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11/22/97 Game Summary 
by Don Stoner, Augburg SID 

FARGO, N.D. -- Augsburg College won its first-ever postseason football game, rallying from an early deficit and holding on to beat Minnesota Intercollegiate Conference rival Concordia-Moorhead 34-22 Saturday in an opening-round NCAA Division III playoff game at the Fargodome. 

The Auggies, now 10-1 overall and winners of nine games in a row, will play at Simpson College on Saturday, Nov. 29 at 12 noon at Simpson/Indianola Community Field in Indianola, Iowa. Augsburg is the No. 3 seed in the West Region. Concordia, the No. 4 seed, finishes at 8-3. No. 2-seed Simpson came from behind to edge top-seed Wisconsin-Whitewater 34-31 at Whitewater. 

Augsburg scored 27 straight points in a three-quarter stretch to build a 27-7 lead on the Cobbers, before Concordia rallied with two touchdowns and a safety to cut the lead to 27-22. But in the final minute of play, Augsburg quarterback Derrin Lamker (Sr., Golden Valley/Robbinsdale Armstrong HS) connected with wide receiver Scott Hvistendahl (Jr., Cannon Falls/Randolph HS) on a 56-yard touchdown pass to produce the final margin. 

Lamker completed 24-of-35 passes for a school-record 398 yards and three touchdowns in the contest, while Hvistendahl caught 11 passes for a school-record 237 yards and the 56-yard score. Tight end Ted Schultz (Sr., Hudson, Wis.) caught two touchdown passes from Lamker, of three and 21 yards, as part of the 27-point string. 

Running back Thane Drier (Jr., Durand, Wis.) had a one-yard score, while kicker Martin Hlinka (Jr., Bratislava, Slovakia/Farmington HS) had field goals of 32 and 34 yards. 

Drier became the second Auggie running back to gain 100 yards in a game this season, gaining 129 yards on 12 carries. Schultz cuaght five passes for 52 yards, while Tim Hamer (Jr., Lakeville) caught five passes for 83 yards. 

As a team, Augsburg produced 545 yards of total offense in the contest, compared to Concordia's 483. Concordia had 25 first downs to Augsburg's 20, while outdistancing the Auggies in time of possession by a 31-29-minute margin. 

Concordia rallied in the second half, taking advantage of a safety, a 32-yard pass from Ethan Pole (Jr., Moorhead) to Mike Rice (Jr., Billings, Mont.), the duo's second touchdown combination of the game, and a one-yard run by Len Crouse (Fr., Hazen, N.D.). Receiver Tory Langemo (Sr., Litchfield) led the Cobbers with 186 yards on 11 receptions, while Rice had 77 yards on four receptions. Pole completed 30 of 40 passes for 386 yards and two touchdowns. Dan Steinbeisser (Sr., Sidney, Mont.) led Cobber rushers with 63 yards on 10 carries. 

Augsburg safety Jake Kern (So., Faribault) captured his eighth interception of the season during the contest, while also scoring 12 tgackles in the game. Defensive back Andy Zigan (Jr., Coon Rapids) led the Auggies with 14 tackles, including seven solos. 

The Cobbers were led defensively by Eric Kragel (Sr., Clear Lake, Iowa), who had 13 tackles. Lineback er Ryan Sannes (Sr., Breckenridge) ad nine tackles and blocked a field goal attempt in the contest. 

The Cobbers lost to Augsburg 13-10 on a late Augsburg field goal Oct. 25. Now they will get a rematch with the MIAC Champions Auggies Saturday, Nov. 22 at the Fargodome at noon. 
See Also 11/17 Forum Story on Playoff Announcement 

 Augsburg football team reaches NCAA Division IIIplayoffs for first time ever, will play at Concordia 

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Augsburg College football team received a bid for the NCAA Division III National Playoffs for the first time ever, and will play against Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rival Concordia-Moorhead, after pairings were announced on Sunday morning inKansas City, Mo. 

The game will be played on Saturday, Nov. 22 at noon at the Fargodome in Fargo, N.D. Concordia-Moorhead is the host team in the contest. Augsburg (9-1) is the No. 3 seed and Concordia-Moorhead (8-2) is the No. 4 seed in the West Region in the 16-team national playoffs. 

Tickets for the NCAA game will be $5 for adults, $3 for students, no reserve seats. No college-issued passes are valid for this event. 

Augsburg is also arranging fan and alumni buses for Saturday's game. Bus cost is $20 and the buses will leave Si Melby Hall at 7 a.m. on Saturday. Contact assistant coach Drew Privette at (612) 330-1242 for more information. 

This is the first trip to the national playoffs for Augsburg, which claimed the MIAC title for the first time since 1928 this season. It is Concordia's fourth trip to the national playoffs and its first since 1995. The Cobbers are 2-3 in NCAA playoff games since 1986. 

Concordia finished in a second-place tie with St. Thomas in the MIAC race; Augsburg beat Concordia 13-10 on Oct. 25 at Augsburg's Anderson-Nelson Field. 

This is the first time since 1987 that two MIAC schools have been invited to the 16-team national playoffs. In 1987, Gustavus Adolphus and St. John's made the national field. 

Elsewhere in the West Region, top seed Wisconsin-Whitewater (9-0) will host No. 2 seed Simpson College of Iowa (10-0) on Saturday. Normally, the No. 4 seed plays at the No. 1 seed and the No. 2 seed hosts the No. 3 seed, but due to travel considerations involving Concordia-Moorhead, the NCAA orchestrated the change in the pairings, according to Steve Bamford, athletic director at Plymouth State (N.H.) College and chairman of the 
Division III Football Committee. 

The winners of the two West Region games this Saturday will face each other at the high seed site on Nov. 29. National semifinals will be held on Dec. 6, with the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl (national championship game) set for Dec. 13 in Salem, Va. 

Concordia will practice from 4-6 in their Olson Forum on Campus Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. They will practice at the Fargodome on Wednesday at 6:00-8:00. 

Augsburg will practice at the Fargodome from 3:00-5:00 on Friday. They will be available to the press at the Fargodome beginning at approximately 2:30 on Friday afternoon. 

Beginning 10 minutes after completion of the game on Saturday, coaches and players will make themselves available to the press on the North end of the Fargodome field. 

If you would have asked anyone at the beginning of the season if Augsburg College's football team would still be playing on Nov. 22, you probably would have received a quizzical look.  The same look would have come your way if you would have asked if the Auggies would win the MIAC Championship. 

But they did both this season, claiming their first MIAC championship since 1928 and earning a trip to the NCAA Division III national football playoffs for the first time in school history, setting countless team and individual records in the process -- while breaking a lot of old stereotypes about Augsburg football. 

 Augsburg brings a 9-1 record into todayâs game against Concordia -- the first time in school history that an Augsburg team has won nine games in a season (the previous school record was seven wins in 1973).  The Auggies have won eight games in a row since a league-opening loss at St. Thomas, a school record winning streak. The year has included impressive wins -- a 20-10 win over St. John's, which broke a 17-year losing streak to the Johnnies; a 42-0 shutout of St. Olaf, the first shutout since 1981; a 41-35, two-overtime win at Gustavus; and a 13-10 home win over Concordia to vault the Auggies into sole possession of first place. The sole championship was clinched with a 56-22 thrashing of Bethel at the Metrodome. 

 The 1997 season has marked the summit (so far) of the rebuilding program of head coach Jack Osberg, who was brought in to take over the program in 1991. With only one "bump in the road," last season's 3-7 record, Osberg has consistenly improved the program, going from a 2-7 mark in his first season to a 6-4 record in 1995, before this season's magical 9-1 campaign. 

The Auggies have triumphed this season on the strength of its outstanding offense, most notably senior quarterback Derrin Lamker and junior wide receiver Scott Hvistendahl. 
Lamker, named the 1997 MIAC Most Valuable Player this season by league coaches, possesses virtually every Augsburg  passing record. Lamker has thrown for 2,946 yards and 24 touchdowns this season, and finished the regular season with 6,619 career passing yards.  He's also been an efficent passer, completing a school-record 59.6 percent of his passes with only 14 interceptions. 

Hvistendahl, who set the MIAC record for reception yards in a single season last year, shattered that record this season with a 1,273-yard effort this year in nine league games. Hvistendahl has caught 84 passes for 1,329 yards and 15 touchdowns this year. 

But it's not just Augsburg's "Dynamic Duo" that has given the Auggies this much acclaim. Senior tight end Ted Schultz (505 yards, 3 TDs) and junior wide receiver Tim Hamer (620 yards, 4 TDs) are also key receivers, and running backs Thane Drier, Andrew Anthony and Jim Peterson are also threats as both runners and receivers. 

On defense, linemen Steve Sathre, Paul Moore and Guillaume Paek have been dominant, with 13.5 sacks combined this year. Young linebackers Jason Van Houten and Justin Hipple  have been strong -- Hipple leads the team with 85 tackles -- while linebacker Bob Schultz has been one of the team leaders on defense. Cornerbacks Jake Kern and Jason Exley sparkled this season, with seven and six interceptions between them. However, Exley's season came to an end prematurely with an arm injury. 

Kicker Martin Hlinka  has set single-season school records for field goals (eight), PATs (31) and kicking points (54). He matched a career record with a 47-yard field goal in overtime against Gustavus. 

 The 1997 Cobber football team began the year with hopes that their experienced offense could hold the fort until an untested defense caught up.  Instead, it was the defense that  got the Cobbers off to a strong start and helped keep them  in the hunt for an MIAC title share into the final week of the season. 

 Senior All-MIAC linebacker Ryan Sannes led a group of over-achieving defenders who gave up just 97 points on the year.  All-MIAC defensive tackle Jeff Gronner and All-MIAC defensive end Jon Jasken led a front four that applied great pressure all year on the outstanding crop of 1997 MIAC quarterbacks.  And Sannes generally cleaned up the loose ends when runners got through that front four. 

 The Cobber offense also proved to be a pleasant surprise.  They were expected to be good, with all five interior linemen back and returning quarterback Ethan Pole having last yearâs Cobber MVP, Tory Langemo, to throw to.   But the Cobbers also established their traditional running game earlier than expected, led by senior halfback Dan Steinbeisser. 

Steinbeisser earned All-MIAC second team honors while finishing second in the MIAC rushing race with 686 yards, despite missing two games with a knee injury. 

Langemo earned first team All-MIAC honors for a third time while spending most of the year double teamed.  And Pole, a junior, continued to mature as a top flight MIAC quarterback, earning second team All-MIAC honors by completing 52% of his passes for 1400 yards in nine MIAC contests. 

Much of this offensive production was made possible by the leaders of that experienced offensive line, seniors Jed Seeger (1st team All-MIAC) and Noah Caron (2nd team, All-MIAC.)  Seeger will be starting his 42nd consecutive game for the Cobbers today and Caron will be starting his 39th. Both are hoping it wonât be their last. 
 
 
 

Cobbers on  

Box Scores 
| 1997 11/22 | 
| 1997 10/25 | 
| 1996 | 1995 |  
| 1994 | 1993 |  
| 1992 | 1991 |  
| 1990 |  

Broadcast Info: 
- 1280 AM Radio, The Ticket in the Red River Valley, Larry Knutson with play by play and Craig Samuelson with color commentary. 
Pregame show begins at 11:40 a.m. 

- The game will be broadcast live on the internet by Concordia - click here 
 
- KKMS AM 980 in Twin Cities will broadcast the game, 
Tom Witshen doing play by play and 
Bruce Wolf with color commentary 
11:55 Start