Gophers

St. Thomas tops MIAC again; St. Olaf shocks Bethel

November 4, 2012 at 1:38PM

St. Thomas clinched its third consecutive MIAC title with a 21-7 victory over Concordia (Moorhead) in Moorhead on Saturday.

The Tommies (9-0, 7-0 MIAC), who earned their 33rd consecutive regular-season victory and 26th consecutive MIAC victory, close out the regular season next Saturday at home against St. Olaf.

Matt O'Connell passed for 217 yards and two TDs and rushed for 80 yards to lead the Tommies.

O'Connell's second TD pass came with 14 seconds left in the first half. The 9-yard pass to Logan Marks capped a 64-yard, nine-play drive and put St. Thomas up 14-0.

Brandon Braddock's 9-yard TD run midway through the third quarter gave the Tommies a 20-0 lead.

Bret Baune, who rushed for 89 yards, scored on a 2-yard run in the fourth quarter for the Cobbers (7-2, 5-2), who close out the regular season at Gustavus.

St. Olaf 24, Bethel 17: Dan Dobson's 30-yard TD pass to Jake Schmiesing with 3:22 remaining broke a 17-17 tie and lifted the host Oles to the victory over the Royals.

The TD pass -- Dobson's third of the game -- came just a minute after the Oles had tied the game on a 32-yard field goal by Lucas Wainman. Cody Hedstrom recovered a Royals fumble of the kickoff return to give the Oles the ball at the Bethel 30-yard line.

The Oles defense limited the Royals to 157 yards in offense and eight first downs.

St. John's 55, Hamline 10: Jake Essler rushed for two TDs and St. John's held Hamline to just 157 yards total offense for the victory in St. Paul.

Despite having four turnovers, the Johnnies (5-4, 3-4 MIAC) ensured they will keep their streak going of not have a losing season since 1967 by scoring 41 consecutive points (to take a 48-3 lead).

Gustavus Adolphus 41, Carleton 27: Jeffrey Dubose rushed for 143 yards and three TDs and caught a 31-yard TD pass to lead the Gusties in Northfield.

Augsburg 58, Macalester 41: The Auggies rallied from a 20-0 first-quarter deficit for a nonconference victory in St. Paul. Ayrton Scott ran for 167 yards and two TDs and passed for 236 yards and four scores to lead the Auggies (6-3), who scored 34 points in the second quarter to take a 34-27 halftime lead. Clark Bledsoe passed for 298 yards and three TDs for the Scots (5-4).