MARSHALL, Minn. – Augustana University football came up with some big plays in the fourth quarter to close-out the regular season with a 35-20 win over Southwest Minnesota State University (5-6, 2-5 NSIC South) at the Schwan Regional Event Center on Saturday afternoon. The Vikings finish the regular season 8-3 overall, including 5-2 in South Division play.
 
Augustana was ranked No. 10 in the latest NCAA Central Region rankings.  
 
Augustana has won eight-plus games in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2010. Augustana won eight games in back-to-back seasons in 2008 and 2009 before winning a program-best 11 in 2010.
 
Augustana finished the game with 452 yards of total offense, including 264 passing yards and 188 on the ground. Trey Heid registered his 11th straight game with over 200 yards passing in 2016, finishing with 264 yards and four touchdowns. Heid also ran for 63 yards and a touchdown.
 
Matt Heller hauled in six passes for 137 yards and three touchdowns this afternoon. Heller has caught three or more touchdown passes in a game five times this season and he registered his eighth 100-plus receiving yard game of the year.
 
Heller finishes the season with a single season record 1,490 receiving yards and 21 touchdown catches. Heller now has 3,389 career receiving yards and an all-time record 38 receiving touchdowns. Heid set single season records for passing touchdowns with 41 and passing yards with 3,582. 

Heid has accounted for 13,235 yards of total offense in his career, including 11,476 passing yards. He has now thrown 105 touchdowns in his career. 
 
Jackie Davis led Augustana in rushing on the afternoon carrying the ball eight times for 77 yards. Charlie Hayes hauled in two passes for 44 yards and a touchdown for the Vikings.
 
Augustana had three players in double-figures in tackles this afternoon. Matt Wagner recorded a career-high 17 tackles. Kirby Hora picked up 10 tackles and his first career interception. John Waters pitched in with 10 tackles and Joey Newman recorded a career-high eight tackles. Zac Johnson recorded 2.0 sacks on the day giving him 5.0 on the season.
 
SMSU finished the game with 444 yards of offense, including 362 yards through the air. Blake Gimbel completed 42 passes for 362 yards and two scores.
 
The Viking defense came up big all afternoon, holding SMSU to just 1 for 2 in red zone chances. SMSU drove to Augustana's four-yard line on the first drive of the game but the Vikings turned the Mustangs over on downs.
 
The offense needed just five plays to go 96 yards and the Vikings took a 7-0 lead after a 35-yard touchdown pass from Heid to Hayes with 7:32 remaining in the first quarter.
 
The two teams would battle each other and the win throughout much of the first half as the Vikings looked to extend their lead but Lucas Wainman's 29-yard field goal attempt into a 30-plus mile per hour wind missed wide right.
 
SMSU answered the miss by going 80 yards on 13 plays ending with a five-yard touchdown run by Gimbel. SMSU missed the extra point and the Vikings held on to a 7-6 lead with 2:03 remaining in the first half.
 
Augustana's quick-strike offense was able to march down the field in 1:44 scoring with 25 seconds left on an eight-yard touchdown run by Heid that gave Augustana a 14-6 lead just before the end of the half.
 
Augustana got the ball to start the second half but was heading dead into the wind. The Vikings and Mustangs traded possessions for the first four drives of the second half. On Augustana's fifth possession of the half, Heid found Heller in the corner of the end zone and he tip toed the sideline for his first of three scores of the game that gave the Vikings a 21-6 lead.
 
The Mustangs struck right back with a 24-yard touchdown catch by Raphael Lawson-Gayle on the sixth play of the next drive and SMSU was able to make the score 21-13.
 
Augustana carried the 21-13 lead into the fourth quarter and the defense came up with its first interception putting the ball back to the offense with the wind at its back. Two plays later, Heid found Heller for a 19-yard touchdown giving Augustana a 28-13 lead with 13:27 to play.
 
SMSU answered with a 45-yard touchdown catch by Lawson-Gayle making the score 28-20 and the Mustangs looked to give the Vikings a scare after recovering a short kickoff in Augustana territory. Augustana forced SMSU to punt and Heid hit Heller for 59 yards for their third connection of the game. The Vikings faced 3rd and 21 when Heid found a wide open Heller for the score giving Augustana a 35-20 lead with 6:29 to go.
 
Keyvion Mayhan stopped SMSU on its next drive with an interception at the Augustana nine yard line and the Vikings were able to take a couple knees to seal the victory.
 
Augustana put up a single season record 5,617 yards of total offense in 2016, including a single season record 3,786 passing yards and 65 touchdowns.