Box Score
Augustana's attempt at a second-straight Mineral Water Bowl title and a school-record 9-win season came up short as the Vikings fell 34-21 to Missouri Western State in the 44th Mineral Water Bowl Saturday afternoon at Tiger Stadium in Excelsior Springs, Mo.
The Vikings, who defeated Missouri Western State 37-16 in last year's Mineral Water Bowl, ended the season with an 8-4 record. MWSU finished with a 9-3 record.
The Griffons, making their third-straight appearance in the Mineral Water Bowl and seventh overall, took advantage of good field position, Viking turnovers and a win at their back to get out to a good start. MWSU converted a pair of Augie turnovers into two touchdowns to take a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.
Following an interception by David Bass who returned the ball to the Viking 9, Michael Hill scored from 4 yards out to give the Griffons an early 7-0 lead. On Augustana's next possession, quarterback could not handle a low snap from center and Bass recovered the ball at the Augie 33. Five plays later, Drew Newhart found Adam Clausen for a 6-yard touchdown to push the MWSU lead to 14-0 with 3:35 left in the first quarter.
Midway through the second quarter, MWSU added to its lead. Taking over at their own 45, Newhart found Cedric Houston down the right sideline for a 55-yard strike to give the Griffons a 21-0 lead with 8:08 left before halftime.
With their wind at their back in the second quarter, Augustana answered quickly on its next drive.
Luke Butler hooked up with
Sam Holsen for an 81-yard scoring strike to cap a 3-play, 87-yard drive to make the score 21-7 with 7:21 left in the half. For Butler, it was his 26th touchdown pass of the season, giving him sole possession of the single-season record.
Missouri Western State added to its lead with a 40-yard field goal by Brad Beckwith with just 29 seconds left before intermission, but Holsen again answered with a big play. He took the ensuing kickoff and raced 76 yards before being tackled at the Griffon 2 with 18 seconds on the clock. Following an incomplete pass,
Adam Diamond rumbled in from 2 yards out to cut the deficit to 24-14 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Missouri Western State again took advantage of good field position to stifle Augustana's momentum. This time Newhart tossed a 15-yard scoring pass to Clausen to cap a 9-play, 60-yard drive and increase the lead to 31-14 with 8:05 left in the period.
But the Vikings responded two drives later. Taking over at their own 26, Butler and Holsen hooked up for a 55-yard gain on the first play of the drive to put the ball at the MWSU 19. Four plays later Butler scored from 1 yard out on a quarterback sneak to make it a 10-point game at 31-21 with 3:17 remaining in the quarter.
Missouri Western State appeared poised to put the game away when the Griffons forced a Viking turnover at the Augie 17. However, the Viking defense came up with a turnover of its own at the Viking 5.
With time not in their favor and pinned deep in its own territory,
Nate Mahone busted loose for a 35-yard gain, giving the Vikings some breathing room at their own 40. But the drive stalled when Butler was sacked twice and knocked out of the game. On fourth and 17, the Griffons intercepted a pass from
Tyler Schulte at the Viking 33.
Beckwith put the game out of reach moments later when he booted a 21-yard field goal with 1:27 left in the game.
Butler finished his final game in a Viking uniform with 201 yards passing after completing 10 of 28 passes with 2 interceptions. He was also sacked 6 times. Holsen picked up his third 100-yard receiving game of the season with 144 yards on just 4 catches. Mahone carried the ball 14 times for 84 yards to lead the Viking ground game.
Joe Clark, who entered the game needing 105 yards to break his own single-season rushing record, was limited to just 10 yards before leaving the game in the second quarter with an injury.
As a team, Augustana had 313 yards of total offense, nearly equal to MWSU's 322 yards. However, the Griffons won the turnover battle by a 5-2 margin.
Newhart, the game's Offensive MVP, passed for 213 yards and 3 touchdowns on 16 of 35 passing. Cedric Houston had a team-high 107 yards receiving on 4 recptions.
Defensively,
Brandon McMichael led the Vikings with 13 tackles, including 1.5 sacks. The sixth-year senior finished his career with 211 tackles.
Chris Janisch also had 13 tackles for the Vikings.
MWSU's Bass was named the Defensive MVP after finishing with 7 tackles, 1.5 sacks, an interception, fumble recovery and pass breakup.
