Minnesota Duluth receiver Noah Pauley noticed the Augustana linebacker pressing close to the line of scrimmage in the first half of their Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football game on Saturday.
Quarterback Ted Schlafke saw the same thing.
Rather than run his 12-yard curl route, Pauley turned it into a fly pattern, and Schlafke hit him in stride for a 53-yard touchdown pass to help spark the Bulldogs to a 40-10 victory before 3,526 fans at Howard Wood Stadium in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Schlafke finished 19-for-31 for 276 yards and four touchdowns, while Pauley caught a game-high six passes for 96 yards and two TDs. UMD (4-0 overall, 3-0 NSIC), ranked No. 15 in NCAA Division II, has now scored at least 40 points in every game this season.
"We always shoot for 32 points each game, and so far, it's been going great," said Pauley, a former Duluth Central star. "Hopefully, we can keep that going the whole year."
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UMD controlled the first half and finished the game with a 10-minute advantage in time of possession. Sophomore Issaic Odim added 19 carries for 105 yards and a touchdown as the Bulldogs' amassed a season-high 508 yards of offense.
The UMD defense, meanwhile, had five quarterback sacks and held Augustana (2-2, 2-1) to 69 yards rushing on 33 carries. The Bulldogs held the Vikings to just two first downs and 25 yards in building a 20-0 halftime lead.
"It's disappointing when you prepare all week and don't get the result you want," Augustana coach Brad Salem told KIKN Radio of Sioux Falls after the game. "Duluth has a very active defense that really swarms to the ball. We only had 23 plays in the first half, so we weren't even really able to evaluate what that they were doing to us."
D.J. Winfield of Mountain Iron, the other half of UMD's Northland receiving tandem, added five receptions for 67 yards and another two scores, including a 9-yard touchdown reception to cap UMD's first drive.
"We came out and set the tone," UMD coach Bob Nielson said. "I think that first drive put pressure on them, and our defense just played super. We told our players they would have to play a full game, and they did just that."
About the only drawback to UMD's quick start has been injuries. UMD pulled running back Brad Foss from Saturday's game after the sophomore took a hard shot to the head. Then, when the Bulldogs were trying to run out the clock, freshman running back Rob Casasnovas was helped off the field with a leg injury.
"We've certainly had more than our fair share of injuries, but it's just too early to tell how serious they are," Nielson said.
Despite the setbacks, UMD's offense keeps humming along. Pauley followed Winfield's score with his 53-yard TD to put the Bulldogs up 14-0 early in the second quarter.
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Schlafke didn't even call an audible on the play, and Pauley never signaled he was changing his route, but it is that kind of familiarity and chemistry that has UMD off to its best start since 2002. Pauley said countless hours spent working with Schlafke in the offseason and in practice helped make a play such as that look simple.
"Ted makes the game a lot easier for everyone on our offense," Pauley said. "He's a smart quarterback, so we're able to do things like that all the time."
Minnesota Duluth 7-13-7-13--40
Augustana 0-0-3-7--10
First Quarter
UMD -- D.J. Winfield 9 pass from Ted Schlafke (David Nadeau kick), 9:09
Second Quarter
UMD -- Noah Pauley 53 pass from Schlafke (Nadeau kick), 14:14
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UMD -- Schlafke 6 run (run failed), 6:25
Third Quarter
AUG -- Ryan Grossman 28 field goal, 9:16
UMD -- Issaic Odim 12 run (Nadeau kick), 7:28
Fourth Quarter
UMD -- Winfield 11 pass from Schlafke (kick failed), 14:16
UMD -- Pauley 11 pass from Schlafke (Nadeau kick), 9:11
AUG -- Joe Clark 3 run (Grossman kick), 8:36
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A -- 3,526
UMD AUG
First downs 26 12
Rushes-yards 44-232 33-69
Passing 276 188
Comp-Att-Int 19-31-1 10-24-2
Return Yards 1-30 6-105
Punts-Avg. 2-35.0 6-37.8
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Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards 7-64 10-101
Time of Possession 35:11 24:49
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING -- Minnesota Duluth - Odim 19-105, Schlafke 10-64, Alex Miller 1-31, Brian Hanson 6-17, Brad Foss 4-8, Rob Casasnovas 4-7. Augustana - Clark 16-62, Luke Butler 14-43, Tyler Schulte 3-7.
PASSING -- Minnesota Duluth - Schlafke 19-31-4-276. Augustana - Butler 10-24-0-188.
RECEIVING -- Minnesota Duluth - Pauley 6-96, Winfield 5-67, Tony Doherty 3-74, Odim 3-28, Casasnovas 1-6, Luke Schalekamp 1-5. Augustana - Schulte 4-127, Joe Klumper 2-20, Clark 2-(-1), Phil Workman 1-36, Ryan Rank 1-6.
