ABERDEEN, S.D. — RV/25-ranked Augustana (7-2, 6-2) defeated Northern State (6-3, 5-3) 31-24 on Saturday at Dacotah Bank Stadium. The Vikings scored the only seven points of the fourth quarter after the teams matched scoring totals in each of the first three quarters. Augustana threw for 316 yards, rushed for 192 and finished with 25 first downs, while the Wolves totaled 528 yards, including 333 on the ground.
Gunnar Hensley completed 22 of 38 passes for 316 yards and a touchdown and added 29 rushing yards and a score on six carries.
Breylon Blount rushed 20 times for 165 yards and a touchdown and caught five passes for 47 yards.
Cody Oswald had seven receptions for 129 yards, and
Kael Ryan recorded seven tackles and an interception.
Augustana moved 79 yards in four plays on its opening possession, with Blount scoring from 29 yards out at 13:39 and
Jake Pecina's kick making it 7-0. Northern State answered two plays after Kegan Mountain intercepted Hensley at the NSU 2, as Hank Kraft broke a 96-yard touchdown run at 7:55 and Jeremy Caruso's PAT tied the game at 7-7. The teams traded punts the rest of the quarter, which ended tied 7-7.
Augustana stopped a fourth-and-1 at its own 41 when
Joshua Lee-O'Bryant held Joey Dube-Garrett to no gain at 10:15. The Wolves later put together an 80-yard drive, capped by Dube-Garrett's 22-yard touchdown pass to DJ Smith and Caruso's extra point for a 14-7 lead at 2:46. The Vikings answered in less than two minutes, with
Max Carlson scoring from 2 yards out and Pecina's extra point tying it 14-14 with 47 seconds left in the half. NSU moved from its own 2 to the Augustana 35 in the final minute, but
Tyler Birn recorded a sack during the drive, and Caruso missed a 52-yard field goal at 0:00 to leave it tied at halftime.
The Wolves struck on the first possession of the third quarter, with Kraft rushing 80 yards for a touchdown at 14:37 and Caruso's PAT putting Augustana behind 21-14. The Vikings answered with a 73-yard drive, as Hensley completed passes to Blount, Oswald and
Isaiah Lemmond before finding
Klayton Sattler for a 5-yard touchdown to tie the game at 21-21. Northern State moved back in front on Caruso's 25-yard field goal at 5:05, but Augustana responded with Pecina's 30-yard field goal at 1:04 to make it 24-24 entering the fourth quarter.
Elijah Ibiezugbe broke up Dube-Garrett's third-down pass to start the fourth quarter, and after
Neal May's 17-yard punt return, Augustana drove to the Wolves' 35 before turning it over on downs. Northern State answered with a drive into Augustana territory, but the series ended with an 18-yard punt to the Vikings' 9. Blount opened the next possession with a 21-yard run, Hensley hit Oswald for 39 yards and Carlson for 23 more, and Hensley ran in from 12 yards at 3:26 before Pecina's kick put Augustana ahead 31-24. NSU crossed midfield on its final drive, but penalties turned fourth-and-4 at the Augustana 35 into fourth-and-19 at midfield, and Ryan intercepted Dube-Garrett at the Vikings' 18 with 33 seconds left before Augustana kneeled out the win.
Up Next
The Vikings remain on the road to take on Minnesota State in Mankato, Minnesota, on Saturday, November 7, at noon.
--GoAugie.com--
