Box ScoreMinnesota Duluth put a damper on Augustana's Viking Days celebration by scoring 24 unanswered points in the second half to defeat Augustana 34-7 Saturday afternoon at Howard Wood Field.
The Bulldogs improved to 3-3 overall and 2-2 in the North Central Conference while Augustana fell to 2-5 overall and 0-4 in the NCC.
Minnesota Duluth struck first on its first drive of the game. Ted Schlafke found Dennis Carter for a 29-yard touchdown pass with 8:35 to play in the first quarter.
But Augustana tied the score early in the second quarter.
Jeremy Huber rumbled 10 yards into th end zone to cap a 9-play, 70-yard drive.
Ryan Grossman's PAT made thh score 7-7 with 11:31 to play in the first half.
On the ensuing possession, the Bulldogs regained the lead whe Britt Baumann connected on a 27-yard field goal with 5:25 left in the half.
Augustana's special teams came up with a big play right before intermission.
Joe Klumper blocked a Luke Radke punt and the ball went out of bounds at the UMD 19 with 15 seconds left in the half.
But the Vikings couldn't capitalize. After 2 incomplete passes, Grossman just missed a 36-yard field goal attempt that would have tie the game at intermission.
Minnesota Duluth got the ball first in the second half. After Carter returned the kickoff to the Augie 44, the Bulldogs scored when Schlafke threw a 5-yard TD pass to Bryan Gambuzza with 9:43 left in the third quarter to make the score 17-7.
UMD put the game away in the fourth quarter. Brad Foss scored on a 6-yard run with 9:47 play to make the score 24-7. On the Vikings' next play from scrimmage, Jim Johnson intercepted a pass from Augie's
Tyler Schulte. UMD converted the turnover into a 26-yard field goal by Baumann with 6:40 remaining.
Augustana responded with a nice drive. The Vikings marched 47 yards in 14 plays to the UMD 33. However, Tyler Yelk intercepted a
Daniel Millus pass and returned it 72 yards for a touchdown.
Minnesota Duluth outgained Augustana by a 356-197 margin. Millus completed 19 of 32 passes for 124 yards.
Tommy Ellingworth hauled in 7 catches for 46 yards, while Klumper addd 4 catches for 32 yards.
Joe Clark was the top ground gainer with 27 yards on 8 carries.
Schlafke was 33-for-45 and 241 yards passing. He added 55 yards rushing. Foss chipped in with 51 yards on the ground. Ten different receivers caught a pass. Carter had 57 yards on 6 receptions.
Defensively,
Brandon McMichael paced the Vikings with 12 tackles, while
Dustin Rice added 9, including 2 behind the line of scrimmage.
Jason Donnelly and
Brian Baumgartner each had 8 stops.
Augustana will look for its first NCC win next week when the Vikings travel to St. Cloud, Minn., to take on the St. Cloud State Huskies. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
