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This week
Augustana (5-4, 5-3 NSIC/3-1 NSIC South) entertains Wayne State (6-3, 6-2 NSIC/2-2 NSIC South) in its final home game of the season Saturday at Kirkeby-Over Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
The series
Augustana and Wayne State will meet for the 14th time Saturday. The?Vikings are 7-5-1 all-time against the Wildcats in a series that first saw action during the 1951 season. The series owns a unique feature as the two teams tied each other 0-0 on Sept. 10, 1955. Last season, WSC spoiled a nine-game Viking winning streak by topping Augustana 26-14 in Wayne, Neb. Head coach Mike Aldrich is 0-1 against?WSC.?
Last time out
Minnesota State scored the go-ahead touchdown with 3:28 left and held off Augustana down the stretch to pick up a 27-26 victory last Thursday evening on national television in Mankato, Minn. The Vikings got 189 rushing yards and three touchdowns from
Dajon Newell.
Josh Hanson threw for 235 yards.
Sam Holsen hauled in seven catches for 96 yards Jon Daniels threw for 129 yards for MSU, while Adam Thielen caught eight passes for 82 yards and a touchdown.
Football forecast
Saturday's forecast for Sioux Falls, S.D., calls for a high of 49 degrees and a chance of showers.
Dajon does it again
For the third straight week and fifth time this season,
Dajon Newell (Lakeville, Minn.) ran for more than 100 yards after racking up 189 yards on the ground against Minnesota State last week. His big rushing effort came on 27 carries, averaging the redshirt freshman out to 7.0 yards per touch. Newell also hauled in four passes for 36 yards and finished the game with 225 all-purpose yards. The three rushing touchdowns for Newell marks the first time a Viking has done that since
Joe Clark had a trio of rushing scores on Oct. 10, 2009, against Southwest Minnesota State.
At the risk of jinxing it
Despite playing in just seven of Augustana's nine games this season,
Dajon Newell (Lakeville, Minn.) is on pace to eclipse the 1,000-yard rushing mark in 2011. Newell sits at 785 yards on the season thus far and is averaging 112.1 yards per contest. If Newell is able to sustain his current productivity, he would go past 1,000 yards in the final game of the season at Upper Iowa.
A new leader
Augustana has a new career leader for field goals.
Drew Behrens (Pleasant Hill, Iowa) drilled his 32nd career field goal last Thursday against Minnesota State, passing Adam Brinkman (2000-2003) and Ryan Grossman (2005-2008), who were tied for the previous record at 31. Behrens hit two against the Mavericks, connecting from 34 and 24 yards. Behrens, a junior, already holds the single-season record with 16 field goals, a feat he accomplished last season.
Offensive productivity
Augustana racked up 460 yards of total offense last Thursday against Minnesota State--its second highest total of the season. The Vikings went for 225 yards on the ground and 235 yards through the air, running a season-high 79 plays against the Mavericks. Augustana also kept the ball for nearly 10 minutes more than its opponent; the Vikings' time of possession totaled out to 34 minutes, 20 seconds, while MSU had the ball for 24:40.
Oh snap!
Minnesota State's 27-26 victory over Augustana last Thursday snapped a five-game winning streak by the Vikings that dated back to a Sept. 24 win at Southwest Minnesota State. The loss to the Maverick's also marked the first in October for Augustana, which had won four straight during the month heading into its meeting with MSU. The Vikings' five-game winning streak was the longest since 2010 when they won nine consecutive games to open the season en route to a record-breaking 11-2 campaign.
South Division breakdown
Minnesota State secured at least a share of the NSIC South Division crown with its win over Augustana last week, but the Vikings are still in the running to get a piece of the title. The Vikings are currently 3-1 in South Division play but still have two divisional games remaining on their schedule. Minnesota State is 5-0 in the South?Division but has just one divisional game left. Therefore, if MSU falls in its final divisional game against Southwest?Minnesota State this Saturday, the Mavericks would finish with a record of 5-1. If Augustana wins its final two games against Wayne State and Upper Iowa, the Vikings would have an identical 5-1 South Division record. In that scenario, the two teams would share the divisional title as no tie-breaking mechanism is instituted in divisional standings. The Vikings earned a share of the South Division championship last season.
Another 200-yard performance
Josh Hanson (Watertown, S.D.) completed 23 of 40 passes for 235 yards against Minnesota State last week, marking the 12th time in his career the junior has eclipsed the 200-yard mark. It was also the sixth time this season the junior has reached 200 yards. Hanson has thrown for 2,046 yards and 13 touchdowns this year and is averaging 204.6 passing yards per game.
Date Opponent Yards Passing
Sept. 4, 2010 St. Cloud State ?256
Sept. 11, 2010 at Bemidji State 253
Sept. 18, 2010 U-Mary 406
Sept. 25, 2010 Southwest Minnesota State 285
Oct. 16, 2010 at Winona State 216
Oct. 23, 2010 at MSU Moorhead 239
Sept. 3, 2011 Minnesota Duluth 235
Sept. 10, 2011 Bemidji State 301
Sept. 24, 2011 at Southwest Minnesota State 219
Oct. 1, 2011 Concordia-St. Paul 220
Oct. 8, 2011 at Northern State 317
Oct. 27, 2011 at Minnesota State 235
You shall not pass
For just the second time this season, Augustana and signal caller
Josh Hanson (Watertown, S.D.) failed to score a touchdown through the air against Minnesota State last week. That statistic, though, was largely in part to three rushing touchdowns by Dajon?Newell (Lakeville, Minn.). Augustana was also unable to complete a passing touchdown on Sept. 17 when the Vikings were blanked 10-0 at U-Mary.
Special teams stat
Augustana allowed its first return for a touchdown this season when Minnesota State's Dennis Carter scored on the game's opening kickoff last Thursday. Carter went 87 yards to paydirt, also notching the longest kick return this season agains the Vikings. Heading into the contest, Augustana hadn't given up a kick or punt return for a touchdown in 2011.
First-down frenzy
Augustana moved the chains a season-high 26 times last week at Minnesota State. ?The Vikings had 13 first downs via rushing, 12 by passing and another through a penalty. Nine of those first downs came on third down, while another three came in fourth-down scenarios. In comparison, MSU had just 12, matching a season-low for a Viking opponent.
Senior moments
Twelve seniors will play their final games at Kirkeby-Over Stadium on Saturday against Wayne State.
Curt Truhe (Elk?Point, S.D.),
Sam Holsen (Sioux Falls),
Jordan Marshall (Ramsey, Minn.),
Nick Andreas (Lakeville, Minn.), Dan O'Keefe (Aberdeen, S.D.),
Zac Kallas (Eden Prairie, Minn.),
Ben Wardell (Sturgis, S.D.),
Louis Krabbenhoft (Sioux Falls),
Tyler Lynch (Sioux Falls),?
Aaron Esselink (Hills, Minn.),
Scott Verley (Blooming Prairie, Minn.) and
Anthony Shawd (Sioux Falls) are this year's seniors. The class has experienced a plethora of firsts during their careers. They were part of the firstViking football team to play in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. They played the first game in Kirkeby-Over Stadium. And they helped the Vikings to the most successful season in school history last year in which Augustana went 11-2 and hosted and won its first playoff game in school history.
The century mark
Linebacker
Austin Luecke (Groton,?S.D.) will likely go past 100 tackles for the season before 2011 wraps up. Luecke, who is enjoying his first year as a starter, is at a team-high 88 tackles for the season. He has also registered a team-best 38 solo stops. Luecke has had five double-figure tackle games this season, including a 15-stop effort against Bemidji State on?Sept. 10. With 100, Luecke would be in good company. Now-graduated
Chris Janisch (Sioux Falls)--a fellow linebacker--had 106 tackles last season.
All-purpose Sam
Wide receiver
Sam Holsen (Sioux Falls) is just 5 yards shy of 1,000 all-purpose yards for the second time in his carer. Holsen, who also doubles as a return man, has totaled 745 receiving yards, 213 kick-return yards and 8 punt-return yards through nine games. Holsen eclipsed 1,000 all-purpose yard during his sophomore campaign and is at 3,242 for his career.
A prairie home companion
The Vikings have had three slip-ups at Kirkeby-Over Stadium since the facility opened for the 2009 season. Augustana is 15-3 (.833) at K-O, with its most recent loss coming to Bemidji State on Sept. 10. Viking squads have outscored their opponents 597-299 in the venue's history.
Year Record Augie-Opp. Pts.
2009 5-1 220-107
2010 7-0 255-99
2011 3-2 122-93
15-3 597-299
What the coaches say
The NSIC coaches picked the Vikings third overall and first in the South Division in their preseason poll. Augustana received 145 points overall and 33 points and four first-place votes in the South Division edition of the rankings. Minnesota Duluth was the preseason favorite with 11 first-place votes and 167 points. The Bulldogs were also picked to win the North Division with five first-place votes and 35 points.
All-America nods
Defensive backs Dan O'Keefe (Aberdeen, S.D.) and
Zac Kallas (Eden Prairie, Minn.) accepted a total of four preseason All-America certificates prior to the start of this 2011 season. Consensus Draft Services picked O'Keefe for its team. D2football.com, Lindy's and Sporting News reserved a spot for Kallas.
History lesson
Augustana is in its 89th season of competition in 2011. The Vikings owns an all-time record of 370-439-15. The Vikings have posted 32 winning seasons, including the past three years.
We like Mike
Mike Aldrich commenced his career as a head coach in eventful style. He immediately rattled off nine wins and led the Vikings to their first playoff appearance in more than two decades. Aldrich also doubles as Augustana's defensive coordinator. The 2010 Region 5 Coach of the Year and a finalist for the Liberty Mutual?Coach of the Year, Aldrich owns a career record of 16-6.
Stay connected
It's easy to know the latest on Viking athletics. You can follow Augustana on its various social media outlets, including Twitter (twitter.com/GoAugie), Facebook (facebook.com/GoAugie) and YouTube (youtube.com/GoAugie). To learn more, visit GoAugie.com/stayconnected.
Augustana Sportscene
Augustana Sportscene is a 30-minute weekly television show highlighting Augustana athletics and is hosted by Director of Athletics Bill Gross. The show includes Viking highlights, interviews with various coaches and student-athletes and promotion of upcoming Augustana athletic events. Augustana Sportscene airs Monday's at 10:30 p.m. and Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. on Midco Sports Network and at various times on Mediacom's MC22.
Augustana Coaches' Show
Live from Rookies in Sioux Falls, The Augustana Coaches' Show airs On ESPN 99.1 each Monday at 5 p.m. Join Jeffy Fylling and Augustana head coaches as they discuss various topics surrounding Viking athletics. You can also stream the show live at www.ESPN991.com.
Video webcasts
The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and Penn Atlantic have again teamed up to webcast each conference football game in 2011. A complete broadcast schedule is available at www.northernsun.org.
On the radio
Veteran radio man Jeff Fylling is back as the “Voice of the Vikings” for 2011. Join Fylling and color anaylyst and former Augustana quarterback John Schultz for each week's broadcast on KIKN-FM 100.5. You can also stream the broadcast at kikn.com/stream.
