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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Dajon Newell registered 203 yards on the ground as Augustana topped Concordia University, St. Paul 37-13 Saturday afternoon in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference South Division football in Sioux Falls.
Augustana improves to 2-3 (2-2 NSIC, 2-0 NSIC South), while CU drops to 2-3 (1-3 NSIC/0-2 NSIC South).
Newell's 203 yards came on 22 carries, averaging the redshirt freshman out to 9.2 yards per touch.
It was the first 200-yard rushing game for a Viking since Oct. 4, 2008, when
Joe Clark netted 208 yards on the ground against Minnesota State at Howard Wood Field.
Josh Hanson completed 24 of 32 passes for 220 yards and one score. He found nine different receivers on the afternoon.
Grant Gebhardt hauled in a career-high six passes for 66 yards and a touchdown.
Augustana amassed a season-high 478 yards of total offense.
Nick Andreas had two interceptions in the win, while Dan O'Keefe snagged one of his own.
Austin Luecke was credited with a team-high seven tackles.
CU's Sam Campbell logged 96 rushing yards.
The Vikings, who forced four CU turnovers, held the Golden Bears to 270 yards of total offense. CU entered the game averaging more than 400 yards of total offense per outing.
The two teams traded field goals on their opening possessions—with CU's Tom Obarski hitting a 37 yarder and
Drew Behrens nailing one from 40 yards—to knot the game at 3-3 early.
The Vikings put up another seven in the first quarter on a 71-yard drive that wrapped up with a 4-yard rush for
Phil Uecker—his first official carry of the season—that resulted in a 10-3 lead for his team.
The Golden Bears used another Obarski field goal, this one from 40 yards, and a Russo-to-Gilbert Charles 24-yard pass that earned CU a 13-10 advantage with 7:11 left in the first half.
But the Vikings got another score from Newell on the ensuing possession as he ripped off a 30-yard score on the ground to cap a 78-yard drive with two minutes left before the break for a 17-13 Viking lead.
Augustana got the ball back with a minute left in the half, and the Vikings went to work, going 66 yards before Behrens drilled a 39-yard field goal as time expired.
Newell had 124 rushing yards at the break on 11 carries (11.3 yards per carry), while Hanson completed 16 of 20 yards for 138 yards.
Uecker scored again with 8:30 remaining in the third quarter on a 1-yard plunge, and Augustana extended its lead even deeper into the third quarter by taking its third drive of the second half 73 yards, 33 of which came from Newell on the ground, before Hanson pinpointed a pass from 16 yards out to Gebhardt to give the Vikings a 34-13 lead.
Behrens lengthened the Viking lead to 37-13 on a 32-yard field goal with 10:43 left in the contest.
The Vikings notched a season-high 258 rushing yards and dominated time of possession, holding onto the ball for 38 minutes, 19 seconds.
Behrens finished with a season-high three field goals.
Augustana stays in state next Saturday, traveling to Northern State for a 2:30 p.m. game.
