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This week
Augustana (1-3, 1-2 NSIC/1-0 NSIC South) returns to Kirkeby-Over Stadium Saturday to host Concordia University, St. Paul (2-2, 1-2 NSIC/0-1 NSIC South) in a 1:05 p.m. Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference South Division contest.
Television
Midco Sports Network will telecast Saturday's contest at Kirkeby-Over Stadium. Jay Elsen will handle the play-by-play, while Mark Blackburn, a former Augustana assistant football coach and current director of multicultural programs at the College, will provide color commentary. MidcoSN can be found on channels 26 or 622 for Midcontinent Communications subscribers. It will be the third game this season that Augustana has been on MidcoSN. The?Vikings' Oct. 8 game at Northern State will also be telecast by the network, while an Oct. 27 meeting with Minnesota State in Mankato, Minn., will be broadcast by CBS Sports Network and picked up live by MidcoSN.
The series
Saturday's tilt with Concordia University, St. Paul marks the eighth meeting between the two teams. Augustana holds a 4-3 advantage in the series that began in 2004 and has won the last three games, including a 22-16 victory last year in St. Paul, Minn. The Vikings' three losses in the series (2004, 2005 and 2007) have come by a combined five points. At home, Augustana is 1-2 against the Golden Bears with the Vikings' lone home win coming in 2009 at Kirkeby-Over Stadium. Head coach Mike Aldrich is 1-0 against CU. For more on the series, turn to page 13.
Football forecast
Saturday's forecast for Sioux Falls, S.D., calls for a high of 68 degrees and a sunny sky.
Last time out
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 last Saturday in Marshall, Minn. 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.
Game on Dajon
Dajon?Newell (Lakeville, Minn.) turned his first collegiate start into the first 100-yard rushing effort by a Viking this season after registering 105 yards on the ground in Augustana's win over Southwest Minnesota State last Saturday. Newell, who had seen limited action prior to last Saturday's game in Marshall, Minn., served as a catalyst for several of Augustana scoring drives, helping the Viking earn their first win of the 2011 season. For the season, Newell is now at 108 yards on 27 carries. His first career start will be followed by his second as the redshirt freshman was bumped to No. 1 on the depth chart this week.
Running wild
It was a breakout game in terms of rushing for the Vikings last Saturday. Heading into its game with SMSU, Augustana had totaled just 158 yards through three games. Last Saturday, Augustana netted 212 yards on the ground. The Vikings also rushed the ball a season-high 41 times against the Mustangs, splitting carries between?
Dajon Newell (22),
Nate Mahone (8),
Curt Truhe (4),?
Brock Bills (3),
Josh Hanson (3) and
Sam Holsen (1).
Oh snap
Augustana's win at Southwest?Minnesota State snapped a three-game losing streak and helped the Vikings avoid their longest skid since 2007 when they dropped four straight midseason games.
Twice is nice
Sam Holsen (Sioux Falls) has been one of the most consistent receivers in the NSIC this season, and he's leading the league with 5.67 catches per outing (conference games only). Last Saturday at Southwest Minnesota State, the senior hauled in two touchdown strikes and finished with 78 yards receiving on three catches. The multiple touchdown game is hardly a first for the trusty wide receiver; he's been the recipient of two or more touchdown passes five times in his career. Holsen currently leads the Vikings receiving corps with 396 yards and four scores this season.
Date Opponent Rec. TD
Aug. 27, 2009 at St. Cloud State 3
Oct. 17, 2009 Upper Iowa 2
Oct. 24, 2009 at Wayne State 2
Nov. 7, 2009 Northern State 2
Oct. 24, 2011 at Southwest Minnesota State 2
Stop the run
It's happened just twice since 2000, and the Vikings have done it against the same team. Augustana held Southwest Minnesota State to negative 7 yards rushing last Saturday, marking the first time since 2008 an opponent has failed to gain positive yardage on the ground. The previous instance also came against SMSU when the Mustangs were held to negative 13 yards on Oct. 11, 2008, in Sioux Falls.
South Division standings
Augustana is one of three teams that are unbeaten in NSIC South Division play after last weekend as Minnesota State beat Concordia-St. Paul and Winona State topped Upper Iowa. Augustana, MSU and WSU are all 1-0 in the South?Division. The Vikings finished 5-1 in the South Division last year, capturing a share of the division title.
Red-zone wall
Augustana is the top team in the NSIC inside the 20-yard line. On 11 tries in conference games, the Vikings' opponents have scored just six times (54.5 percent)--a statistic that leads the league. Bemidji State scored three times while in the red zone, U-Mary scored once and Southwest Minnesota State twice. Considering all games this season, Augustana opponents are 6 of 13 (46.1 percent). The Vikings didn't allow Minnesota Duluth to score once when it was in the red zone when the two teams played in their season openers on Sept. 3 at Kirkeby-Over Stadium. Offensively, the Vikings are 9 of 16 (56.3 percent) when in the red zone, highlighted by four scores against SMSU last Saturday.
Oh Danny boy
Dan O'Keefe's (Aberdeen, S.D.) first interception of the season resulted in six points for the Vikings last Saturday at Southwest Minnesota State. O'Keefe swiped a Tyler Peschong pass in the fourth quarter and returned it 59 yards to give his team a 37-17 advantage. It was the eighth interception of this career but the first he has turned one into a touchdown. The senior has now scored two defensive touchdowns this season--the other coming when he scooped a fumble against Bemidji State and brought it back 45 yards for a score. He is tied for third in scoring on the team with 12 points this season.
Hanson goes for 200 again
Josh Hanson (Watertown, S.D.) completed 15 of 23 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns against Southwest Minnesota State last Saturday, marking the ninth time in his career the junior has eclipsed the 200-yard mark. It was also the third 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
Here we go again
Same story, different week. Austin?Luecke (Groton, S.D.) continues to lead the NSIC and Augustana in tackles. The linebacker has 40 stops this season, including 5.5 for a loss. On top of that, he's forced two fumbles and blocked one kick. In conference games, Luecke is averaging 13.0 tackles per game--tops in the NSIC--and has also forced a league-leading two fumbles. In 2011, he has yet to experience a game where he hasn't been in double-figure tackles; he notched 10 against Minnesota Duluth, 15 against Bemidji State, 14 versus U-Mary and 10 against Southwest Minnesota State. Luecke is at 114 tackles for his career.
Longing for long plays
Sam Holsen (Sioux Falls) matched Augustana's longest play of the year last Saturday against Southwest Minnesota State when he took a
Josh Hanson (Watertown, S.D.) pass 64 yards for a score in the third quarter. It matched
Grant Gebhardt's (Burwell, Neb.) 64-yard reception against Bemidji State. Dan O'Keefe (Aberdeen, S.D.) owns the other two longest plays of the year--a 59-yard interception return against SMSU and 45-yard fumble recovery against BSU.
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 12-3 (.800) at K-O, with its most recent loss coming to Bemidji State Sept. 10. Viking squads have outscored their opponents 499-256 in the venue's history.
Year Record Augie-Opp. Pts.
2009 5-1 220-107
2010 7-0 255-99
2011 0-2 39-50
12-3 499-256
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 366-438-15. 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.
