MIAC Roundup: Hamline breaks victory drought; Johnnies go 10-0

Justice Spriggs finished the day Saturday as Hamline’s all time passing leader with 7,487 yards after he threw for 307 yards and three touchdowns against Augsburg. The victory was the Pipers’ first of the season. (hamlineathletics.com)

MIAC standings

St. John’s 8-0 10-0
Bethel 7-1 9-1
St. Thomas 6-2 8-21
Gustavus 5-3 6-4
Concordia 4-4 5-5
St. Olaf 3-5 5-5
Carleton 2-6 3-7
Hamline 1-7 1-9
Augsburg 0-8 2-8

MIAC SCOREBOARD
Saturday

  • Bethel 21, St. Thomas 15
  • Concordia 51, Carleton 14
  • St. John’s 63, Thomas More 23
  • Hamline 27, Augsburg 9
  • Gustavus 29, St. Olaf 20
  • END OF REGULAR SEASON

Quarterback Justice Spriggs passed for 307 yards and three touchdowns, with Harrison Jones catching 13 of his throws for 196 yards and two touchdowns, to lead Hamline (1-7 MIAC, 1-9 overall) to a season-ending 27-9 victory over Augsburg (0-8, 2-8) on a cold snowy Saturday in St. Paul.

Spriggs, a senior, finished his run at Hamline as the school’s all-time leader in passing yards (7,487), total yardage (7,610) and touchdown passes.

Hamline took a 7-3 lead at halftime when Spriggs finished a 75-yard drive with an 8-yard scoring pass to Tanner Lunceford with 10:55 to play in the second quarter. Spriggs and Jones hooked up on touchdown passes of 29 yards and 12 yards in the second half to give Hamline a 20-3 lead.

Augsburg cut the lead to 20-10 with 6:31 to play in the fourth quarter on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Chad Costello to Nick Heenie. Brandon Miller capped the scoring with 1:23 to play, running the ball in from 7 yards out.

Adan Rodriguez led the Hamline defense with 11 tackles. Fellow senior Noah Jacobson recorded 10 tackles. Luke Trudell. with eight tackles against Augsburg, finished the season with 116 takedowns to lead the conference.

St. John’s quarterback Jackson Erdmann lines up a pass Saturday against Thomas More (Ky.). Next stop for Erdmann and the Johnnies will be the NCAA D3 playoffs. (gojohnnies.com)

St. John’s 63, Thomas More 23

Quarterback Jackson Erdmann set a St. John’s record by passing for seven touchdowns, six in the first half, to lead the playoff bound Johnnies to non-conference victory over Thomas More of Kentucky (7-3) at Collegeville.

Erdmann was on target for his first 13 passes and completed 18 of 23 for 255 yards on the afternoon. Wide receiver Will Gillach caught four of Erdmann’s touchdown passes among his nine receptions for 167 yards.

St. John’s, ranked fourth among NCAA Division III teams, finished at 10-0 for the 22nd time. The Johnnies will learn who they will play in the first round of the postseason on Sunday.

Erdmann has thrown 34 touchdown passes this season with five interceptions. He has not thrown an interception since St. Thomas’ David Dunhauer picked him off on Oct. 13.

Gustavus 29, St. Olaf 20

Quarterback Michael Veldman connected with Brice Panning on two long touchdown passes in the second half to lead Gustavus (5-3, 6-4) to the victory at Northfield.

After Veldman and Panning combined for 33 yards and a touchdown midway through the third quarter, the Gusties took a 22-14 lead into the fourth quarter. St. Olaf’s Khayleb Willis dashed 71 yards down the right sideline to make it 22-20.

On third and six with 5:12 to play, Veldman and Panning combined for a 71-yard catch and run to give Gustavus its nine-point winning margin.

Veldman completed 29 of 51 passes for 367 yards and three touchdowns. Panning caught six passes for 162 yards. Ellis

Gustavus overcame Willis’ best day as an Ole with 24 carries for 166 yards. First-year wide receiver Gabe Alada caught six passes for 115 yards and a touchdown for St. Olaf (3-5, 5-5). Ole quarterback Ricardo Williams III completed 16 of 37 passes for 202 yards.

Concordia 51, Carleton 14

Dane Ringquist rushed for 96 yards on 20 carries with two touchdowns as Concordia (4-4, 5-5) piled up 401 rushing yards to cruise past Carleton 2-6, 3-7) at Moorhead. Cobber quarterback Blake Kragnes threw a mere five passes and was intercepted once, but he joined the rushing parade with 68 yards on seven carries, including a 28-yard touchdown run with 12:34 to play in the first quarter.

In all, 13 Concordia players rushed from scrimmage 71 times, and seven Cobbers scored touchdowns. The Concordia defense held Carleton to two yards rishing and 76 yards total.