GAME NOTES (PDF)
This week
Augustana (2-3, 2-2 NSIC/2-0 NSIC South) stays in South Dakota this week with a trip to Northern State (1-4, 0-4 NSIC/0-1 NSIC North). Kickoff from Aberdeen's Swisher Field is set for 2:30 p.m.
Television
Midco Sports Network will telecast Saturday's contest in Aberdeen, S.D. Tom Nieman will handle play-by-play, while Hank?McCall will provide color commentary. MidcoSN can be found on channels 26 or 622 for Midcontinent Subscribers.
The series
The Augustana-Northern State series is one of the oldest for the Viking football program. The two teams first met during the 1923 season; Saturday marks the 33rd contest between the two South Dakota-based institutions. Augustana leads the series 26-5-1 and has won the last seven games and 16 of the last 17. NSU's last win in the series came on Sept. 6, 2003, when the Wolves beat the Vikings 24-21 in Aberdeen, S.D. Head coach Mike Aldrich is 1-0 against NSU. For more on the series, turn to page 13.
Football forecast
Saturday's forecast for Aberdeen, S.D., calls for a high of 72 degrees and a 40 percent chance of rain.
Last time out
Dajon Newell registered 203 yards on the ground as Augustana topped Concordia University, St. Paul 37-13 Saturday afternoon in Sioux Falls. Newell's 203 yards came on 22 carries, averaging the redshirt freshman out to 9.2 yards per touch.
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. 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.
NSIC honors
Dajon Newell (Lakeville, Minn.) and
Drew Behrens (Pleasant Hill, Iowa) were honored by the NSIC Monday when the conference handed out its weekly awards. Newell was named the offensive player of the week, while Behrens garnered special teams player of the week. ?Newell rushed for 203 yards against Concordia University, St. Paul on?Saturday, while Behrens drilled three field goals and four point afters.
Kirkeby-Over first
Dajon Newell (Lakeville, Minn.) did something a Viking running back has never done at Kirkeby-Over Stadium last Saturday against Concordia University, St. Paul: He rushed for more than 200 yards. The last player to eclipse the 200-yard mark was
Joe Clark, who racked up 208 yards on the ground on Oct. 4, 2008, at Howard Wood Field in Sioux Falls. Newell finished the game with 214 all-purpose yards as he also hauled in two passes for 11 yards.
Elite company
Two-hundred yard rushers are hard to come by. When
Dajon Newell (Lakeville, Minn.) did it last week against Concordia University, St. Paul, he became just the fifth player since 2000 to surpass 200 yards on the ground. Josh Fulton did it twice during his career--once in 2004 and another time in 2005.
Date Player Opponent Rushing Yards
Sept. 29, 2001 Ryan Ovenden at St. Cloud State 209
Sept. 18, 2004 Josh Fulton at Minnesota, Crookston 208
Sept. 17, 2005 Josh Fulton Minnesota, Crookston 211
Oct. 4, 2008
Joe Clark Minnesota State 208
Oct. 2, 2011
Dajon Newell Concordia-St. Paul 203
Saint Nick
A pair of interceptions by
Nick Andreas (Lakeville, Minn.) added to an already impressive performance by the Augustana defense last Saturday against Concordia University, St. Paul. Andreas entered the game with just one pick through four contests, but he managed to swipe Golden Bear signal caller Jared Russo twice in the second half. His first interception led to a field goal, while his second only served as an explanation point on a Viking victory already in hand.
It's a G thing
Grant Gebhardt's (Burwell, Neb.) stat line looked the best it has in the redshirt freshman's young career last Saturday. The speedster was
Josh Hanson's (Watertown, S.D.) favorite target, corralling six passes for 66 yards and a score. Gebhardt, who has emerged as Augustana's return specialist as well, has a knack for accumulating yards. He's second on the team in all-purpose yards with 480 (96.0 yards per game).
I'll take that
Sophomore cornerback
Sean Kelly (Naperville, Ill.) made his presence felt in his second-half minutes against Concordia University, St. Paul last Saturday. In the fourth quarter, Kelly made the Golden Bears' Lance Smith fumble on his only carry of the game. He then pounced on the fruit of his labors at the CU 16-yard line. Kelly, who has made one start at cornerback this year, finished the game with two tackles.
A state of mind
A few years ago, Augustana and Northern State were the only NCAA Division II programs in the state of South Dakota. It made for the lone Division II contest in the state featuring South Dakota squads. Today, however, there are five schools in South Dakota either in Division II or making the transition to Division II. Of the five, Augustana has one of the best records at 2-3 (tied with the University of Sioux Falls).
Augustana 2-3
University of Sioux Falls 2-3
Northern State 1-4
Black Hills State 1-5
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology 0-5
Stoppin' the run
Augustana has the top run defense in the NSIC. The Vikings are allowing just 71.8 yards on the ground per contest (conference games only). In five games this season, Augustana has held its opponents to less than 100 yards twice and to negative yardage once. The Vikings have yet to allow a team gain 200 rushing yards in 2011.
Spread the love
Josh Hanson (Watertown, S.D.) completed passes to nine different receivers last Saturday against Concordia University, St. Paul.
Grant Gebhardt (Burwell, Neb.) led the charge with six receptions, while Hanson completed three each to
Ben Parsley (Flandreau, S.D.),
Nate Mahone (Brandon, S.D.) and
Jordan Marshall (Ramsey, Minn.). Five more caught at least one pass on the afternoon. The output was the most diverse for Hanson this season.
Hanson goes for 200 again
Josh Hanson (Watertown, S.D.) completed 24 of 32 passes for 220 yards and two touchdowns against Concordia University, St. Paul last Saturday, marking the 10th time in his career the junior has eclipsed the 200-yard mark. It was also the fourth time this season the junior has reached 200 yards.
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
Pick proof
There have been few mistakes by the arm of Josh?Hanson (Watertown, S.D.) the past two games. The junior has thrown 55 passes without an interception. Of those 55 attempts, 39 have resulted in completions. Hanson was last intercepted on his final pass of the game at U-Mary on Sept. 17. He has thrown just two interceptions this season and had three games with none--all of which resulted in at least 200 yards passing.
Steady improvement
Augustana's offense has seen its total output improve the past two games. After netting just 253 yards of total offense against U-Mary on Sept. 17, the Vikings have put themselves well past 400 in their last two outings. Last week against Concordia University, St. Paul, Augustana charted a season-high 478 yards. The week before, the Vikings registered 431 yards. In 2011, Augustana is averaging 359.6 yards of total offense per game, despite two contests where the Vikings' hovered around the 250-yard mark.
Ever efficient
Phil Uecker (Dassel, Minn.) made the most of his three carries last week against Concordia University, St.?Paul. The junior scored two touchdowns on a 4-yard and 1-yard run. In fact, Uecker's first official carry of the season resulted in a score. The two touchdowns were the first of Uecker's career. He now has 8 rushing yards for the season.
Still the leader
Despite a relatively quiet day for wide receiver
Sam Holsen (Sioux Falls) last Saturday, the senior still leads the Viking receivers with solid line through five games. Holsen, who caught two passes for 22 yards last week, has made 24 catches for 418 yards in 2011. He's averaging 17.4 yards per catch and 83.6 yards per game. Holsen has also scored four touchdowns this season.
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 their team. D2football.com, Lindy's and Sporting News reserved a spot for Kallas.
We like Mike
Mike Aldrich commenced his career as a head coach in eventful style. He immediately rattled of 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 12-5.
History lesson
Augustana is in its 89th season of competition in 2011. The Vikings owns an all-time record of 367-438-15. The Vikings have posted 32 winning seasons, including the past three years.
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.
