BOX SCORE
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Augustana forced six Grand Valley State turnovers and scored the game's first 31 points to pick up a 38-6 victory over the Lakers in the second round of the NCAA Playoffs Saturday afternoon in Sioux Falls.
The win is the first playoff victory for Augustana in school history; the Vikings improve to 11-1. The No. 9 Vikings now move onto the quarterfinals next Saturday, where they will play at No. 1 Minnesota Duluth, which picked up a 20-17 overtime victory over St. Cloud State on Saturday.
GVSU, which was making its 15th overall and 10th straight appearance in the NCAA playoffs, finishes its season with a record of 11-2.
The Viking defense was stellar throughout. Though Augustana allowed more than 300 yards of total offense, the defensive unit didn't allow a touchdown all afternoon. The Lakers' one score came on an 87-yard kick return in the third quarter.
As they have all season, the linebacker trio of
Andrew Keel,
Chris Janisch and
Ryan Isaacson anchored the defense. The three accounted for two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and an interception. The Vikings had a total of four interceptions in the win--one of which
Eric Bergman returned for a touchdown. The other three were grabbed by Keel, Dan O'Keefe and
Zac Kallas.
Augustana also got a three-touchdown performance from
Tyler Schulte. His three touchdown receptions put his total for the season at 17 and set a new single-season record, passing Matt Holmlund's 16 touchdown grabs in 2000.
Joe Clark also collected 117 yards on the ground. The performance allowed the senior to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark for the third consecutive season.
Quarterback
Josh Hanson returned to the lineup after missing the past two games with an injury. He ran for 82 yards and passed for another 87 and three touchdowns.
Augustana played its best first half of the season, forcing three GVSU turnovers, rattling off 24 unanswered points and holding a normally potent Laker offense scoreless.
Drew Behrens got the Vikings on the board on its second drive of the game, hitting a 40-yard field goal. But it was Keel and O'Keefe who set up the drive on GVSU's prior possession. The duo teamed up to force and recover a fumble by Laker quarterback Kyle McMahon, giving the Vikings the ball at the GVSU 40-yard line.
The defense again delivered on the ensuing Laker possession. Faced with a fourth-and-two situation, the Lakers botched their punt snap, allowing
Nick Andreas to block the attempt and set up the Vikings at the Laker 28-yard line.
The Vikings needed just three plays to convert it into a score as Hanson found Schulte on a 14-yard strike to put Augustana up 10-0 just before the end of the first quarter.
Another defensive stand forced the Lakers to punt on their next series, and the Vikings again capitalized.
Behind 57 yards on the ground from Clark, Augustana marched 97 yards in eight plays—a drive capped by a Hanson-to-Schulte connection in the left corner of the endzone to give Augustana a 17-0 advantage.
Augustana's defense continued to work like a well-oiled machine. On GVSU's series following the Viking touchdown, Isaacson forced another Laker fumble—this one pounced on by Keel. Though the Vikings were forced to punt on the subsequent possession, it did allow Augustana to pin the Lakers deep at their own 2-yard line.
Four plays later, it was Bergman who made yet another huge defensive play, picking off McMahon and returning the interception 25 yards to give Augustana a 24-0 lead with 1:22 left in the first half.
Clark had 79 yards rushing at intermission, and Keel and Janisch each had five stops.
The Augustana defense continued to shine in the second half. An interception by O'Keefe on GVSU's second drive of the half led to another Schulte touchdown catch—his third of the game—with 5:20 left in the third quarter.
GVSU's Chris Crawford managed to return the subsequent kickoff 87 yards, but Luke Briggs' extra point attempt was swatted by Bergman to keep it a 31-6 game.
Kallas' interception early in the fourth quarter put Augustana in position for its final touchdown of the game. His pick set up the Vikings at the GVSU 13-yard line, and two plays later, Clark scampered in from 13 yards to close scoring with 12:36 remaining.
Keel intercepted McMahon a final time in the game's final eight minutes to ensure a six-point outing by the Laker's.
GVSU entered the game averaging 38.6 points per game. The six points the Lakers scored was the lowest this season since they put up 17 in a loss to Michigan Tech on Oct. 30.
The win for Augustana was its first over a nationally ranked opponent this season. The Vikings also retain their blemish-free home record for 2010.
