Football 11/2/02 -- Bethel 29, Augsburg 22

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MINNEAPOLIS (11/2/02) -- Bethel College scored two touchdowns in the final 1:13, including a 24-yard, lob pass from A.J. Parnell (Fr., Kirland, Wash./Juanita HS) to Jeff Lehn (Jr., Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View HS) with 18 seconds remaining, giving the Royals a 29-22 win over host Augsburg College in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football game Saturday afternoon at Edor Nelson Field.

Augsburg had taken a 22-15 lead on a four-yard pass from Dave Fransen (Sr., Farmington, Minn.) to tight end Tony Warren (Sr., Brainerd, Minn.), and a two-point conversion pass from Fransen to Yarzue Slowon (So., Crystal, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong HS) with 6:01 left.

But after the teams traded punts on subsequent drives, Bethel drove the ball 60 yards in six plays, cutting the game to 22-21 when Mike Johnson (Sr., Pine City, Minn.) scored his second touchdown of the fourth quarter on a two-yard plunge with 1:13 left.

Augsburg appeared to clinch the game on the point-after kick attempt, when lineman Sam Harmer (Jr., Silver Bay, Minn./Kelley HS) drove up the middle to block the kick by Paul Tschetter (Jr., Brookings, S.D.).

But the Royals recovered an onside kick at their own 47, and drove 53 yards in 55 seconds to claim the game-winning touchdown. Parnell completed a 13-yard pass, threw an incompletion, then was flushed out of the pocket and gained seven yards on a run to the Augsburg 33 with 43 seconds left. After a third-down, nine-yard gain by Johnson for a first down to the Augsburg 24 with under 30 seconds left, Parnell rolled to his right, finding Lehn on a jump-ball play in the front corner of the end zone. Parnell threw a conversion pass to Nate Merritt (Sr., Pleasanton, Calif./Amador Valley HS) for the final margin.

Augsburg got the ball back at their own 17-yard line, but Jon Foss (Sr., Hinton, Iowa) sacked Fransen, and on the final pass, the Auggies could only reach midfield as time expired.

Bethel improved to 5-4 overall and 5-2 in the MIAC, winning its fourth straight game. Augsburg drops to 2-7 overall and 1-6 in the MIAC, falling in its fourth straight contest.

Augsburg outgained Bethel by a 386-361 margin and held the ball for 13 minutes longer -- 36:29 to 23:31. But the Auggies turned the ball over twice on interceptions and had two punts blocked in the contest.

The Auggies surprised the Royals by scoring twice in the first quarter, taking advantage of two fumbles on Bethel's first three drives. After the Royals' second fumble gave the Auggies the ball on the Bethel 35, T.J. Bramwell (Sr., Tomah, Wis.) scored nine plays later on a three-yard touchdown with 6:45 left. On Augsburg's next drive, Fransen completed a 47-yard scoring pass to Slowon to put the Auggies ahead 14-0.

Bramwell ended up with more than a third of Augsburg's offense, gaining 133 yards on 37 carries. His 37 carries fell one short of the school's single-game record, 38 by Hugh Weathers in a 1981 game. It was Bramwell's second 100-plus-yard rushing game of the season.

Meanwhile, Fransen completed 20-of-31 passes for 261 yards, including 147 yards to Slowon on seven receptions -- his second time eclipsing the century mark in receiving in his career. Luke Wright  (Sr., Faribault, Minn.) caught seven passes for 79 yards.

In the second quarter, Augsburg's defense held firm on a 10-play, 67-yard Bethel drive, stopping the Royals at the Augsburg one-yard line on a fourth-down rushing play. But when the Royals faced another fourth-and-goal play at the Augsburg 1 on their next drive, Royal quarterback Parnell pulled out for a pass, lobbing the ball to Merritt for a one-yard score.

A 27-yard field goal by Tschetter, his first field goal of the season, cut the advantage to 14-9 at halftime.

Parnell threw for 219 yards, completing 17-of-29 passes. John Kilde (Jr., Fergus Falls, Minn./Hillcrest Lutheran HS) caught eight passes for 111 yards. Johnson, who came into the game averaging 105.5 yards rushing per game, was limited to 68 yards on 24 carries against the Auggies.

Near the end of a scoreless third quarter, Bethel got the ball in good field position, when the snap was fumbled on Augsburg's first field-goal attempt of the season, giving the Royals good field position at the Augsburg 36. But the Royals couldn't convert, giving the Auggies the ball at its own 29.

However, the Royals got the ball in good field position again, when a punt was blocked by Scott Wessman (Jr., Urbandale, Iowa/Johnston HS), giving the Royals the ball at the Augsburg 25. Four plays later, Johnson scored his first TD of the fourth quarter, on a two-yard run. A two-point pass attempt failed on an interception, giving the Royals a 15-14 lead with 10:12 left.

Augsburg drove the ball 67 yards in nine plays on the next drive, capping it with Fransen's go-ahead, 4-yard TD pass to Warren with 6:01 left.

Foss led the Royals with 22 tackles (seven solo), including four tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Matt Wassink (Jr., Alton, Iowa/MOC-Floyd Valley HS) had 20 tackles (three solo), including three tackles for loss and a sack. Sam Lacy (Sr., Lewisville, Texas) had 12 tackles (five solo), and Jeremy Sather (So., Willmar, Minn.) and Josh Kurtz (Jr., Becker, Minn.) had interceptions for the Royals.

Augsburg's defense was led by Mitch Theisen (Sr., Waverly, Minn./Buffalo HS), who had 13 tackles (six solo) and a sack. John Golnitz (So., Green Bay, Wis./Preble HS) had eight tackles (four solo).

Both teams finish their seasons with games at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, as part of the MIAC Metrodome Showcase. Augsburg plays Hamline on Thursday (11/7) at 5 p.m., and Bethel plays league-leader St. John's on Friday (11/8) at 8 p.m.

Football 11/2/02 -- Bethel at Augsburg Game Notes

THE GAME: The Augsburg College Auggies (2-6 overall, 1-5 MIAC) host the Bethel College Royals (4-4 overall, 4-2 MIAC) in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football game on Saturday, November 2 at 1 p.m., at Edor Nelson Field (capacity 2,000) in Minneapolis, Minn.

COACHES: Augsburg head coach Jack Osberg (Augsburg '62) is in his 12th season and currently has a 55-64 career mark. Bethel coach Steve Johnson (Bethel '79) is in his 14th season and has a 90-48-1 overall record.

RADIO: Augsburg games are broadcast on KCCO-AM 950, with Tom Witschen on play-by-play and Russ Bohaty on analysis. Because of broadcast restrictions, Auggie football games will not able to be cybercast on the Internet this season.

MORE AUGSBURG GAME NOTES FOR SATURDAY'S GAME -- CLICK HERE (PDF FILE)