Concordia's Ryan Hebrink has been on the run all season.
The focal point of the Cobbers' option offense, Hebrink has been asked to forego the Hail Mary for the quick pitch or quarterback-keeper.
But the junior signal-caller proved he can be just as effective throwing the ball Saturday against Augsburg.
Hebrink threw for 132 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Cobbers to a 38-13 homecoming victory against the Auggies at Jake Christiansen Stadium.
Concordia (5-1) improved to 5-0 in the MIAC for the first time since 1997. That season, they finished second in the league and advanced to the NCAA playoffs.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Auggies dropped to 2-4 overall, 1-3 MIAC.
"It felt great," said Hebrink, who also ran for 59 yards and a touchdown. "Teams have been really aware of our option and power running game. (Augsburg) were bringing eight in the box and we knew we had to take advantage of the great receivers we have."
Cobbers sophomore receiver Shawn Reile caught four passes for 76 yards and two touchdowns.
"Hebrink was putting the ball on the spot and the receivers were finding ways to get open," Reile said. "The offensive line play was huge. (Hebrink) had all day to throw."
Concordia stayed on the ground for its first two touchdowns.
Junior fullback Jeremy Hinderks scored on a 2-yard run early in the second quarter.
Hebrink gave the Cobbers a 14-0 lead with a 49-yard run just over five minutes later.
The Cobbers' defense, ranked No. 2 in the conference against the run, limited the Auggies to just 69 rushing yards on 37 carries.
ADVERTISEMENT
Augsburg quarterback Dave Fransen connected with receiver Yarzue Slowon on touchdown passes of 16 and 10 yards to make the score 28-13 late in the third quarter.
The Cobbers' defense allowed just 47 yards of total offense and two first downs in the fourth quarter.
"Our defense is really what's carrying us," Cobbers coach Terry Horan said. "Our defensive line and linebackers are making plays and our secondary can come up and put a pop on some people, too."
Senior running back T.J. Bramwell, averaging more than five yards a carry coming into the game, led the Auggies with 32 yards on 17 carries.
Cobbers running back Bobby Clark had 95 yards on 16 carries. The 5-foot-9, 190-pound junior also helped spark Concordia's offense with an outstanding special teams performance.
Clark, who averaged nearly 15 yards on five punt returns, finished with 144 total return yards.
Augsburg 0 0 13 0 -- 13
Concordia 0 21 14 3 -- 38
ADVERTISEMENT
C--Hinderks 2 run (Halverson kick)
C--Hebrink 49 run (Halverson kick)
C--Reile 26 pass from Hebrink (Halverson kick)
A--Slowon 16 pass from Fransen (Pontius kick)
C--Clark 54 run (Halverson kick)
A--Slowon 10 pass from Fransen (kick failed)
C--Reile 31 pass from Hebrink (Halverson kick)
C--Halverson 27 field goal
ADVERTISEMENT
TEAM STATISTICS
Auggies Cobbers
First downs 15 15
Rushes-yards 37-69 44-206
Yards passing 178 153
Passes 19-36-0 10-22-0
Total yards 247 359
Punts-avg. 8-30.5 5-38.6
ADVERTISEMENT
Fumbles-lost 1-1 6-3
Sacked-yards lost 1-6 2-22
Penalties-yards 4-26 3-34
Possession time 32:19 27:41
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: AUG, Bramwell 17-32, Paul 10-17, Fransen 5-14, Lofboom 4-13, Slowon 1-(-7). CC, Clark 16-95, Hebrink 13-59, Hinderks 10-38, Olson 1-35, Lewis 1-(-3), Schwegel 1-(-4), Nelson 1-(-5), Odermann 1-(-9).
PASSING: Fransen 17-33-0, 169 yards, George 2-2-0, 9, Lofboom 0-1-0, 0. CC, Hebrink 9-21-0, 132, Passanante 1-1-0, 21, Odermann 0-0-0, 0.
RECEIVING: AUG, Slowon 8-78, Bramwell 4-49, Wright 4-42, Gross 2-9, Paul 1-0. CC, Reile 4-76, Passanante 3-40, Christensen 1-21, Olson 1-10, Clark 1-6.
ADVERTISEMENT
Readers can reach Forum reporter Heath Hotzler at (701) 241-5562
