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Oles snap three game losing streak, defeat Concordia 34-33

Mark Heinert
October 22, 2001

The St. Olaf football team ended a three game losing streak on Saturday by defeating the Concordia Cobbers by a score of 34-33, capturing the Troll Trophy for second year in a row in the annual Lefse Bowl.

St. Olaf opened the scoring with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Brian Senske (So, Apple Valley, Minn.) to Steve Ryan (Sr, South St. Paul, Minn.) with 13:53 remaining in the second quarter. The extra point was missed and the Oles led the Cobbers 6-0. Concordia came right back and scored on the ensuing possession with a one-yard touchdown run by Jeremy Hinderks (So, Renville, Minn.) to give the Cobbers a 7-6 lead with 10:22 remaining in the second quarter. St. Olaf countered back with a three-yard touchdown run by Manuel Spreigl (Sr, South St. Paul, Minn) and two-point conversion from Senske to Ryan to give the Oles a 14-7 lead at the 6:36 mark of the second quarter. Concordia would tie up the score with a five-yard touchdown run by Joel Ferrie (Sr, Moorhead, Minn.) at the 1:39 mark of the second quarter and the teams entered halftime, deadlocked at 14-14.

The Cobbers capped the opening drive of the second half with a two-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Hebrink (So, Sacred Heart, Minn.) to Raleigh Schmidt (Sr, Tracy, Minn.) with 13:17 remaining in the third quarter. The extra point was blocked, so the Cobbers held a 20-14 advantage over the Oles. The Oles struck back quickly with Senske?s second touchdown pass of the day, an 83 yard bomb to Brian Sprout (Sr, Lake City, Minn.) with 12:13 remaining in the third quarter to tie the game at 20-20 after another missed extra point. Concordia took a 27-20 lead with 12:12 remaining in the game with Hebrink?s second touchdown pass of the game, a two-yard strike to Brian Martodam (Sr, Hawley, Minn.). St. Olaf countered with Spreigl?s second touchdown run of the game, a 16-yard scamper, with 10:19 remaining in the ball game. However, the extra point was again missed and the Oles trailed 27-26. Spreigl would add his third touchdown of the game, a one-yard run, with 2:16 remaining to give the Oles the lead. Ryan caught the two-point conversion from Senske and the Oles held a 34-27 lead. Concordia then drove 65 yards in 1:20 and Hebrink threw his third touchdown pass of the game to Schmidt, a 16-yard strike, with 56 seconds remaining to cut the score to 34-33. After two time outs called by the Oles, the Cobbers elected to go for two points, but Hebrink?s pass was knocked away by Cory Dingels (Sr, Gibbon, Minn.) and the Oles held on for a 34-33 win over the Cobbers.

Both St. Olaf and Concordia had outstanding days on the offensive side of the ball. The Oles gained 168 yards rushing and 332 yards passing for 500 yards of total offense, while the Cobbers gained 329 yards rushing and 164 yards passing for 493 yards of total offense. Hebrink and Ferrie rushed for 115 and 103 yards respectively for the Cobbers, while Spreigl led the Oles with 137 yards rushing on 24 carries and three touchdowns. Hebrink completed 15 of 30 passes for 164 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions while Senske led the way for the Oles completing 12 of 19 attempts for 253 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Ryan led St. Olaf in receiving with 5 catches for 71 yards, one touchdown and two two-point conversions while his counterpart Sprout added 2 catches for 90 yards and a touchdown. Schmidt led the Cobbers in receiving with 5 catches for 45 yards and 2 touchdowns.

With the victory, St. Olaf improves to 4-3 overall (3-3 MIAC) while Concordia drops to 3-4 overall (2-4 MIAC). The Oles travel to St. Paul next Saturday to take on the Macalester Scots at 1 pm, while the Cobbers travel back to Northfield to take on the Carleton Knights at 1 pm. The Oles will take on the Knights two weeks from today on Saturday, November 3 at 1 pm in their home finale.

Contact joudy Stromayer at 507-786-3315 or stromaye@stolaf.edu.