twice to end the game.

St. Olaf will play for another trophy on Saturday, Sept. 27 when the Oles visit crosstown-rival Carleton College for a 1 p.m. kickoff in the annual Goat Trophy game.