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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -
Josh Hanson threw for 385 yards and four touchdowns and
Tyler Schulte caught six passes for a career-high 210 yards and three touchdowns to help No. 24 Augustana to a 53-21 victory over Southwest Minnesota State in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football Saturday afternoon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Augustana improves to 4-0 (3-0 NSIC), while SMSU drops to 2-2 (1-1 NSIC).
With the win,
Mike Aldrichbecomes the first head coach to start his career at Augustana 4-0. The win also marks the Vikings' best start since 2002 when they also started 4-0.
The Vikings tallied a season-high 618 yards of total offense in their 13th-straight win over SMSU. That marks the highest output since Augustana racked up 730 yards against Minnesota, Crookston on Sept. 17, 2005.
Hanson was a model of efficiency all afternoon, completing 18 of 23 passes en route to his 385-yard game. The performance marks the second consecutive game the sophomore quarterback has thrown for more than 300 yards. Hanson also rushed for 65 yards and one touchdown.
Schulte, who has now caught a touchdown pass in four straight games, got the bulk of his work done in the first three quarters. The three-touchdown outing is his third multiple-touchdown contest of the season.
Joe Clark rushed 15 times for a game-high 75 yards. He also had one score on the day.
Nate Mahone added 46 yards and a touchdown on nine carries.
The Viking defense logged another impressive game, holding SMSU to a season-low 221 yards of total offense and just 14 yards rushing.
Austin Luecke finished with a career-high 10 tackles to pace the Vikings. Dan O'Keefe added another interception to the colum--returning this one 64 yards to the 1-yard line in the third quarter. The junior has four picks on the season.
Ryan Isaacson,
Eric Bergman and
Ben Wardell each recorded a sack for Augustana.
Augustana started the game deep in its own territory on the second series of the game. The Mustangs had sputtered on the opening drive and found themselves in a fourth-and-11 punting situation on their own 45-yard line. Mike Went, though, produced a text-book punt that danced out of bounds at the 1-yard line.
It did not take the Vikings long to make up the difference. On his first snap, Hanson found Schulte for a 99-yard score. The play was the longest in school history, breaking the previous marks for the longest reception and longest play from scrimmage. The previous longest pass was an Eric DeGraff to Matt Holmlund connection that went 95-yards against St. Cloud State on Sept. 23, 2000, while the old record for longest play from scrimmage was a 97-yard run by Erwin Schultz against Jamestown on Oct. 30, 1937.
The Mustangs, however, fired up their offense on their next two possessions. Ryan Ratekin quickly found Shawn Younger for a 44-yard touchdown to knot the contest at seven.
The Vikings lost their first fumble of the season on the ensuing series after Hanson again found Schulte before he was tripped up and turned over the ball at the Augustana 38-yard line. SMSU capitalized as Ratekin found a tightly covered Lester Lewis two plays later to move the Mustangs ahead 14-7.
After a 36-yard kick return from
Jordan Marshall on the ensuing kickoff, Hanson went to work with his feet, rushing for 22 of the drive's 57 yards—including a 14-yard scramble that found paydirt for the sophomore to tie the game at 14-14.
A three-and-out stand by the Viking defense set up another Augsutana scoring opportunity freshly into the second quarter. The Vikings proceeded to march 61 yard--sparked by a career-long 34-yard reception by
Isaac Jorgensen--before
Drew Behrens booted a 41-yard field goal to give his squad a 17-14 advantage.
Schulte added to the Viking lead by snagging a 39-yard touchdown catch, his second of the game, with 2 minutes, 32 seconds left in the third quarter. His score capped a four-play, 66-yard drive and earned Augustana a 10-point, 24-14 lead.
The Vikings had one more opportunity before halftime and took advantage, marching 75 yards in just over a minute before Behrens drilled a 22-yard field goal.
The Viking offense gained steam in the second half, opening with a 69-yard drive that was again finished by a Schulte touchdown. His 23-yard grab put the Vikings in a comfortable 33-14 lead. Behrens missed his first extra point of the season following the touchdown.
SMSU was stood up on its next possession courtesy a
Nick Andreas pass breakup that forced a Mustang turnover on downs. SMSU had opted to try and convert on a fourth-and-two scenario on their own 42.
Clark found the endzone via a pretty Hanson option pitch from 12 yards out on the resulting Viking drive.
Augustana added another score after
Ben Wardel forced a Ratekin fumble, which was scooped up by Jansich and brought back to the Mustang 31-yard-line.
Nate Mahone was immediately dispatched to strike from 16 yards out and move the Viking lead to 47-14.
Before the third quarter was over, Hanson managed to find Jorgensen on a 6-yard pass up the middle to extend the Viking lead to 53-14.
Lewis hauled in another touchdown in the fourth quarter for the Mustangs, marking the end of scoring for both teams.
Behrens missed a field goal from 42-yards out with 19 seconds left.
The Vikings, who held Ratekin to a season-low 166 passing yards, outscored the Mustangs 39-0 in the second and third quarters.
The Vikings will travel to Concordia University, St. Paul next Saturday for a 1 p.m. contest.
