Box Score
Behind a potent rushing attack and a stifling defense Augustana College dominated Concordia University, St. Paul 42-21 Saturday afternoon at Griffin Stadium in St. Paul, Minn.
Augustana improved to 3-2 on the season and 3-1 in the NSIC, while Concordia slipped to 2-3 overall and 1-3 in the NSIC.
Sophomore
Joe Clark had his best day in a Viking uniform as he spearheaded the Vikings' ground game. Clark carried the ball 31 times for a career-high 144 yards and 3 touchdowns as Augustana amassed 410 yards of total offense. By running the ball, Augustana also controlled the ball for 39:26, compared to just 20:34 for the Golden Bears.
The Vikings actually found themselves trailing 14-0 early in the second quarter as Concordia scored on two of its first three drives of the game. However, after gaining 174 yards on those first three drives, the Viking defense clamped down, allowing only 122 yards the rest of the game.
Augustana used the legs of Clark and the steady passing of
Luke Butler to take control of the game. Butler tossed a 1-yard scoring pass to
Ryan Rank with 5:52 left in the second quarter to cap a 13-play, 74-yard drive to make the score 14-7. The Vikings tied the game when Butler hooked up with
Tyler Schulte on a 32-yard scoring strike with 50 seconds left in the half, capping a 9-play, 80-yard drive.
Clark took over in the second half. He gave Augustana its first lead when he hauled in a 5-yard scoring pass from Butler with 7:49 left in the third quarter to give Augie a 21-14 advantage.
After Concordia tied the score at 21-21 on an 18-yard pass from Mitch Brecke to Tyrone Ruffin with 3:19 to play in the third quarter, Clark put the Vikings ahead for good with an 8-yard scoring run that capped a 6-play, 66-yard drive.
The Viking defense, which forced four turnovers in the game, gave the offense some short fields in the fourth quarter.
Brian Baumgartner recovered a fumble at the CU 9 to set up a 12-yard scoring run by Clark that made the score 35-21 with 12:41 left in the game.
Concordia went three-and-out on its next possession and a 12-yard punt return by Schulte gave the Vikings the ball at the CU 39. The Vikings then marched 39 yards in 9 plays, including 5 rushes by Clark, for an insurance score. Clark plunged in from 1 yard out with 6:41 to play to make the socre 42-21.
Clark finished with 167 yards of total offense as he caught 3 passes for 23 yards in addition to his 144 rushing yards. Butler completed 19 of 30 passes for 243 yards and 3 touchdowns. Schulte was Butler's favorite target as he caught 6 passes for 108 yards and a touchdown. It was Schulte's second-straight 100-yard receiving game.
Joe Klumper added 4 receptions for 69 yards.
Augustana's offense was extremely efficient, converting 10 of 18 third-down conversions, 2 of 5 fourth-down conversions without a turnover. The Vikings controlled the ball for over 11 minutes in each of the final three quarters of play.
Concordia had 296 yards of offense, but just 19 yards rushing. Brecke passed for 277 yards on 19 of 34 passing. He was picked off twice. Ruffin finished the game with 154 yards on 7 receptions.
Defensively, Baumgartner had a team-high 7 tackles and a fumble recovery, while
Matt Lien added 6 stops.
Chris Janisch and
Jason Donnelly collected interceptions and
Nick Weber added the other fumble recovery.
Augustana returns home next week to face Minnesota State University in a 1 p.m. game at Howard Wood Field. The game will be part of Augustana's Viking Days celebration.
