NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Sophomore
Patrick Gardner hit his third field goal of the game as time expired to give the St. Olaf College football team its first win of the season with a 23-21 victory over Augsburg University on Homecoming and Family Weekend on Saturday at Klein Field at Manitou.
After Augsburg (1-3, 1-2 MIAC) erased a 17-0 deficit to take a 21-20 lead with 1:27 remaining, senior
Luke Crosby and sophomore
Taevin Pribyl connected on back-to-back plays to cover 87 yards, with Pribyl sliding down on his own at the six-yard line with less than a minute remaining instead of scoring the go-ahead touchdown. Pribyl's move paid off as the Oles ran down the clock and got the game-winning 20-yard field goal from Gardner as the clock ran out to claim their first win of the season.
St. Olaf's defense and special teams led the Oles to the win with four sacks, five takeaways, and a blocked punt, in addition to Gardner's 3-for-3 day on field goals. Senior
Tytan Small had five tackles, 3.5 for a loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery. Sophomore
Parker Seaman was in on seven tackles, forced a fumble, and recovered a fumble, while sophomore
Carter Olson grabbed his first collegiate interception in the win.
Senior
Bryon Sauvy carried the ball 29 times for 89 yards and a touchdown, while Crosby threw for 196 yards and scored on a quarterback sneak. Pribyl went over 100 receiving yards for the first time in his career with three catches for 121 yards thanks to the late heroics. St. Olaf outrushed Augsburg by a 130-6 margin in the game.
Caden Rodkewich was 25-for-41 for 297 yards with three touchdowns and one interception for Augsburg, which ran the ball 20 times for just the six net yards. Iggie Cooper caught eight passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns, while CJ Ritchie also hauled in a touchdown from Rodkewich.
After junior
Soren Floden uncorked a 62-yard punt that was downed at the three-yard line after a three-and-out to start the game, junior
Alec Mahoney blocked an Augsburg punt that junior
Ford Peterson scooped up at the five and was tackled at the one-yard line. Two plays later, Sauvy scored from a yard out to open the scoring.
Late in the opening quarter, Small's strip sack that was recovered by sophomore
Leo Bock set the Oles up in Augsburg territory. St. Olaf turned the turnover into a touchdown on a fourth-down sneak by Crosby to open up a 14-0 lead on the second play of the second quarter.
A couple of minutes later, the Auggies muffed a punt that junior
Logan Bosch recovered to give the Oles another short field at the Augsburg 20-yard line. The Auggies' defense made a stand, but Gardner was good from 32 yards out to stretch St. Olaf's lead to 17-0 with 10:29 to go until halftime. Augburg got on the board and made it a 10-point game at halftime on a 28-yard pass from Rodkewich to Cooper with 1:36 remaining in the second.
Gardner's 25-yard field goal midway through the third quarter pushed St. Olaf's lead to 20-7, but Augsburg responded with a six-play, 57-yard drive that ended in a 12-yard scoring pass from Rodkewich to Ritche to get within six. In the fourth, the Auggies covered 66 yards in 10 plays to take the lead on a 17-yard pass from Rodkewich to Cooper, who toe-tapped near the back corner of the end zone to put the visitors on top.
Augsburg popped the kickoff up short and the ball bounced towards the end zone eventually pinning St. Olaf at its seven-yard line to start a must-score drive deep in its own end. Crosby hit Pribyl for an 18-yard gain on the first play before finding him again for a 69-yard catch-and-run that ended with Pribyl's decision to slide down at the six. After two rushing play left the Oles at the four-yard line, Augsburg's timeout did not ice Gardner on the game-winning kick.
St. Olaf will head to Gustavus Adolphus College for a 1 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, Oct. 10 at Hollingsworth Field.
