Concordia (6-1 MIAC, 7-2 overall) found itself behind by a touchdown twice in the early going against St. Olaf at Northfield before Cobbers quarterback Michael Herzog stepped on the gas. Herzog turned a 14-13 halftime lead into a 42-13 rout with touchdown runs of 29 yards and 11 yards, to go with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Chad Johnson, his third score of the game.
MIAC STANDINGS
| St. Thomas | 7-0 | 9-0 |
| St. John’s | 6-1 | 8-1 |
| Concordia | 6-1 | 7-2 |
| Bethel | 4-3 | 4-5 |
| Hamline | 3-4 | 5-4 |
| Gustavus | 2-5 | 4-5 |
| Augsburg | 2-5 | 2-7 |
| St. Olaf | 1-6 | 2-7 |
| Carleton | 1-6 | 1-8 |
MIAC SCOREBOARD
- St. Thomas 40, Gustavus 6
- Concordia 42, St. Olaf 13
- St. John’s 42, Hamline 6
- Bethel 62, Augsburg 27
NEXT WEEK
- St. Olaf at St. Thomas
- St. John’s at Concordia
- Bethel at Hamline
- Gustavus at Carleton
The victory sets up a showdown next Saturday at St. John’s for a potential NCAA Division III playoff spot. Both teams have one loss in the conference, although St. John’s is 8-1 overall.
St. Olaf (1-6, 2-7) drove the opening kickoff 49 yards and took a 7-0 lead on Khayleb Willis’ 2-yard run. Johnson scored from a yard out to tie it with 1:30 to go in the first quarter, but Willis broke a 67-yard run to put the Oles back on top.
Johnson ran it in from three yards out to give Concordia the one-point lead at the break.
Treyton Austvold returned an interception 35 yards for Concordia’s final score.
Herzog hit 13 of 17 passes for 111 yards, and ran 14 times for 112 yards. Johnson rushed 19 times for 116 yards. Willis finished with 83 yards on seven carries.
St. John’s 42, Hamline 6
Dusty Krueger ran for four touchdowns as St. John’s (6-1, 8-1) went to its ground game for the home victory over the Pipers (3-4, 5-4). The Johnnies amassed 348 yards rushing while holding Hamline to minus-40 rushing yards.
As it has in most of its games this season, Hamline hung in with the Johnnies for the first half. Krueger put St. John’s up 7-0 with a 4-yard run 5 minutes into the game, but Justice Spriggs answered at the 4:14 mark with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Nick Kampa, making it 7-6. Krueger caught a 34-yard touchdown pass from Jackson Erdmann with 22 seconds to go in the first half to give the Johnnies a 14-6 lead at the break.
St. John’s broke it opein in the third quarter, with Krueger running 49 yards to score, and Ben Alvord adding a 27-yard touchdown run. Evan Clark and Krueger added rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
Spriggs, who leads the MIAC with 264 yards passing a game, was held to 119 yards on 19 completions in 30 attempts. He was intercepted once and sacked eight times.
Krueger finished with 97 yards on 12 carries, and Alvord gained 94 yards on 9 tries.
Bethel 62, Augsburg 27
Gunnar Bloom ran for 188 yards and two touchdowns, and Jake Marsh passed for 217 yards and three touchdowns as Bethel (4-3, 4-5) amassed 534 yards of offense against Augsburg (2-5, 2-7) at Minneapolis. Brady Bomsta also ran for two scores for the Royals. Dawson Brown, Brett Norling and Philip Amundson intercepted passes for Bethel.