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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Max Martin hit a 49-yard field goal with 13 seconds left to lift Wayne State to a 34-32 victory over Augustana Saturday afternoon in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference South Division football at Kirkeby-Over Stadium in Sioux Falls.
WSC improves to 7-3 (7-2 NSIC/3-2 NSIC South), while Augustana falls to 5-5 (5-4 NSIC/3-2 NSIC South).
Max's field goal erased a 32-31 late Viking lead. Augustana had scored with 1:06 remaining to go ahead, but the Wildcats went 39 yards before Max split the uprights with the wind to his back.
The Vikings were stuffed on the only offensive play of their resulting possession.
Bryce Hawthorne rushed for 167 yards and one touchdown in the Wildcat win. Nate Most threw for 152 yards and two scores.
Ben Parsley hauled in a career-high 10 catches for a career-high 135 yards and a touchdown.
Josh Hanson completed 33 of 52 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns.
The Viking run game struggled, netting just 58 yards.
WSC's Hawthorne opened scoring in the contest when he plunged in from 8 yards out with 7:54 left in the first quarter. The score came on the Wildcats' second drive of the game, which went just 42 yards after a poor Viking punt put WSC on a short field.
On its next drive, WSC worked 49 yards to move ahead 14-0 after Kevin Paulsen snagged a 9-yard toss from Most deep into the first quarter.
The Vikings managed to cut the difference in half with 6:39 left in the first half. Riding three straight first downs during the drive, Augustana punched it in from 2 yards out on a
Phil Uecker rush. The surge included a 20-yard pass to Parlsey, a 10-yard pass to
Jordan Marshall and another 15 yards rushing from
Dajon Newell.
Augustana worked quickly on its next drive as well, using 24 receiving yards from Parsley to knot the contest at 14-14. The drive culminated with a 10-yard strike from Hanson to Parsley in the right corner of the endzone.
After forcing a Wildcat punt on the next possession, Augustana had 1:23 left in the half to get rid of the tie. The Vikings pushed the ball 20 yards and set up
Drew Behrens from 46 yards with the wind to his back. The junior delivered for a 17-14 halftime lead and tied a career-long field goal in the process.
Parsley had seven catches for 66 yards and a touchdown in the first half. Hanson gained 114 yards through the air.
A south wind played a big part in scoring in the first half. Neither team scored without the wind to its back.
Set up by a
Ben Wardell fumble recovery on WSC's first drive of the second half, Augustana marched 58 yards in five plays to paydirt as Uecker bounced in from 4 yards. The Vikings failed on a two-point conversion and led 23-14 six minutes in. A 41-yard reception by Parsley fueled the drive.
Aaron Konicek immediately put the Wildcats within two points by grabbing a 23-yard pass from Most with 6:15 remaining in the third quarter.
WSC took its first lead of the second half at the 1:43 mark in the third quarter on a 28-yard field goal by Martin, which gave the Wildcats a 24-23 edge.
Augustana would regain the lead early in the fourth quarter. After a botched fake punt, the Vikings gave the Wildcats the ball on their own 36-yard line. Three plays later, however,
Nick Andreas snagged an interception and returned it to the 27-yard line. Berhens gave his Vikings a 26-24 advantage with 11:31 left on a 25-yard field goal.
WSC, though, delivered another lead change on defense as Tommy Warren picked off Hanson and returned it 38 yards. The Wildcats led 31-26 with 7:24 remaining in the contest.
The Vikings had the ball with a little more than three minutes left trailing by five points, and they again regained the lead when Hanson found
Grant Gebhardt from 3 yards deep for a one-point Augustana advantage with 1:06 left. A two-point conversion that would have put the Vikings up by three failed. The drive spanned 10 plays and 80 yards and got a boost from catches from
Noah Huisman and Gebhardt.
WSC used the final minute for its game-winning drive.
Augustana finished the game with 346 yards of total offense, out gaining WSC by 8 yards.
The Viking defense, which was led by Dan O'Keefe's 12 tackles, forced three Wildcat turnovers. In addition to Andreas' pick,
Zac Kallas had an interception.
Augustana travels to Upper Iowa next Saturday for a 1 p.m. South Division meeting. The game will be played at North Fayette High School in West Union, Iowa.
