SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Augustana Viking football team hits the road for the first time since 2019 for a 2 p.m. kickoff at UMary in Bismarck, North Dakota, on Saturday. Augustana, ranked No. 25 in the D2Football.com Top-25, is 1-0 on the year after a dominating 49-0 victory to open the season this past Saturday.
 
Action of the game can be found on the GoAugie App, presented by CellOnly, or online at GoAugie.com/Live.
 
The Game
Augustana hits the road for the first time since the NCAA Division II Playoffs in 2019. In the regular season, the Vikings tallied a 3-2 mark in road contests with wins at Sioux Falls, MSU Moorhead and Winona State.
 
UMary is 0-1 on the season after falling at Wayne State, 34-27. Augustana is 1-0 after pushing its home winning streak to the fourth-longest in NCAA Division II at seven games.
 
The Marauders
Head coach Craig Bagnell showcases a new-look Marauders team with over 100 players, only 28 have seen action prior to last week's contest. Senior WR Luke Little provides experience and leadership on the offense. The Marauders NSIC Preseason Offensive Player to Watch earned All-NSIC honors as a sophomore in 2018 and enters 2021 as a 3-year starter with big play ability.
 
Eight players return on the Marauders defense from the 2019 season, with DB Marquell Evens seeing the most time in a starter's role. Joining Small as newcomers expected to impact the defense are defensive backs Ty'Rese Gibson and Ty'Rhae Gibson, transfers from Montana State.
 
UMary fell 34-27 at Wayne State in the season-opener last week Thursday. Logan Nelson tossed for 399 yards and four touchdowns in the loss but took six sacks. The rushing game did not get going with just four yards on the ground. Defensively, the Marauders gave up 456 yards of total offense 268 through the air and 188 on the ground. 
 
The Vikings
Augustana was firing on all cylinders in Saturday's victory, racking up 49 points over a nine-possession span. After a scoreless first quarter, David Addo carried the offense 50 yards on five carries before Kyle Saddler hit Sean Engel for the first touchdown of the game. From there, the defense completely shut down the Beavers for the second-straight opening game shutout. Saddler accounted for 301 yards and three touchdowns through the air while the defense allowed just 34 yards rushing.
 
Jarod Epperson was a multi-faceted star, accounting for 97 yards rushing and 104 yards receiving as part of AU's 544 yards of total offense. Addo, along with Kyle Graham, each scored their first career touchdowns in the contest.  
 
Who to Watch For
Epperson, who was the most dominant freshman running back in the NSIC in 2019, picked up where he left off from that inaugural campaign. He rushed the ball 19 times for his 97 yards, an average of 5.1 yards per carry. He also totaled three receptions for his 104 yards, averaging 34.7 yards per reception.
 
One Last Thing
It was quite the debut for defensive coordinator Mark Sipple. In his first game guiding the Vikings' defense, he simply did the best he could on the scoreboard, having a defense give up zero points. The shutout was the second in consecutive seasons for AU, but just the third since 2016.