Oles win Olszewski debut

Mike Ludwig
September 6, 2008

DECORAH, Iowa - Coty Watkins rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown to help St. Olaf, under first year head coach Jerry Olszewski, past Luther College 23-14 on Saturday afternoon in the season opener for each school.

Watkins' score gave St. Olaf a 9-0 halftime lead.

The Oles extended the advantage with a John Haberman touchdown throw to Ryan St. John to make it 16-0 with 3:01 left in the third quarter.

Haberman added a score of his own with a plunge into the end zone with 8:35 left in regulation.

Haberman, who spent the last two seasons as a change-of-pace sub, finished the day 12-for-26 with an interception while rushing for 27 yards on 11 carries.

Down 23-0, the host Norse scored twice in the game's final 6:46, each on QB sneaks from Chris Reynolds, but failed to recover the ensuing onside kick.

The Oles controlled the clock by almost 17 minutes (38:12 - 21:38). The St. Olaf defense held Luther to one first down in the first half and three through three quarters.

Michael Williams was in on eight tackles, while Eric Werdahl and Ryan Skluzacek had seven each.

St. Olaf hosts Pacific Lutheran University next Saturday at 1 p.m. The game can be seen live via the St. Olaf Athletics Website and heard live on 920 AM KDHL.

Contact media relations specialist Mike Ludwig at (507) 786-3834 or ludwigm@stolaf.edu.