Box Score
Augustana used a strong running
Joe Clark and
Nate Mahone and a big-play defense to hold off Concordia University, St. Paul 30-23 Saturday afternoon in front of 4,514 fans at Kirkeby-Over Stadium.
With the win, Augustana improved to 4-1 overall and 3-1 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. In addition, the Vikings are now 3-0 in their new on-campus stadium. Concordia slipped to 1-4 overall and 1-3 in the NSIC.
Augustana's defense and special teams set up the Vikings' first 2 scores. After Augie forced a turnover, the Vikings drove 55 yards in 5 plays for the first score of the day. Clark accounted for 35 yards on the drive, including the final 18 on a scamper down the right sideline into the end zone at the 10:21 mark of the first quarter.
On the ensuing drive, Concordia drove the ball to the Augustana 27, but Augie's
Jesse Jones blocked Steven King's 43-yard field goal attempt.
Josh Niedenfuer returned the blocked kick to the Viking 44. The Viking offense responded with an 11-play drive that culminated with a 12-yard scoring pass from
Tyler Schulte to
Ben Parsley with 2:37 left in the quarter. It was Parsley's first career touchdown and it gave the Vikings a 14-0 lead.
Augustana's defense came up big early in the second quarter. After Concordia drove to the Viking 11,
Nick Andreas ended the drive by intercepting a Spencer Ohm pass in the end zone with 11:51 left in the period.
Concordia withstood the turnover and managed to control rest of the half, outgaining the Vikings 67-15 in the stanza. However, the Golden Bears couldn't finish drives and had to settle for 2 King field goals to trim the Viking lead to 14-6 at halftime.
The Golden Bears struck quickly in the third quarter. On their first play from scrimmage, CU executed a halfback pass as Sam Campbell found a wide open Calvin Simon for an 80-yard touchdown. Concordia kicked the extra point to narrow the margin to 14-13 with 14:42 left in the quarter.
But Augustana had an immediate answer. The Vikings marched 81 yards on 6 plays on a drive that was aided by a 15-yard penalty for a late hit. Clark gained 42 yards on the drive, including a 31-yard scoring run with 13:07 left in the third quarter. Andrew Behrens missed the extra point, leaving the Vikings with a 20-13 lead.
The Viking defense flexed its muscle on Concordia's next drive as
Micah Nordin picked off a Mitch Brecke pass at the Augie 27 and returned it to the Viking 35. Augustana appeared poised to extend its lead by driving to the Golden Bear 1, but on second-and-goal Clark fumbled the handoff and Arnold Doxie scooped up the loose ball and returned it to the CU 42.
Concordia took advantage of the turnover as Brecke tossed a 10-yard scoring pass to Simon with 1:24 left in the quarter to cap a 58-yard drive. King's PAT knotted the score 20-20.
Augustana regained control of the game on its next 2 possessions. Behrens kicked a 27-yard field goal with 13:47 left in the fourth quarter to give the Vikings a 23-20 lead. Then following a quick defensive stop, the Vikings added to their lead with a 6-play, 80-yard drive. Mahone set up the touchdown with a 44-yard gallop to the CU 14, and Clark scored on the next play, giving Augustana a 30-20 cushion with 8:30 remaining.
Concordia tried to rally, marching to the Augustana 2, but the Golden Bears settled for a 20-yard King field goal that made it a 1 possession game at 30-23 with 2:06 to play.
CU's ensuing kickoff went out of bounds and with the Golden Bears out of timeouts, the Vikings were able to run out the clock.
Clark and Mahone each had milestone days rushing for the Vikings. Clark rushed 23 times for a season-high 166 yards and 3 touchdowns. In the process, Clark went over 2,000 career yards. He now stands at 2,011 yards. Mahone, meanwhile, gained a career-high 114 yards on 11 attempts, averaging 10.4 yards per carry.
As a team, Augustana rushed for 282 yards, while holding Concordia to 76 yards on the ground.
The Golden Bears made up the difference via the air. Brecke completed 16 of 28 yards for 182 yards, while Ohm finished with 86 yards on 9 of 16 passing.
Augustana was conservative with its passing game.
Josh Hanson made his first career start in place of
Luke Butler and completed 3 of 5 passes for 39 yards. Schulte was 7-for-11 for 98 yards and a score.
Defensively,
Andrew Keel and
Chris Janisch each had 7 tackles.
Eric Bergman added 5 tackles, including 1.5 sackes for a loss of 11 yards.
Jesse Jones also had 1.5 sacks to go along with his blocked field goal.
Augustana now goes on the road for a key 2-game stretch. Next week, the Vikings travel to No. 8 Minnesota State University, Mankato before visiting Southwest Minnesota State on October 10.
