SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The No. 9  Augustana offense tallied 527 yards in a 34-26 victory over Winona State on Viking Days at Kirkeby-Over Stadium. The mark is the highest offensive output since 2021. 

The win moves the Vikings to 5-0 overall and 4-0 in the NSIC, while the Warriors fall to 2-3, 2-2.

Gunnar Hensley had another efficient game, going 29 of 34 for 317 and three touchdowns without throwing an interception and touting a QBR of 192.7. He completed 18 of his first 19 passes and added 35 yards on the ground. Breylon Blount led the backfield with 126 total yards on just 15 touches and Klayton Sattler caught five passes for 96 yards and a pair of touchdowns. 

As usual, a whole ton of names showed up on the stat sheet for the defense. Jermaine Hampton recorded his first career sack and had a pair of pass breakups while Logan Leonard broke up three passes to go along with seven tackles. Jack Detert had 2.5 tackles for loss, including 0.5 sacks, a pass breakup and a fumble recovery while Zach Richardson had a pair of breakups and 0.5 tackles for loss. 

Winona State opened the scoring with a 33-yard field goal on their second drive of the contest with 9:13 to play in the first quarter. The Vikings followed with a seven-play, 44-yard drive that resulted in a blocked field goal, keeping AU off the board. 

After the defense forced a punt, the offense mounted an 11-play drive into the second quarter, capped by the first career rushing touchdown for Levi Teetzel, to give the Vikings their first lead of the day at 7-3. 

The defense followed up the score by forcing a punt and the offense went to work again. Blount sprung free for 57 yards, Hensley found Isaiah Huber for eight and then hit Jacob Remmert for 15 in the corner of the end zone to add to the lead at 14-3. 

WSU would score to get within 14-10 at the 1:43 mark in the second quarter. AU started their final drive at the AU8 and sliced through the WSU defense to get to their 41. On the final play of the half, Hensley lofted a pass into the end zone where Sattler got positioning and brought down the heave to make it 21-10 in favor of Augustana at the half. 

Hensley and Blount opened the second half by combining to move the offense 86 yards, leading to a 23-yard chip shot from Jake Pecina to add to the lead at 24-10. 

On the ensuing possession, the defense forced a three-and-out, capped by a Gradee Sherman sack and Detert tackle for loss. The Warriors ended up shanking the punt from their own 8-yardline, getting it 10 yards downfield before finding its way out of bounds. Two plays later, Hensley connected with Sattler for an 18-yard touchdown to extend the advantage to 31-10 with 7:20 to go in the third quarter. 

Pecina capped the next AU drive with a field goal with 1:04 to go in the third quarter to round out the AU scoring. WSU went on to score on its next three possessions to bring the game to its final score as the defense made one final stand, collecting a fumble on the final play of the game to provide an exclamation point. 

Augustana looks ahead to Saturday, Oct. 4, taking on Sioux Falls in the Key to the City game at Bob Young Field.