MOORHEAD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College football team was in the game at halftime before Concordia-Moorhead exploded for 41 second-half points to deal the Oles a 51-0 loss in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) opener for both teams on Saturday night at Jake Christiansen Stadium.
The St. Olaf (0-2, 0-1 MIAC) defense kept the Oles in the game in the opening half, as Concordia (2-0, 1-0 MIAC) was up just 10-0 at halftime. The Cobbers scored touchdowns on six of their seven second-half possessions on their way to reclaiming the Troll Trophy by winning the Lefse Bowl.
St. Olaf gained possession of the Troll with a 17-16 victory last year in the programs' first meeting since 2019, a win that snapped Concordia's eight-game winning streak in the series. The loss marked the first time the Oles had been shut out since a 14-0 loss to the Cobbers in their last trip to Moorhead in the snow on Nov. 9, 2019. The win was Concordia's second consecutive shutout to start the season.
Concordia outgained St. Olaf by a 443-84 margin in the game, including a 281-5 margin in the second half. The Oles managed to record four sacks in the loss, marking the program's most sacks in a game since Oct. 26, 2024 against Augsburg University.
Senior
Bryon Sauvy was responsible for 78 of St. Olaf's 84 yards, carrying the ball 17 times for 78 yards. Three Ole quarterbacks combined to go 6-for-21 for 13 yards and three interceptions.
Junior
Logan Bosch had a team-high eight tackles, including one tackle for a loss, while senior
Nick Rollinger added the first interception of his career. Sophomore
Mateo Furness, sophomore
Tauston Rupe, junior
Jonah Blackman, and senior
Finn Qualls accounted for St. Olaf's four sacks.
After the Oles went three-and-out to start the game, the Cobbers got a 34-yard field goal on their opening possession, which proved to be all the points the hosts would need. Early in the second quarter, St. Olaf got the ball at the Concordia 38-yard line after a short punt and got the ball inside the one-yard line, but a fumble on an attempted handoff gave the ball back to the Cobbers.
Concordia proceeded to go 95 yards in 10 plays for its first of seven touchdowns on its next nine possessions. Nick Walter accounted for six total touchdowns for the Cobbers, going 15-for-18 for 194 yards and four touchdowns through the air and rushing 14 times for 46 yards and two more touchdowns.
After a bye week, St. Olaf will play another rivalry game when Carleton College visits Klein Field at Manitou for a 1 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, Sept. 26.
