ST. JOSEPH, MO. - In an offensive collision course, the No. 13/20 Augustana football team prevailed 63-58 on Thursday afternoon's season opener against Missouri Western. The teams combined for 1,368 yards of total offense and
Max Carlson scored four total touchdowns, tying the second most single-game touchdowns in program history. The combined point total is also a program record.
Breylon Blount tallied 249 total yards, including 175 on the ground and two touchdowns to lead the offense.
Klayton Sattler had seven catches for 130 yards and
DJ Page added eight catches for 124 yards and a touchdown. Carlson ran in three scores and caught a touchdown.
Gunnar Hensley was spinning it all night, finishing 24 for 45 with 449 yards and three touchdowns while throwing an interception.
Trey Malone III recorded his first career interception while leading the defense with seven tackles.
Camron Maciejewski had six tackles while
Jermaine Hampton Jr. and
Steel Schomaker each had a pass breakup.
The offense came out firing, with a Hensley 21-yard strike to Sattler followed by 25 yards on three carries from Blount. A pass interference, six-yard Page catch and five-yard Blount carry set the Vikings up in the red zone and, three plays later, Hensley connected with
Max Carlson from 11-yards out to give the Vikings an early 7-0 advantage.
Four plays later, the Griffons responded to even the score with 8:33 to play in the first quarter. The Vikings countered with a six-play, 75-yard drive of their own, capped with a five-yard touchdown pass from Hensley to Sattler to retake the lead at 14-7. It wouldn't last long as the Griffons scored in 2:32 of game time to tie the game back at 14-14.
The first half closed with a Viking punt and Griffon touchdown to give them a lead into the second quarter. Carlson cashed in a one-yard touchdown within the first minute and Missouri Western scored two minutes later to reclaim the lead at 28-21. In two plays, Hensley hit Sattler for 19 yards and Blount broke free for a 56-yard touchdown to tie the game at 28-28.
Seven plays and 75 yards later, the Griffons cashed in on a 45-yard touchdown pass to take another lead but Carlson capped an eight-play drive with a one-yard touchdown run to tie the game again, this time at 35-35. Each team missed a field goal in the final 5:46 of first-half action as the teams went to the locker room deadlocked.
The teams combined for 877 yards of total offense, including 737 yards in the air. Hensley was 18 for 29 with 348 yards and a pair of touchdowns while
Breylon Blount had 176 yards and a touchdown.
Max Carlson scored three touchdowns and
Klayton Sattler had five catches for 99 yards and a touchdown.
The defense stood tall to open the second half, forcing a punt that resulted in an 84-yard
Neal May touchdown to keep the scoring coming. Two plays later,
Trey Malone III collected his first career interception and the offense responded with a Carlson one-yard touchdown run to increase the lead to 48-35. The Griffons took the ensuing kickoff to the house and
Gunnar Hensley connected with
DJ Page for a touchdown and two-point conversion to make it 56-42 AU with 5:21 to play in the third.
After an MWSU touchdown with two minutes to go in the third quarter,
Breylon Blount added insurance with a 30-yard touchdown scamper to make it 63-49 with 14:18 to play. After forcing a turnover on downs on defense, the Vikings allowed a safety at the 10:16 mark to get the Griffons within 63-51. That score held until the final whistle.
The Vikings return to action next Thursday, traveling to Minnesota Duluth for a 6 p.m. kickoff.
