SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The Augustana football team found balance and composure in a 28-7 win over Concordia-St. Paul on Saturday afternoon at Kirkeby-Over Stadium. 

The Vikings, winners of five straight, move to 7-2 overall and 7-1 in the NSIC while keeping sole possession of first place in the conference and Concordia-St. Paul falls to 2-7, 2-6. 

Jarod Epperson was a star again for the Vikings, taking 14 carries for 156 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also added 50 receiving yards on five catches to become the first player in program history and third active player among all NCAA levels to rack up at least 3,500 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in his career.

Haden Wallace was the leader of another stellar defensive effort after collecting 10 tackles and recording a 47-yard pick-six, his first career touchdown. Kade Lynott tallied six tackles and a pass breakup and Peyton Buckley added four tackles and two breakups. Logan Leonard recorded his fourth interception of the season and Tyler Birn had the lone Viking sack. 

Nine different Vikings recorded a catch as Gunnar Hensley spread the ball around the yard. Isaiah Huber caught five passes for 41 yards and a touchdown and Canyon Bauer added three catches for 29 yards. In his first career action, Breylon Blount took three carries for 51 yards while Hensley and Ryan Kenny each had 20 rushing yards to help a ground game that outgained the CSP rushing attack 271-111.

For the fourth consecutive game, the AU offense found the end zone on their opening drive to open the scoring. After the defense forced a punt, Epperson got rolling. He totaled 25 rushing yards and 18 receiving yards in the first seven plays to get the Vikings to the CSP 33.

A short reception from Huber and an 11-yard run from Max Grand set AU up in the red zone before Hensley found Huber on a swing pass that sprung open with a key Bauer block to lead to a 20-yard touchdown. 

That 7-0 lead bled into the second quarter but not for long. On the first play of the quarter, Wallace had a pass bounce off a CSP running back and right into his hands, leading to a 47-yard interception return for a touchdown to double the AU lead at 14-0.

A a CSP three-and-out and a seven play Viking drive resulted in a punt, the Golden Bears looked to capitalize before halftime. A 15-play, 60-yard drive that took 7:23 of game time set CSP up for a 39-yard field goal that hooked left and gave the Vikings a chance to add points with 1:47 to play. The 14-0 score would hold into halftime as a 43-yard AU field goal would get pushed just left to send the teams into their locker rooms. 

The Vikings opened the second half with a punt before the Golden Bears followed suit. AU struck quick from there as a four-play, 80-yard march that saw Epperson gain 63 yards and a touchdown increased the Viking lead to 21-0 with 9:41 left in the third quarter. 

CSP would lose nine yards on their next drive before punting the ball back to the Vikings. They would be on defense long as an interception on the second play of the AU drive set them up at the AU 24. Three plays later, the Golden Bears scored for the first time of the day on a 15-yard touchdown to cut the AU lead to 21-7. 

The teams exchanged punts before the Vikings strung together a drive to put the game out of reach. An Epperson run and Huber catch set up a 3rd and 4 that Epperson converted with an eight yard reception. Another third down would get wiped out by a 19-yard Epperson run and on the next play he would cash in from 26 yards to cap the scoring with 9:43 left in the game. 

The stage is now set for November 9 when the Vikings host crosstown rival Sioux Falls (7-2 overall, 6-2 NSIC) at Kirkeby-Over Stadium. Action is set to begin at 1 p.m.