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ABERDEEN, S.D. - Augustana went 80 yards in four plays late in the fourth quarter to score the go-ahead touchdown and beat Northern State 27-24 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football Saturday afternoon in Aberdeen, S.D.
Ben Parsley snagged a 24-yard pass from
Josh Hanson on the game-winning drive, which spanned just 38 seconds and erased a 24-19 NSU lead. The drive, which started with just fewer than 2 minutes left, also included 19 rushing yards from Hanson and a 37-yard reception from
Grant Gebhardt. Parsley additionally pulled in the two-point conversion after his final touchdown catch to make it a three-point game.
Augustana moves to 3-3 (3-2 NSIC) with the win, while NSU is now 1-5 (0-5 NSIC).
Parsley provided a punch all game, catching four passes for 40 yards and two scores.
Sam Holsen and Gebhardt each had 94 yards receiving. Gebhardt also notched 31 punt-return yards and 126 kick-return yards; he finished the game with 251 all-purpose yards.
Hanson finished 25 of 49 for 317 yards and two scores. He was intercepted once.
Ben Wardell led Augustana with a career-high 13 tackles, including one for loss.
Nick Andreas made 12 stops, and Dan O'Keefe registered 11 tackles and forced a fumble.
James Kristin rushed for 155 yards for the Wolves, who charted 473 yards of total offense.
Augustana's only lead of the game came following its final scoring drive.
The Vikings answered a Wolf score early in the second quarter when Gebhardt took the ensuing kickoff 93 yards to even the contest at 7-7.
NSU added another touchdown on a 50-yard Nick Wanner-to-Mark Hanley connection with 2:35 left in the half.
The Vikings countered with a 23-yard field goal from
Drew Behrens just before the half to cut the deficit to 14-10.
Wanner kick started another drive for the Wolves in the third quarter, finding Chris Morton on a 60-yard surge through the air that set NSU up on the Augustana 4-yard line. Kristin plunged in on the next play for a 21-10 NSU lead.
Augustana again answered with a field goal—this one a 28-yard effort from Behrens.
NSU's field goal from Felipe Alfaia with 7:12 left in the third quarter gave the Wolves a 24-13 advantage.
Just before the start of the fourth quarter, Augustana orchestrated a 64-yard drive in which Parsley hauled in his first touchdown of the game on a 22-yard pass from Hanson to get the Vikings within five points.
The final 10 drives of the game—five for NSU and six for Augustana—were unproductive except for the game-changing charge by Augustana in what turned out to be a lesson in the two-minute drill. The drive, in fact, went so quickly that the Wolves had a chance to answer with 1:14 left. But four consecutive incomplete passes by NSU negated that opportunity.
The 245 yards the Vikings allowed on the ground were the most this season. The last team to rush for more than 200 yards against Augustana was Minnesota Duluth in the NCAA playoffs last season.
The Vikings struggled to engage its ground game, finishing with just 40 rushing yards. A season-high 317 passing yards, though, helped to neutralize the sub-par rushing effort.
The win was the eighth straight for Augustana over NSU.
Augustana returns home next Saturday to face Winona State in an NSIC South Division game.
