20-Point Head Start Leads To Wire-To-Wire Win At Augsburg

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (10/25/25)---Concordia raced out to a 20-point head start in its game at Augsburg and sprinted to a 26-7 win in a match-up of teams that were tied for fourth place in the conference standings.

The victory is the 15th for the Cobbers in the last 16 meetings between the two teams. CC is now 65-14-2 all-time against Augsburg.

Sophomore linebacker Kyle Mages led the first-half charge for the Cobbers as he came up with two interceptions and ran one of those back for a touchdown. His 17-yard Pick 6 in the second quarter staked Concordia to a 13-0 lead which they were able to take into the halftime break.     

The Cobber Black Shirt Defense held the Auggies to 2 yards of total offense in the first quarter and only 97 for the first half of play.

Concordia (5-2, 4-1 MIAC) opened the scoring on a Nick Walter 6-yard TD run which capped an 11-play, 63-yard drive that ate up almost 5:00 on the clock.

The Cobbers upped the lead to 20 points on their very first possession of the second half. After the senior captain McHale Korf posted his second interception of the year on the opening drive of the third quarter, the Cobbers took over at the 50-yard line and needed only four plays to find the endzone. Mason Hughes made the insurance call when he raced through the line of scrimmage and went past the Augsburg secondary on his way to a 39-yard touchdown run.

The TD scamper was Hughes' fifth of the season which ties him with Walter for the team lead. It was also his third rush of more than 35 yards for the year.

Augsburg (3-4, 3-3 MIAC) was able to get on the board at the start of the fourth quarter, but the Cobbers quickly put up the answer when they recovered the ensuing onside kick by the Auggies and went 36 yards in four plays.

Senior quarterback Jersey Selzler found Ron Gallegos in the left corner of the end zone on a 27-yard slant route and Concordia finished off the scoring with 7:55 left in the fourth quarter.

The Cobbers held a slight 301-284 edge in total offensive yards. Concordia pounded out 147 rushing yards, while the Black Shirts held the Auggies to only 23 yards on the ground.     

The 147 rushing yards marked the fifth time this season that Concordia has rushed for over 125 yards in a game. CC is now 5-0 when they rush for over 100 yards.

Concordia also held a 34:39-25:21 advantage in time of possession and was a +2 in the turnover game as they picked off a season-high four passes in the game. The last time the Black Shirts came away with four INTs in a game was back in 2023 against Macalester.  

Kyle Mages finished the day with 9 total tackles to go along with his 2 picks and touchdown.

JD Cea led the Cobbers in total tackles for the second straight road game. He put up 10 tackles and 0.5 tackles for a loss.

Senior defensive back Jacob Pipho came up with the fourth interception for the Black Shirts. He ripped the ball away from an Auggie receiver at the goal line when Augsburg was driving late in the fourth quarter.   

First-year defensive lineman Troy Hansen had his best statistical game of the year. He posted the only two sacks in the game and has a team-best 3.0 for the season.   

Hughes finished the game with 90 rushing yards on 16 carries. Walter added 20 more yards on the ground on 10 rushes.

Selzler went 10-for-18 for 141 passing yards and the one TD strike.

Alejandro Sanchez led the CC receiving crew with 7 targets and 4 catches for 57 yards. Grant Mages came away with a team-high five grabs for 45 yards and 27 yards after the catch.

Concordia will return home to host No.5-ranked Bethel in the annual Senior Celebration game on Nov. 1 at 1 p.m.