BOX SCORE | PHOTO GALLERY
WAYNE, Neb. – No. 7 Augustana committed three turnovers as Wayne State topped the Vikings 26-14 Saturday afternoon in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football in Wayne, Neb.
The loss for the Vikings spoils a nine-game winning streak and drops them to 9-1 (8-1 NSIC). The Wildcats move to 6-4 (5-4 NSIC).
Augustana was held to season-low 201 yards of total offense. The Vikings totaled just 55 yards rushing and 146 yards passing.
Nick Pulscher's 104 yards rushing led WSC. The Wildcats also got 15 tackles from Ben Perry.
Joe Clark rushed 21 times for 73 yards for Augustana. Ryan Schuetz, who got the start at quarterback for the injured Josh Hanson, completed 10 of 24 passes for 71 yards. Tyler Schulte also played a few series at signal caller, completing 5 of 8 passes for 65 yards and two touchdowns.
Eric Ellingworth and Jordan Marshall were the recipients of both of Schulte's touchdown passes. Isaac Jorgensen paced the Viking receiving corps with five catches for 53 yards.
Andrew Keel finished with a team-high 12 tackles—including 3.5 loss--for the Vikings, while Chris Janisch had 11 tackles and one interceptions.
WSC opened the game by doing something no other team this season has done to the Vikings: score two unanswered touchdowns. It wasn't until their third drive that that the Wildcats found paydirt. The score came courtesy of a 13-yard run by Kevin Paulsen.
The Wildcats extended their lead to 14-0 early in the second quarter, taking an 11-play drive 69 yards—capped by a Nick Pulscher 3-yard plunge.
The Vikings, though, found the endzone later in the second quarter when Schulte connected with Ellingworth from 12 yards out. The play featured a different look for Augustana as Schuetz was split wide left. The touchdown finished an eight-play, 68-yard drive.
The Vikings managed 166 yards of total offense in the first half, with 74 of them coming on the ground. Clark accounted for 94 of Augustana's yards.
A Joe Clark fumble late in the third quarter was quickly turned into a WSC field goal. Clark lost the ball at the Augustana 23-yard line, and Nick Bell connected on a 35-yard field goal four plays later.
WSC added two more points in the fourth quarter when the Vikings oversnapped a punt to Behrens out of the back of the endzone to give the Wildcats a19-7 lead. WSC proceeded to take its resulting drive 55 yards and tack on another touchdown from Josh Evans.
The Vikings inserted Schulte at quarterback midway through their next series. The senior utility man responded by completing three passes, including a 21-yard touchdown pass to Marshall with 8:24 left to close a 72-yard drive.
From there, WSC ate up the clock with two first downs. The Wildcats eventually had to punt, but Schulte tossed an interception on the next play. The Vikings did get the ball back, but with just 10 seconds left on the clock.
The Wildcats snapped a three-game losing streak with the win.
Augustana, which checked in at No. 1 in the first Super Regional Three rankings released earlier this week, closes regular season play next Saturday at home against Upper Iowa. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.
