Box Score
Behind record-setting afternoons by
Luke Butler and
Joe Clark, the Augustana football team capped the 2009 season with an impressive 47-19 victory over Northern State Saturday afternoon in front of 3,063 fans at Kirkeby-Over Stadium.
The Vikings end the season with an 8-3 overall record and tied for third place in the Northern Sun intercollegiate Conference with a 7-3 league mark. It also marked the first time since 1988-89 that Augustana has had consecutive 8-win seasons.
Augustana's 14 seniors were able to walk off the field knowing they helped elevate the Viking program. The senior class recorded 25 wins over the past 4 years, the best 4-year win total since the program won 27 games from 1939-42.
The Vikings were nearly unstoppable in the first half as they scored touchdowns on their first four possessions and six of their first seven drives.
Butler had the hot hand in the first quarter. The senior from Pocatello, Idaho, completed 8-of-10 passes for 202 yards and 4 touchdowns. His four scoring passes helped him tie a single-season school record with 25 touchdown passes. He shares the record with
Eric DeGraff, who set the record in 2000.
It didn't take Augustana long to get on the scoreboard. The Vikings took the opening kickoff and went 80 yards in just 5 plays as Butler found
Sam Holsen for a 34-yard score to give the hosts a 7-0 lead with 12:40 left in the quarter.
On ensuing possessions, Butler tossed a 5-yard scoring pass to
Isaac Jorgensen for his first career touchdown reception. He then connected with Holsen again, this time for a 59-yard strike, followed by a 2-yard toss to
Joe Klumper to help stake the Vikings to a 26-0 lead after the first quarter.
The Vikings came close to adding to their lead in the second quarter, but Butler was stopped short of the end zone on fourth down and inches. Northern State countered with a 12-play, 99-yard drive, capped by a 2-yard run by Montrel Richardson to make the score 26-7 with 6:14 left in the half.
But Augustana followed that with two more scores before intermission. Butler scampered 16 yards for a score and Clark added a 9-yard touchdown run to stake the Vikings to a 40-7 halftime lead.
In the second half, the offense was intent on helping Clark reach 1,000 yards rushing for the season. After gaining 80 yards in the first half, Clark need 77 yards in the second half to reach the milestone.
On the Vikings' first drive of the half, Clark carried the ball seven times for 65 yards. However, the drive ended when Clark was stripped of the ball at the 1-yard line.
Then on the second play of Augie's next possession, Clark ripped off a 15-yard run to give him 1,010 yards on the season. He joins
Chris San Agustin as the only two backs in school history to have two 1,000-yard seasons.
Augustana put the game away midway through the fourth quarter when senior
Andrew Phillips bulled his way into the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown, the first of his career, with 6:23 left in the game.
Butler finished the afternoon completing 12-of-16 passes for 268 yards, while Clark rushed for 167 yards on 24 carries. Eight different receivers caught passes. Holsen caught only 2 passes. but they went for 93 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Tyler Schulte had a team-high 3 receptions for 59 yards, while Clark had 43 yards receiving.
As a team, Augustana rolled up 560 total yards, including 292 on the ground and 268 through the air. Meanwhile, the Vikings limited the Wolves to just 39 yards rushing as they accumulated 10 tackles for a loss of 55 yards.
Mike Vanasek had a team-high 10 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss, while
Nick Andreas added 9 stops.
Chris Janisch was involved in 8 tackles, while
Eric Bergman also had 6 tackles, including a pair of sacks that resulted in the loss of 22 yards. Bergman finished the year with 6.5 sacks.
Nick Weber had 6 tackles, an interception and 2 pass breakups, while
Zac Kallas had 2 interceptions, bringing his season total to 4.
