SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- With three consecutive wins and a   5-0 road record, Augustana Football now returns home on Saturday for the final regular-season home game of 2018. The Vikings will welcome the Warriors of Winona State for a 1 p.m. kickoff at Kirkeby-Over Stadium. Saturday's game will also serve as senior day for Augustana, and fans are encouraged to arrive in-stadium early to help honor the 13 Viking seniors. Senior day recognition is scheduled to start at 12:40 p.m. Fans not in attendance can watch live video and stats of Saturday's game on GoAugie.com/live.

Fans interested in purchasing tickets for Saturday's game are reminded to use promo code WIN4 and save $4/ticket for Adult GA sections. This offer is available at GoAugie.com/tickets, and tickets must be purchased in advance and will not be available at the gate. Season ticket holders are also reminded to take advantage of their "extra" ticket for this game by bringing a family member or friend along to support the Vikings.

Lastly, Saturday's traditional pre-game tailgate has been moved inside to the Elmen Center (west end of the Hall Forum). Starting at 11:30 a.m., please join us for sloppy joes, chips, cookie and Coke products. There is no charge for A-Club members, and all others are $5.

Augustana head coach Jerry Olszewski is looking forward to kickoff, but most importantly a chance to honor his senior class that has helped define the Augustana program over the last four years. "This group will go down as one of the most successful classes in Augustana history," Olszewski said, "it's always difficult to see seniors careers come to an end, but they leave as All-Americans, division champs, Academic leaders on campus, and community servants. Every one of these 13 seniors represented AU football in an incredible way. Once a Vikings, always a Viking!" With two games to go, Augustana's senior class has won 27 games over four years, ranking 3rd all-time in program history.

The Vikings and Warriors come into Saturday's game with identical 6-3 (3-2 NSIC South) records, 3rd place in the division, and potential postseason implications on the line. Although neither school was ranked in the last Super region four poll, both programs are still in the hunt for a spot in the Excelsior Springs Mineral Water Bowl. The annual postseason bowl game is played outside of Kansas City and matches up the top non-playoff team from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association. The Vikings last appeared in the 2009 Mineral Water Bowl.

Once again, the key to the game for Augustana will be the Vikings ability to execute in all three phases of the game and finish in the 4th quarter. Over their three-game win streak, the Vikings have outscored their opponents 48-13 in the 4th quarter, including a pair of shutouts. In back-to-back weeks, the Vikings have also found the end zone in every phase of the game scoring two defensive touchdowns, two special teams touchdowns, and 16 offensive touchdowns.

On Saturday one matchup to keep an eye on is the Augustana passing attack vs. the Winona State passing defense. Led by a standup offensive line that has allowed just eight sacks in nine games, QB Kyle Saddler continues to develop into one of the league's best signal-callers. At 305.4 yards per game and 24 passing touchdowns, the Vikings remain first in the NSIC and 8th in the nation in passing offense. With five players averaging more than 35 yards per game, Augustana's wide receivers have also been impressive. Nickel Meyers leads the team with just over 91 yards per game, and his 10 touchdowns are second in the NSIC. Winona State comes in Saturday's game with a 6th ranked passing defense, allowing less than 221 yards per game. The Warriors secondary has also picked off 10 passes, ranking them third in the conference. Look for the Vikings to mix in the run and pass, and adjust to the Warrior defense as the game goes on.

A Senior Saturday...
The Vikings have 13 seniors on their roster, including senior captions Chet Peerenboom, Tom Green, Joey Newman, and Kirby Hora. All 13 seniors will graduate this year.

Moving the Chains...
Through nine games, Augustana has racked up 240 first downs (26.6 per game). The Vikings rank first in the NSIC in first downs and stand second in the nation in DII.

Protecting The Passer...
The Vikings great offensive production starts with a tremendous job from the offensive line. The Vikings have only allowed nine sacks all season, which ranks first the NSIC and tied for 16th in the nation.

Picking Up Where They Left Off...
The Vikings picked off another pass on Saturday and now have 10 interceptions on the season, standing tied for 6th in the league. Michael Kloza leads the team with four interceptions on the year.

Keep Kicking To Us...
Behind stout efforts from sophomore Luke Fritsch, the Vikings are leading the NSIC in kick return yards, averaging more than 25-yards per return. Individually, Fritsch is 10th in the nation at 30.8 yards per kick return.

Last Time Out: Win, 52-24 vs. Concordia-St. Paul
For the second straight week, Augustana scored in all three phases of the game - offense, defense, and special teams - and finished strong in the 4th quarter to outlast Concordia-St. Paul for a 52-24 win. The Vikings racked up five offensive scores, a fumble recovery touchdown, and a 54-yard punt return TD en route to racking up a season-high 52 points in the win. Augustana ran their win streak to three games while improving to 6-3 (3-2 NSIC South).

Going into the matchup, one of the keys to the game was winning the line of scrimmage, and the Augustana line was brilliant. On offense, the big men up front not only paved the way for a pair of 100-yard rushers for the Vikings, but they also shut down the Golden Bears defensive line, allowing 0 sacks and just four hurries. Cody Kujawa led the team with 8 tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble. Offensively, Jake Welsheimer chipped in three catches for 66 yards.

Scouting The Enemy...
After starting the year just 2-2, Winona State has won four of their last five games and are tied with Augustana at 6-3 overall. Most recently, the Warriors held off a late rally from Southwest Minnesota State to secure a 38-26 win. Two of the three losses have been to similar teams, as both the Warriors and Vikings have fallen to Minnesota State and Minnesota Duluth.
The Warriors come into Saturday's game averaging 32 points per game and allowing just under 24. Individually, they have had four players rush for 150 yards or more this season, led by Sam Santiago-Lloyd who has 504 yards and five touchdowns. QB Owen Burke has completed 54% of his passes for just over 2,000 yards and 19 touchdowns. Devon Moore leads the Warriors with 50 tackles and 3.5 sacks.

When These Two Square Up…
Although Augustana and Winona State first played in 1973, they didn't regularly start squaring up until 2008. Over the decade, the two programs have played 10 times and are an even 5-5. Two of the last three matchups (2015, 2016) have been decided by one point, which both resulted in Augustana wins. All-time the Vikings hold a 7-5 record against the Warriors and are 2-2 while playing at Kirkeby-Over Stadium.

The last time these two squared up was the final weekend of the 2017 regular season when No. 17 Warriors returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. Augustana answered with a quick touchdown, but the Warriors capitalized on their opportunities throughout the game to secure a 52-21 win. Kirby Hora had eight tackles to bring his NSIC-leading total to 129 on the year.

Game Notes:

• The Vikings have 13 seniors on their roster. This senior class has won 27 games over four years, ranking 3rd all-time in program history.
• Augustana's three-game win streak is the longest of the year and the programs best since 2016.
• Augustana has now scored a touchdown on offense, defense, and special teams in consecutive weeks.
• The Vikings are now a perfect (5-0) on the road. The five road wins matches the most the Vikings have had in the last decade.
• The Vikings have now outscored their last three opponents 48-13 in the 4th quarter alone.
• With a minimum of two games to go in his career, Kirby Hora has 392 career tackles. He needs 28 to break the all-time school record, which is held by Bryan Schwartz with 419 (1991-1994).
• Hora also has five forced fumbles, which is tied for 1st all-time in program history.
• Augustana has racked up 240 first downs (26.6 per game). The Vikings rank first in the NSIC in first downs and stand second in the nation in DII.
• The Vikings have only allowed nine (9) sacks all season, which ranks first the NSIC and tied for 16th in the nation.
• Augustana is leading the NSIC in kick return yards, averaging more than 25-yards per return. Individually, Luke Fritsch is 10th in the nation at 30.8 yards per kick return.
• At over 300 yards per game, Kyle Saddler stands 8th in the nation in passing and tops in the NSIC. Saddler's 24 passing touchdowns is a career-high and tied for 1st in the league.
• Nickel Meyers is 4th in the NSIC with 50 grabs for 825 yards and 10 touchdowns.
• Augustana has now recorded 26 sacks on the season, which ranks 4th in the NSIC.
• Cody Kujawa leads the team with 5 sacks on the season. He has 52 tackles and a pair of forced fumbles.
• In week eight, the Vikings scored a season-high 52 points. At 36.8 points per game, the Vikings rank third in the NSIC in scoring.
• In week eight, Braiden Petersen finished with a career-high 109 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Petersen's 63-yard touchdown run is the longest career rush for Petersen and the longest rush of the season for the Vikings.
• Following 100 yards last week, Rudolh Sinflorant now has 789 rushing yards this year. The sophomore only needs 326 (163 per game) to reach the school's all-time record, which was set by Joe Clark (2008) with 1,114 yards.
• Week eight marked the first time the Vikings have had a pair of 100-yard rushers this season, and the first time since Oct. 2015 (CJ Ham 154, and Trey Heid 106).
• In week eight, Avram Tynes scored on a 54-yard punt return. The touchdown marked the first time in more than 11 years (Dustin Rice, Sept. 2007) that the Vikings returned a punt for a TD.
• Over the last five games, Augustana has allowed an average of just 286 yards and 20 points per game on defense.
• The Vikings are 37-28 all-time under head coach Jerry Olszewski, with coach 'OJ' earning his first ever win as a Viking at MSU Moorhead in the 2013 season-opener, 41-28.