MOORHEAD, Minn. - The Augustana Viking football team (2-2 overall, 2-1 NSIC) dropped a back-and-forth affair on the road to MSU Moorhead (2-2, 2-1) 43-41 on Saturday afternoon at Scheels Field at Nemzek Stadium.

Three skill-position players had 100-yard days. Jack Fisher caught eight passes for 115 yards and a touchdown while Isaiah Huber added four catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns. On the ground, Jarod Epperson took 12 carries for 101 yards and a touchdown. 

Gunnar Hensley finished his day 24 of 36 for 311 yards and four touchdowns while throwing three interceptions. Haden Wallace racked up a team-high eight tackles and Will Davis had 2.5 of the four Viking sacks. In his first career action, Wyatt Hamersma recorded an interception. 

The game opened with an interception and a pair of punts before MSUM capped a 9-play, 53 yard drive with a field goal to strike first nearly six minutes into the game. A Viking missed field goal allowed the Dragons to capitalize, taking 10 plays to go 71 yards and score a touchdown to grow its lead to 10-0 early in the second quarter. 

Augustana didn't spend much time before responding as Hensley connected with Huber over the top of the defense for a 75-yard strike to open the drive and put the Vikings on the board, getting within 10-7 with 14:04 left in the half. 

11 plays later, MSUM cashed in the end zone again with a 31-yard passing touchdown to reclaim a 10-point lead. After a false start set the Vikings back at their own 20 to start the ensuing drive, the offense dialed in. Hensley and Fisher connected for seven yards before a completion to Johnston for nine moved the chains. 

A holding penalty but the Vikings back another 10 yards but a 12-yard Grand run and 46-yard completion to Fisher put AU inside the red zone. Grand caught a three-yard pass on first down and Max Minor muscled his way to a 13-yard touchdown to get within 17-14 with 7:03 left in the first half. 

The Vikings forced a punt to get the ball back and had a 2nd and 23 at their own 47 after a sack to open the drive. Hensley got the yards right back, connecting with Minor for 34 more yards and Epperson surged for four more before Hensley squeezed one in a tight window for Fisher in the end zone to give the Vikings their first lead of the day at 21-17 at the 3:14 mark in the second quarter. 

MSUM reclaimed a lead with a touchdown with 54 seconds to play in the half but the Vikings went 49 yards to set up a game-tying field goal from Pecina to make it 24-24 into the locker room. 

Hensley completed 16 of 20 passes for 237 yards and the three touchdowns in the first half while Huber and Fisher each had over 80 yards receiving. Epperson took six carries for 38 yards to lead the rushing attack and Will Davis had the lone first half sack for the defense. 

The second half with a quick score from MSUM to give them a 31-24 lead. The Vikings responded with 68 yards in six plays, capped by another Huber touchdown to even the score at 31-31 with just under 10 minutes to play in the third. 

The teams traded punts to end the third and MSUM kicked a field goal on the second play of the fourth quarter to take the lead back at 34-31. The lead would be short lived as Huber returned the ensuing kickoff for 82 yards and Epperson ran in a 14-yard touchdown, his first of the season, to take a 38-34 lead with 14:07 to play. 

Hamersma stepped up in a big way on the next drive when he snagged his first career interception to put the Vikings at their own 48-yard line. After seven plays and 38 yards, Jake Pecina made his second field goal of the game to take a 41-34 lead with 9:39 to play. 

The Dragons scored a touchdown on their next drive and went for two, but an offensive pass interference penalty backed them up 15-yards. They tried a 35-yard extra point to tie the game but the try was missed, keeping AU in the lead at 41-40. The Dragons went on to intercept a pass on the next Vikings drive and followed with what turned out to be the game-winning field goal. 

The Vikings look to get back on track next week when Minnesota Duluth comes to town for Viking Days. Kickoff on Saturday, Oct. 5 is scheduled for 1 p.m.