Football 9/29/01 -- Augsburg 20, St. Olaf 0

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MINNEAPOLIS (9/29/01) -- Ben Paul (So., St. Paul, Minn./Johnson HS) rushed for 131 yards and two touchdowns, and Augsburg College scored its first shutout victory in three seasons on Saturday, as the Auggies blanked previously unbeaten St. Olaf College 20-0 in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football game at Augsburg's Edor Nelson Field.

Paul scored a 12-yard touchdown just before halftime, then weaved his way through the St. Olaf defense for a 47-yard score early in the third quarter, as the Auggies rushed for 223 yards in the game. Paul had 131 yards on 18 carries, while T.J. Bramwell (Jr., Tomah, Wis.) rushed for 91 yards on 18 carries, including a five-yard touchdown midway through the third period.

Augsburg improved to 2-2 overall and 2-1 in the MIAC, while St. Olaf dropped to 3-1 overall and 2-1 in the MIAC.

Augsburg took advantage of six St. Olaf turnovers -- four fumbles and two interceptions -- and dominated virtually every offensive category. Augsburg held the ball for 36 minutes, 27 seconds compared to St. Olaf's 22:37. Augsburg had 22 first downs to St. Olaf's 11, and the Auggies had 90 plays to St. Olaf's 68. St. Olaf could only convert three of 17 third-down attempts and one of three fourth-down attempts, compared to Augsburg's nine-of-21 third-down conversions and one-of-four fourth-down conversions. In all, Augsburg outgained St. Olaf by a 378-193 margin.

The win was Augsburg's first shutout victory since a 25-0 win over Concordia-Moorhead at the Metrodome on Nov. 13, 1998, and the second shutout win over St. Olaf in the last five seasons. Augsburg blanked St. Olaf 42-0 on Sept. 27, 1997 at Augsburg.

Augsburg defenders sacked St. Olaf quarterback Brian Senske (So., Apple Valley, Minn.) five times and limited the Ole offense to just 151 yards of passing and 42 rushing yards in the game. Manuel Spreigl (Sr., South St. Paul, Minn.), who had 199 yards and three touchdowns in last season's 28-6 win over Augsburg, was limited to just 31 rushing yards on 14 carries during Saturday's game.

Kyle Koch (Jr., Austin, Minn.) had two sacks and 3.5 sackles (one solo). Scott Archambault (Sr., Faribault, Minn.) led the Auggies with eight tackles (three solo) and a sack. Adam Leiter (Jr., Coon Rapids, Minn./Blaine HS) had six tackles (two solo), and Luke Wittrock (Sr., Boone, Iowa) had 5.5 tackles (two solo) and an interception. Mitch Theisen (Sr., Waverly, Minn./Buffalo HS) also had 5.5 tackles (three solo), including a tackle for loss.

Augsburg scored its first touchdown just before halftime, when Rich Nelson (Jr., Eagan, Minn.) recovered a fumbled punt return at the St. Olaf 38-yard line with 2:03 left in the half. A 26-yard pass from Auggie quarterback Dave Fransen (Jr., Farmington, Minn.) to Sammy Gross (Jr., Springfield, Minn.) put the ball at the Augsburg 12, and Paul did the rest with a 12-yard score with 14 seconds left.

Paul scored his second touchdown at the 11:33 mark of the third quarter, as he meandered 47 yards on the first play of an Auggie drive. Cory Dingels (Sr., Gibbon, Minn./Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop HS) blocked the extra-attempt to make the score 13-0 in favor of the Auggies. Augsburg's next drive also resulted in a score, after Larry Lyden (Sr., New Brighton, Minn./Irondale HS) picked off a Senske pass at the St. Olaf 45. Seven plays later, Bramwell scored his third touchdown of the season on a five-yard rumble to cap the scoring for the Auggies.

St. Olaf entered Augsburg territory on just eight of its 18 drives, but could only penetrate the "red zone" -- inside the Augsburg 20 -- just twice, turning the ball over on downs both times, once in the second quarter at the Augsburg 14 and the other in the third quarter on the Augsburg 21. St. Olaf also turned the ball over on downs in the closing minutes at the Augsburg 42.

Sammy Gross (Jr., Springfield, Minn.) led the Auggies with 59 receiving yards on five catches, while Mark Johnson (Sr., Hastings, Minn.) had 52 receiving yards on five catches. Fransen completed 19 of 39 passes for 155 yards and just one interception.

Senske completed 17 of 41 passes for 151 yards for the Oles. Dan Meyers (Jr., Cannon Falls, Minn.) had 10 tackles (six solo), including two tackles for loss for St. Olaf, while Shane Vatland (Sr., Mabel, Minn./Mabel-Canton HS) also had 10 tackles (seven solo). Matt Lafferty (Jr., Apple Valley, Minn.) notched eight tackles (one solo).

Both teams return to action next Saturday (10/6) at 1 p.m. in MIAC play, Augsburg traveling to St. Thomas and St. Olaf hosting Bethel.

THE GAME: The Augsburg College Auggies (1-2 overall, 1-1 MIAC) host the St. Olaf College Oles (3-0 overall, 2-0 MIAC) in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football game on Saturday, Sept. 29 at 1 p.m., at Edor Nelson Field (2,000 capacity) in Minneapolis, Minn.

COACHES: Augsburg head coach Jack Osberg (Augsburg '62) is in his 11th season and currently has a 50-54 career mark. St. Olaf head coach Paul Miller (Minnesota-Morris '72) is in his fifth season at St. Olaf and has a 17-26 career mark.

RADIO: The remainder of Augsburg's football schedule will be broadcast on WLKX-FM 95.9, "Spirit 95" of Forest Lake, Minn. Tom Witschen will handle the play-by-play, with Russ Bohaty on analysis. Auggie games are also cybercast on the Internet (through SportsJuice.com) by going to this link: http://www.augsburg.edu/athletics/liveaudio/. St. Olaf radio will be on KDHL-AM 920, with Mike Morrissey and Gordy Kosfeld on the call.

LAST WEEK: Augsburg lost its home opener, 48-14, to St. John's last Saturday, while St. Olaf remained unbeaten at 3-0 with a 33-12 win over Hamline last Saturday in Northfield, Minn.

SERIES: This is the 44th meeting in the all-time series between Augsburg and St. Olaf, a series the Oles lead 32-11. Until last season's 40-7 loss in Northfield, the Auggies had won three games in a row in the series -- 42-0 in 1997, 31-24 in 1998 and 30-27 in 1999. Augsburg and St. Olaf have played every season since St. Olaf rejoined the MIAC in 1975. The team's first meeting, a 26-0 win in 1926, was the first-ever game for Augsburg's fledgling football program.

LAST YEAR: Manuel Spreigl rushed for 199 yards and three touchdowns Saturday, leading host St. Olaf to a dominating 28-6 victory over Augsburg on Sept. 30, 2000 at Manitou Field. The Oles dominated in nearly every facet of the game to claim the win and break a three-season losing streak to the Auggies. St. Olaf outgained the Auggies by a 341-216-yard margin, including 213 rushing yards to Augsburg's 67.

Two of Spreigl's touchdowns capped long scoring drives for the Oles in the first half, as they held the ball for 37 minutes, 25 seconds and 70 plays to Augsburg's 22:35 and 59 plays. Spreigl's first touchdown, a 1-yard run with 6:45 to play in the first quarter, capped a 13-play, 75 yard, 6:15 drive; his second score, a 6-yard run at the 2:36 mark of the second quarter, ended a 12-play, 51-yard, 6:23 drive. Spreigl's final touchdown, a 67-yard run with 3:15 remaining in the third quarter, broke the game wide open in favor of the Oles. The Oles' other score came on a 40-yard pass from Brian Senske to Steve Ryan at the 5:47 mark of the third period. Augsburg could manage just two field goals from Matt Van Alstine, a career-best 46-yarder to close the first half, and a 30-yarder early in the fourth period.

Spreigl had 199 rushing yards on 24 carries, accounting for all but 14 of St. Olaf's rushing yards. Senske completed nine of 14 passes for 128 yards, including four passes
for 68 yards to Ryan. The Oles took advantage of outstanding field position in the first half to build a 14-3 halftime advantage. St. Olaf's average field-position start in the first half was at its own 45-yard line; in comparison, Augsburg averaged a start at its own 19 in the first half, including two drives starting inside the Augsburg 6-yard line.

Paul Tetzloff completed 15 of 29 passes for 149 yards to lead the Auggies. Brian Warden had 14 carries for 64 yards, and Mark Johnson had four recpetions for 61 yards. Brent Peroutka led the Auggies with 11 tackles (three solo), while Larry Lyden had nine tackles (four solo) and Kurt Werk had eight (five solo). Andy Howard led the Auggies with two sacks. Matt Lafferty had 11 tackles (four solo) for the Oles, while James Struble sacked Augsburg quarterbacks twice.

THE INJURY REPORT: Augsburg football received a stunning injury blow when senior strong safety Shane Gunderson (Sr., Faribault, Minn.) was sidelined with a broken ankle during practice last week. He missed Saturday's loss to St. John's, and is expected to miss between four to six weeks depending on how the ankle heals, said head coach Jack Osberg. Senior quarterback Johnny Goodale (Sr., Buffalo, Minn.), who was expected to start the season as the Auggies' top signal-caller, missed the first two games of the season due to a high ankle sprain suffered in the team's intrasquad preseason scrimmage. He returned to practice last week, though junior Dave Fransen (Jr., Farmington, Minn.) will get his fourth start of the season this week, Osberg said.

SCOUTING THE AUGGIES: Drew Gibson caught three touchdown passes and St. John's quarterbacks threw for five touchdowns last Saturday, as the Johnnies gained their first victory of the season with a 48-14 triumph over host Augsburg. The game marked the rededication of Augsburg's Edor Nelson Field, renamed in honor of the legendary former coach of the Auggies (1947-69), but the visitors spoiled the Auggies celebration.

Playing in a thunderstorm and a strong wind from the east, the Johnnies put together 327 yards of total offense. Augsburg turned the ball over three times, had two punts blocked and were forced to punt nine times in the game. The Auggies had just 260 yards of total offense, though the hosts held the time-of-possession advantage by nearly four minutes. St. John's scored on five of their nine first-half drives.

Augsburg had tied the game at 7-7, after taking advantage of a Johnnie punt blocked by Augsburg's Mitch Theisen (Sr., Waverly, Minn./Buffalo HS). Mark Johnson (Sr., Hastings, Minn.) caught his sixth touchdown of the season from Dave Fransen (Jr., Farmington, Minn.) on a five-yard pass play. Augsburg's Fransen completed just 15 of 35 passes for 181 yards. Johnson's 65 yards on four receptions led the Auggies. T.J. Bramwell (Jr., Tomah, Wis.) rushed for 56 yards on 15 carries and caught four passes for 41 yards.

Augsburg's defense was led by Theisen's eight tackles (six solo), including two for loss and a blocked kick. Scott Archambault (Sr., Faribault, Minn.) had 6.5 tackles (three solo) and Dave Sherry (Sr., Hastings, Minn.) had two sacks. Matt Chappuis (Sr., Faribault, Minn.) had a sack and a block of an extra-point attempt.

MARK JOHNSON NATIONALLY RANKED AS A RECEIVER: It has been a great start to the season for Augsburg wide receiver Mark Johnson (Sr., Hastings, Minn.), who is rated among the national leaders in several categories among NCAA Division III wide receivers. Johnson is ranked 22nd in the nation in receiving yards per game (122.0) and 16th in scoring (12.0 points per game). Among MIAC wide receivers, Johnson leads the conference in scoring (15.0 points per game), is fourth in receptions per game (6.0 per game in league play), second in receiving yardage per game (146.0 yards) and fifth in all-purpose yards (144.0).

St. Olaf's Steve Ryan (Sr., South St. Paul, Minn.) is ranked 25th among NCAA Division III receivers in receptions per game (7.3 average), sixth in receiving yardage per game (159.3) and 23rd in all-purpose yardage per game (167.3).

AUGSBURG'S HOME, ARTIFICIAL TURF RECORD: Augsburg is the lone MIAC school (and one of just four in Minnesota) to have an artificial-turf playing surface for football. At Edor Nelson Field, affectionately known as "The Cage" by Auggies, Augsburg has put together at 26-22 record in head coach Jack Osberg's tenure (since 1991). Since the field opened in 1984, Augsburg is 29-49-1 at home. On artificial turf (including games at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome and Fargo, N.D., Fargodome), Augsburg is 33-26 since 1991 and 36-57-1 since 1984.

AUGGIES RETURN TO THE RADIO: Augsburg football has returned to the airwaves for the rest of the 2001 football season. Today's game is being broadcast live on WLKX-FM 95.9, "Spirit 95.9" of Forest Lake, Minn., with Auggie radio veterans Tom Witschen and Russ Bohaty on the call. All remaining Auggie games will be broadcast live on the station, which reaches well throughout the northern Twin Cities area. Witschen and Bohaty also broadcast the North Metro High School Football Game of the Week on Spirit 95.9 every Friday night.

If you live in an area where you can't hear the station, you can still listen to the games on your computer. Set your Internet browser to Augsburg's official athletic webpage -- www.augsburg.edu/athletics/ -- and click on the "Live Audio" link. Thanks to Augsburg's arrangement with www.sportsjuice.com, you will be able to hear selected Auggie sporting events, including the football season, around the world on the Internet.

SCOUTING THE OLES: Much like Augsburg's rise to MIAC prominence in the mid-1990s, the St. Olaf Oles have made the slow progression up the ladder in the conference standings, all leading to this year's strong 3-0 start to the season. Last year, head coach Paul Miller's Oles finished 7-3, St. Olaf's first winning season since 1990.

Perhaps the biggest win in Miller's five seasons at St. Olaf came in the conference opener on Sept. 15, when the Oles rallied for a 31-28 win at defending national runner-up St. John's. The Oles opened the game with a 14-0 run, behind an 80-yard scoring reception from Steve Ryan (Sr., South St. Paul, Minn.) and a Keith Clausen (Sr., Pierson, Iowa) two-yard TD catch. But the Oles had to rally back twice on touchdowns by Manuel Spriegl (Sr., South St. Paul, Minn.) and Ryan, setting the stage for Sean Koomen's (So., Mankato, Minn.) game-winning, 22-yard field goal with 41 seconds left in the contest.

Last week, it took the Oles two days to complete a 33-12 home win over Hamline, thanks to Mother Nature. A severe thunderstorm forced a stoppage of play midway through the second quarter on Saturday, and the game was postponed to Sunday morning with the score tied at 6-6. But Sunday was all Oles, as Ryan caught a 62-yard scoring strike, Brian Sprout (Sr., Lake City, Minn.) caught a 13-yard touchdown pass and Ryan and Spriegel scored their second touchdowns each of the game.

The Oles poured on 406 yards of total offense compared to Hamline's 234. Ryan, the MIAC's Most Valuable Player last season, caught eight passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns, and Spriegel carried the ball 21 times for 89 yards.

Perhaps the most difficult news for the Oles came earlier, when Joe Hammond (Sr., Neillsville, Wis.), who was the Oles' starting quarterback, was sidelined with a wrist injury. He is expected to miss at least four weeks. However, Brian Senske (So., Apple Valley, Minn.) has been outstanding in Hammond's place. He threw for 253 yards and three TDs against Hamline.

NEXT WEEK: Augsburg travels to O'Shaughnessy Stadium in St. Paul for its next contest on Oct. 6, facing the St. Thomas Tommies at 1 p.m. St. Olaf returns home to Northfield next Saturday, hosting Bethel in a key MIAC contest at 1 p.m.

AUGSBURG TWO-DEEP ROSTER -- DEFENSE
DE -- 71-Dave Sherry (Sr., 6-1, 230), 91-Nate Bremseth (Jr., 6-3, 225)
DT -- 52-Kyle Koch (Jr., 6-0, 245), 96-Sam Harmer (So., 6-1, 225)
DT -- 54-Matt Chappuis (Sr., 6-2, 275), 94-Chike Ochiagha (Fr., 5-10, 245)
DE -- 47-Joe Cullen (Fr., 6-0, 210), 98-Derek Kuhlman (Jr., 6-2, 235)
SLB -- 32-Scott Archambault (Sr., 6-0, 210), 29-Brandon Fox (So., 6-2, 205)
MLB -- 40-Mitch Theisen (Sr., 6-2, 230), 42-Andy Stephenson (Jr., 5-9, 240) OR 41-John Golnitz (Fr., 6-3, 195)
WLB -- 37-Adam Leiter (Jr., 5-10, 180), 31-Luke Wright (Sr., 6-2, 190)
CB -- 46-Luke Wittrock (Sr., 6-1, 215), 22-Andy Matzke (Fr., 6-1, 185) OR 24-Joe Holman (Jr., 5-10, 17)
SS -- 6-Chad Thorp (Sr., 6-1, 210), 3-Chad Scheitel (Jr., 5-10, 175)
FS -- 12-Brent Peroutka (Sr., 6-0, 195), 3-Chad Scheitel (Jr., 5-10, 175)
CB -- 34-Larry Lyden (Sr., 5-11, 200), 21-Andy Peper (Jr., 5-11, 175)

ST. OLAF TWO-DEEP ROSTER -- OFFENSE
LT -- 72-Jeff Flugum (Sr., 6-4, 275), 54-Kristof Hendrickson (So., 6-2, 215)
LG -- 67-Jake Landsteiner (Sr., 6-1, 260), 64-Alain Vallet-Sandre (Fr., 6-1, 235)
C -- 75-Rob Ward (Sr., 6-0, 240), 57-Charlie Krois (Fr., 6-0, 220)
RG -- 69-Matt Keller (Sr., 6-5, 275), 66-Max Bunge (Fr., 6-3, 255)
RT -- 78-Tilman Achberger (So., 6-7, 285), 58-Paden Hendrickson (Sr., 6-5, 245)
TE -- 85-Marc Davies (Sr., 6-4, 255), 81-Andy Bernard (So., 6-5, 210)
SE -- 11-Steve Ryan (Sr., 6-2, 185), 6-Jake Rath (Sr., 5-10, 170)
FL -- 18-Brian Sprout (Sr., 6-3, 195), 7-Neal Olson (Jr., 6-2, 185)
TB -- 21-Manuel Spreigl (Sr., 6-2, 170), 9-Jay Larsen (Sr., 5-10, 218), 20-Tim Baer (Jr., 5-11, 205)
FB -- 41-Kevin Clausen (Sr., 5-11, 215), 42-Dennis Wambach (So., 6-0, 195), 45-Cordell Hunkins (Sr., 6-2, 235)
QB -- 3-Brian Senske (So., 6-4, 210), 4-Jeff Schmidt (Jr., 6-2, 210), 10-Nate Julson (Fr., 5-11, 180)

AUGSBURG TWO-DEEP ROSTER -- OFFENSE
LT -- 77-Jesse Naughton (Jr., 6-4, 240), 75-Mike Davies (So., 6-2, 250)
LG -- 74-Brandon Ward (Sr., 6-2, 280), 76-Luke Smith (So., 5-11, 320)
C -- 59-Rich Nelson (Jr., 6-3, 220), 63-Bob Eckstrom (Jr., 6-0, 295)
RG -- 56-Bradley Motl (Jr., 5-11, 250) OR 57-Lincoln Langhorst (Jr., 5-10, 255), 72-Nate Savola (So., 5-11, 250)
RT -- 79-Nate Anderson (So., 6-4, 235), 78-James Brue (Jr., 6-3, 275)
TE -- 82-Tony Warren (Jr., 6-3, 220), 95-Matt Quale (Fr., 6-3, 210)
WR -- 4-Sammy Gross (Jr., 5-10, 170), 2-Jamie Smith (Jr., 5-9, 175)
WR -- 28-Mark Johnson (Sr., 5-11, 200), 5-Jon Boeck (Jr., 5-10, 165)
RB -- 44-T.J. Bramwell (Jr., 5-10, 185), 20-Chris Boyer (So., 5-11, 180)
RB -- 27-Ben Paul (So., 6-2, 205), 48-Nate Moore (Jr., 6-0, 170)
QB -- 14-Dave Fransen (Jr., 6-4, 195), 8-Johnny Goodale (Sr., 5-11, 175), 7-John Tieben (Jr., 6-1, 185)

ST. OLAF TWO-DEEP ROSTER -- DEFENSE
DE -- 89-Mike Hoagberg (Sr., 6-4, 240), 92-Dusty Powers (So., 6-2, 235)
NG -- 77-Courtney Moseman (Sr., 6-4, 255), 98-Shane Tretsven (Sr., 6-1, 230), 56-Pete Zupfer (So., 6-1, 230)
DE -- 87-James Struble (Sr., 6-4, 265), 94-Jared Moen (Fr., 6-8, 230), 54-Kristoff Hendrickson (So., 6-2, 215)
RZ -- 44-Shane Vatland (Sr., 6-1, 200), 22-Brad Baglien (Fr., 6-0, 185)
SLB -- 47-Dave Bussellman (So., 6-3, 225), 14-Matt Bucka (Fr., 6-2, 195)
MLB -- 51-Matt Lafferty (Jr., 6-3, 235), 53-Darren Best (Sr., 5-11, 210)
GLB -- 2-Bill Germscheid (So., 6-1, 215), 59-Decker Walker (So., 6-3, 205)
SS -- 38-Dan Meyers (Jr., 5-11, 200), 13-Owen Buckmaster (So., 5-11, 180)
FS -- 15-Chad Thomas (Jr., 6-0, 190), 46-Jesse Sabean (Fr., 6-2, 180)
CB -- 35-Cory Dingels (Sr., 6-4, 190), 27-Doug Wolgamot (Sr., 5-10, 180)
CB -- 17-Matt Hofkens (Jr., 6-2, 175), 43-David Chapman (Fr., 6-1, 180)

AUGSBURG SPECIALISTS
K -- 1-Tim Mauseth (Sr., 5-10, 170), 92-Mike Pontius (Sr., 5-9, 175)
P -- 12-Brent Peroutka (Sr., 6-0, 195), 41-John Golnitz (Fr., 6-3, 195)
LS -- 59-Rich Nelson (Jr., 6-3, 220)
H -- 14-Dave Fransen (Jr., 6-4, 195), 15-Dan Resch (Fr., 5-11, 170)
KR -- 5-Jon Boeck (Jr., 5-10, 165), 48-Nate Moore (Jr., 6-0, 170), 44-T.J. Bramwell (Jr., 5-10, 185), 2-Jamie Smith (Jr., 5-9, 175)
PR -- 2-Jamie Smith (Jr., 5-9, 175), 12-Brent Peroutka (Sr., 6-0, 195)

ST. OLAF SPECIALISTS
K -- 26-Sean Koomen (So., 6-0, 175), 29-Nate Johnson (Fr., 6-2, 180)
P -- 29-Nate Johnson (Fr., 6-2, 180), 26-Sean Koomen (So., 6-0, 175)
LS -- 72-Jeff Flugum (Sr., 6-4, 275), 78-Tilman Achberger (So., 6-7, 285)
H -- 4-Jeff Schmidt (Jr., 6-2, 210), 6-Jake Rath (Sr., 5-10, 170)