Devin Schelske, sports editor

Junior Hamsa Kahin of the Augsburg football team had a stellar game against the Golden Gusties on Sept. 23. The main story of the game was the miracle hail mary pass caught by Tyrone Wilson to put the Auggies on top with one second to go. However, Hamsa recovered a fumble on the final play of the game to declare victory for the Auggies. He seemed to single handedly keep the Auggies on track defensively from his outside linebacker position. Throughout the historic afternoon, he tallied eight tackles, three sacks, two fumble recoveries and a pass breakup to help the team to a 33-31 win. Funnily enough, the quarterback that Hamsa was given the great opportunity to hit was his little league and high school teammate, George Sandven. There’s nothing like having bragging rights on old friends. Truly one of the greatest all-time performances by any Auggie defender. 

Last year, Hamsa suffered a torn achilles in an away game against St. Olaf. The injury kept him out for the rest of the season and required surgery. Returning to play after a torn achilles takes a minimum of nine months of rehab. As a teammate, I was able to talk with Hamsa about the lasting effects of his injury. When asked if his achilles still bothers him during games, Hamsa answered “Not really, I don’t think about it too much anymore. I put the work in during the offseason, I’m confident in it. Most athletes struggle with dedicating too much thought to their injury and that’s how people can get reinjured.” It’s easy to tell by his play style early in the season that he’s back to playing at his full potential.

During our interview, I was also able to chat with Hamsa about athletic ambitions, mentality and inspiration. A Star Tribune article about the miracle in St. Peter described Hamsa as a “how is he in division three” linebacker. When asked about why he chose to play division three football at Augsburg, he shared “Derrin Lamker was my coach in high school and always had belief in me and my brother. I’m a loyal guy so if you trust in me early, I’ll stick with you.” 

When asked about his typical goals for a game, Hamsa stated “Number one is win! No matter what, I want the team to win. My goal is to do my job and trust my teammates.” When asked about season goals, he said “Championship is the number one goal. We say ‘champs on three’ for a reason.” When asked about leadership goals, he explained “I want to be a guy that teammates can look upon for leadership, motivation and a role model, especially the younger guys.” 

In the game against Gustavus, Hamsa attempted to rush the quarterback on a passing play but was knocked over about a foot in front of the quarterback. Instead of quitting on the play, he aggressively army-crawled on the ground after the quarterback and took him down for one of his three sacks. When asked about where his “never quit” attitude comes from, Hamsa revealed “It comes from a certain mindset. When you work this hard, you’re never going to take no for an answer or accept defeat. It’s one thing that the coaches drilled into me. Never stop playing until the whistle is blown.” 

Hamsa and the Auggies are back in action at Klas Field on Oct. 7 for a game against the Hamline Pipers.