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MARSHALL, Minn. -
Dajon Newell rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown and Dan O'Keefe returned an interception for a score to lead Augustana to a 37-24 victory over Southwest Minnesota State in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference South Division football Saturday evening in Marshall, Minn.
Augustana picks up its first win of the season and moves to 1-3 (1-2 NSIC/1-0 NSIC South). SMSU falls to 1-3 (1-2 NSIC/0-1 NSIC South).
It was the 14th straight win for Augustana against SMSU.
Newell's 105 yards on the ground came on 22 carries. The redshirt freshman made his first career start Saturday.
Nate Mahone provided a solid compliment to Newell's breakout performance, rushing seven times for 59 yards and a score.
Josh Hanson completed 15 of 23 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns. Both of those strikes went to
Sam Holsen, who finished with three catches for 78 yards. Six different receivers caught two or more passes.
Austin Luecke registered 10 tackles to spearhead a Viking defense that allowed negative 7 yards rushing.
Joel Slinden tallied Augustana's lone sack in the contest and finished with four tackles.
SMSU got a strong outing from Tyler Peschong, who threw for 314 yards and two touchdowns.
Augustana racked up a season-high 431 yards of total offense, including 212 rushing yards. Entering the game, the Vikings hadn't rushed for more than 100 yards in a game this season.
The Vikings gave up the first score of the game for the fourth consecutive week, but it wouldn't be an indicator for the tone of the game as Augustana went on to rattle off the next 17 points.
SMSU took its second drive and turned it into a field goal by Mike Wenk, but Augustana rode the legs of Newell on its two next drives to move ahead 14-3 just before the end of the first quarter.
Newell rushed for 38 yards in the Vikings' first scoring drive, including ripping off a 10-yard run to make it 7-3. On the second drive, 10 yards from Newell and 27-yard catch by
Isaac Jorgensen set up a 4-yard connection between Hanson and Holsen to move ahead 14-3.
The teams traded punts to siphon off the second quarter.
The Vikings worked quickly to open the second half, taking their first drive 53 yards before
Drew Behrens drilled a 29-yard field goal for a 17-3 Viking lead. Newell again proved big in the drive, gaining 32 yards on the ground.
The Mustangs, however, returned it to a one-possession game with a 10-play, 57-yard drive that was capped by a Tyler Peschong-to-Cody Condon 14-yard touchdown pass, making it 17-10.
Hanson and Holsen countered the brief SMSU surge with a 64-yard touchdown connection through the air on the first play of Augustana's ensuing drive. The strike afforded the Vikings a 24-10 advantage.
A bad snap on a punt attempt on the next Mustang drive gave the Vikings the ball on the 2-yard line.
Nate Mahone immediately found paydirt with 1:25 left in the third, giving his team a 31-10 lead.
Fresh into the fourth quarter, the Vikings forced a turnover on downs and took over at its own 9-yard line. Augustana would end up punting.
The Mustangs converted that into a 34-yard scoring drive that saw Warren Matthews plunge in from 3 yards out.
Dan O'Keefe delivered the knockout punch with three minutes left in the game, returning his first interception of the season 59 yards to seal the Viking win. Behrens' extra point was blocked.
SMSU's Britt Wickett managed a 36-yard touchdown reception with less than two minutes to go to close scoring.
Augustana's rush defense was spectacular, holding the Mustangs to negative yardage. The Vikings last did that on Oct. 11, 2008, against SMSU in Sioux Falls when they held the Mustangs to negative 13 yards on the ground.
The Vikings struggled with penalties, getting whistled 12 times for 121 yards.
Augustana returns to Kirkeby-Over Stadium next Saturday in a 1 p.m. conference meeting with Concordia University, St. Paul.
