SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Augustana football team closes a two-game road trip Saturday with the lone night game of the year at Concordia-St. Paul. Kickoff in St. Paul, Minnesota, is slated for 6:30 p.m.
 
Complete action can be followed on GoAugie.com/Live and the GoAugie app, presented by The Original Pancake House. The app can be downloaded in the app store or Google Play.
 
About the Game
Augustana is coming off a victory at Chadron State, the first road nonconference game in 15 years. Concordia-St. Paul also earned a victory in nonconference action as the NSIC has nonconference games built into its schedule for the first time since 2011.
 
About the Golden Bears
Concordia-St. Paul holds a 1-1 record after a season-opening win over former NSIC foe Upper Iowa. The Golden Bears then stumbled at Winona State this past week. CSP doubled up Upper Iowa, 43-20, while the contest at Winona State was by a score of 33-8.
 
Conner Cordts has started both games at quarterback while tossing for 312 yards and three touchdowns. His top target is Troy Ellison who has 10 of CSP's 34 receptions for 85 yards. The ground game is largely led by the duo of Jaylin Richardson and Daniel Hornacek. Richardson has 25 attempts for 141 yards while Hornacek has 14 carries for 139 yards.
 
Defensively, the Golden Bears are led by Cyrus McClure and Richard Wauer with their 13 tackles over the two contests. Brayden Hilgemann, a linebacker with six tackles, corralled an interception at Winona State.
 
About the Vikings
Augustana is 2-0 for the third-straight year and remains as one of four unbeaten teams in the NSIC in 2023. The Vikings are coming off a 27-3 rout of Chadron State after having topped the home Eagles in every phase of the game. Highlighted in the game were 60- and 80-yard touchdown passes by Casey Bauman and a punt return for a touchdown by Devon Jones. In addition, Gradee Sherman tied a school record with three sacks in the game.
 
On the defensive side of the ball, Sherman ranks sixth in the nation with 1.5 sacks per game. Brayden Hoops is the team's leading tackler with 12 total tackles over the two games. Augustana's lone interception is in the hands of Logan Leonard, a ball he snagged at Chadron State.
 
Offensively, Bauman tosses for 258.5 yards per game and has totaled three touchdowns. Rashad Lampkin leads a ground game that averages 150 yards per game with 43.5 while Bauman has two more touchdowns on the ground.
 
 
One (actually two) Last Thing
Avery Book, a junior transfer from Glenville State, owns six punts on the season. He doesn't qualify for the NCAA statistical ranking (you need to average 3.6 punts per game) but if he did, he would rank fourth in the nation with his 45.7 yards per punt. The two-time First Team All-Conference honoree at Glenville State, is putting the NSIC on notice with his ability to get the ball in the air.
 
In contrast, Devon Jones has been tearing up the return game with an NCAA Division II-best 41.2 return yards per game. He also has a nation's best two touchdowns on punt returns as he has accomplished the feat two weeks in a row to set, then reset the school record. Currently, his school record is 89 yards, which he ran back at Chadron State.