Justice Spriggs passed for five touchdowns on Saturday, three of them to Nick Kampa, and tightened his grip on the MIAC passing lead with 317 yards to lead Hamline to a 35-14 victory over Augsburg.
The home victory ensured at least a .500 record for the Pipers (4-3 MIAC, 5-3 overall), whose last winning season came in 1995 when they were 7-3.
MIAC STANDINGS
| St. Thomas | 6-0 | 8-0 |
| St. John’s | 5-1 | 7-1 |
| Concordia | 5-1 | 6-2 |
| Hamline | 3-3 | 5-3 |
| Bethel | 3-3 | 3-5 |
| Gustavus | 2-4 | 4-4 |
| Augsburg | 2-5 | 2-7 |
| St. Olaf | 1-5 | 2-6 |
| Carleton | 1-6 | 1-8 |
SATURDAY’S SCORES
- St. Thomas 27, Bethel 6
- Concordia 40, Carleton 3
- Gustavus 23, St. Olaf 3
- Hamline 35, Augsburg 14
NEXT WEEK
- St. Thomas at Gustavus
- Concordia at St. Olaf
- Hamline at St. John’s
- Bethel at Augsburg
Hamline travels to St. John’s next week before closing out the season at home against Bethel.
Augsburg (2-5, 2-7) scored first about 6 minutes into the game when Cyrus Elliott caught a 19-yard pass from Quentin Lake to make it 6-0.
The Auggies held the lead until 7:15 remained in the second quarter, when Spriggs hit Kampa from 37 yards out to tie the score.
With 4:49 to go in the first half, Spriggs found Josiah Harris for a 56-yard touchdown play, then hit Kampa for the two-point conversion and a 14-6 Hamline lead.
With a little more than a minute to go in the half, Spriggs hit Kampa again, this time for 35 yards and a touchdown.
In the third quarter, Spriggs passed 15 yards to Deon Bishop and 10 yards to Kampa as the Pipers sealed the victory.
Kampa caught seven passes for 124 yards.
Spriggs set the Hamline single-season record for passing yards with 2,281 (282.6 a game). He goes into the last two weeks of the regular season with 186 completions in 286 attempts (65 percent) and 22 touchdowns.
He’s ahead in the MIAC passing race over St. Thomas quarterback Alex Fenske, who is 103-186 for 1,813 yards (226.6 a game) and 16 touchdowns.
Concordia 40, Carleton 3
Michael Herzog passed for 98 yards and two touchdowns, and added 79 yards rushing, including a 30-yard scoring run for Concordia (6-2, 5-1) at Moorhead.
Herzog hit Matt Connelly from 26 yards out for the Cobbers’ first touchdown with a minute to play in the first quarter.
Dane Ringquist added a 4-yard touchdown run before Concordia forced a safety and Herzog rolled 30 yards to make it 26-0 with 2:22 to play in the first half.
At 5:48 of the third quarter, Herzog passed 25 yards to Jason Montonye for a 33-0 lead over Carleton (1-8, 1-6).
The Cobbers intercepted four Carleton passes, and two resulted in Concordia touchdowns.
Concordia, tied for second in the MIAC with St. John’s, travels to St. Olaf next week before closing out the season with a showdown against the Johnnies at Collegeville.
Gustavus 23, St. Olaf 3
Gustavus quarterback Christian Haffner, one of the leading passers in the MIAC, ran for two touchdowns in the first quarter to lift the Gusties (1-5, 3-5) to the victory at Northfield.
Haffner ran it in from the 7-yard line with 8:02 to play in the first, then added a 6-yard scoring run with 1:11 on the clock.
Haffner compiled 71 yards on 18 carries to go with 152 yards on 14-of-21 passing. His efforts complimented the rushing of Luke Martinez, who gained 106 yards on 22 attempts.
The Gusties outgained St. Olaf (1-5, 2-6) 407 to 209.