SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The No. 19 Augustana football team pushed its home winning streak to 10 games and is on the brink of not only an NSIC South Division Championship but overall NSIC Championship after a 38-20 win over Winona State Saturday afternoon.
 
Playing in front of over 3,000 fans at the end of October, Kyle Saddler tossed for 271 yards and four touchdowns while the Augustana defense sacked the Warriors' quarterback four times and held WSU to just 49 yards rushing. Augustana moves to 8-1 on the season, first place in the NSIC, while Winona State falls to 5-4 on the year.
 
Midway through the opening quarter, Augustana got on the scoreboard on a quick two-play, 53-yard drive as Logan Uttecht caught a 26-yard touchdown for the 7-0 lead. The Vikings opened a 14-0 lead when Saddler and Uttecht connected again, this time an eight-yard strike.
 
With the two touchdowns, the duo has now had five touchdown connections over the last two games.
 
Ben Limburg then split the uprights on a career-long 45-yard field goal to give AU the 17-0 lead with 7:50 remaining in the first half.  Limburg's kick was into a brisk north wind averaging 15 mph.
 
Winona State tallied back-to-back scoring drives to enter the intermission trailing 17-14. The first score was a 30-yard pass from Owen Burke to Jason Michael Young. With 2:22 left in the half, Javian Roebuck ran the ball in from three yards out.
 
After the Augustana defense forced a Warriors' three-and-out to open the third quarter, the Vikings ran off a five-play, 45-yard drive to push the lead to 24-14. The scoring play was a Saddler one-yard rush to the left side of the offensive line.
 
The lead ballooned to 31-14 as Saddler and Sean Engel had a touchdown connection for the 12^th time in 2021. Engel caught the ball on the right side of the field at the one-yard line and leaped superman style into the end zone.
 
With just 46 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Devon Jones put the game out of reach as he had a 24-yard scoring reception to give Augustana the 38-14 lead.
 
Winona State was able to muster a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter, but the Vikings had done enough to secure the win 38-20.
 
Augustana totaled nine tackles for loss totaling 60 yards with the four sacks part of the nine. All four sacks were solo as Grayson Diepenbrock, Luke Fritsch, Parker Buckley and Matt Chitty each recorded a tackle on the quarterback.
 
T.J. Liggett and Eli Weber led the Augustana defense with eight tackles each. Peyton Buckley, continuing to keep his name in the NSIC Defensive Newcomer of the Year discussion, tallied his fifth interception of the year, had a half tackle for loss and totaled seven tackles on the day.
 
Saddler, the Preseason NSIC South Division Offensive Player of the Year, went 23-of-35 for 271 yards and four touchdowns. Five receivers tallied 20 or more yards with Madden Pikula leading the way at 68.
 
Rudolh Sinflorant had an important drive for the Vikings as he ran the clock down at the end of the game with eight rushes for 28 yards.
 
Augustana entered the weekend holding the No. 1 spot in the Super Region Four rankings, ranked No. 11 in the D2Football.com Top-25 poll and No. 19 in the AFCA Coaches' Poll. With a win on Saturday at Minnesota Duluth, the Vikings would clinch at least a share of the NSIC Championship. Kickoff in Duluth, Minnesota, is slated for 1 p.m.