DECORAH, Iowa – The St. Olaf College football team scored 38 first-half points to cruise to a 52-21 victory over Luther College to close out the non-conference portion of its schedule on Saturday afternoon at Carlson Stadium.
St. Olaf (1-1) scored on six of its eight possessions to build a 38-14 lead at halftime and piled up 560 yards of total offense in the 31-point victory over Luther (0-1). The 560 yards of offense were the most for the Oles since racking up 599 in an 85-28 victory over Carleton on Nov. 3, 2007. The 31-point differential marked St. Olaf's largest winning margin in the series with the Norse.
In the win, St. Olaf racked up 395 of its 560 yards in the opening half, scoring five touchdowns and one field goal on its eight offensive possessions before the break. The Oles had 336 passing yards and 224 rushing yards while averaging over 9.0 yards per play on the afternoon.
Junior Theo Doran had the second 300-yard passing game of his career for St. Olaf, completing 18-of-20 passes for 310 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in a little less than three quarters of work. Doran was 15-for-17 for 275 yards and three touchdowns in the opening half.
Doran connected with fifth-year senior Payton Schott five times for 95 yards and a touchdown in the win and threw touchdowns to juniors Evan Hammonds and Siegel Howard III. Senior Derek Hansen hauled in four passes for 83 yards, including a 61-yard connection.
Fifth-year running back Jordan Embry recorded the 14th 100-yard game of his career by running for 145 yards and two touchdowns on just 14 carries. First year Ralph Naimah added 44 yards on six rushes, while first year Ashber Zubich scored on both of his rushes totaling 23 yards.
Sophomore Alijah Cruel and junior Tate Sauerwein tied for the team lead with seven total tackles for St. Olaf, while senior Cohl Husbands had a sack as part of a six-tackle afternoon. After picking off five passes a year ago, senior Jacob Halek picked up his first interception of the season as well.
After the defense got a stop to start the game, Embry broke loose for a 66-yard run down to the two-yard line on St. Olaf's first offensive play of the game. Three plays later, Doran hit Howard III for the second receiving touchdown of the fullback's career to open the scoring.
Luther drove down the field on its next possession, but Halek intercepted a Beau Cornwell pass on the one-yard line to get a red-zone stop for the Oles. St. Olaf needed just over two minutes to extend its lead to 13-0, as Doran hit Hansen for a 61-yard pass down to the eight-yard line before Embry ran it in on the next play.
After a three-and-out, reigning Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Special Teams Player of the Week Collin Swan pushed the Oles' lead to 16-0 after one quarter with a 29-yard field goal on St. Olaf's next possession. Luther cut its deficit to 16-7 less than four minutes into the second quarter and had a field-goal attempt to make it a one-score game on its next possession, but senior Ben Hestorff blocked the kick to keep the nine-point lead intact.
St. Olaf scored three touchdowns over the final 6:08 of the first half to balloon its lead to 38-14 and all three scoring drives took less than three minutes. Embry found the end zone for the second time in the half with an 11-yard rush, Doran and Hammonds hooked up for a 20-yard score three minutes later, and Doran found Schott from 33 yards out in the final minute of the half to cap the 38-point opening 30 minutes for the Oles.
Zubich accounted for both of St. Olaf's second-half touchdowns, scoring on a 14-yard run late in the third quarter on his first play of action and a nine-yard run with six minutes remaining. The St. Olaf defense nearly pitched a shutout in the second half before Luther got in the end zone with 12 seconds remaining.
After a bye week, the Oles open Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play by hosting Macalester College on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 1 p.m. at Klein Field at Manitou.
Big first half lifts St. Olaf to road win at Luther
/seasons/2023/boxscores/20230909_t6sg.xml
2023
St. Olaf
52
Luther
21
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Olaf (1-1) | 16 | 22 | 7 | 7 | 52 |
| Luther (0-1) | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
Sep 09, 2023