SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Augustana football downed Minot State 38-33 on Saturday afternoon at Kirkeby-Over Stadium. The Vikings scored 17 unanswered points across three scoring drives from late in the third quarter into the fourth quarter, moving from a 27-21 deficit to a 38-27 advantage with 6:06 remaining. AU finished with 371 passing yards, four passing touchdowns and no interceptions, while also converting all three of its fourth-down attempts.
Gunnar Hensley completed 23 of 30 passes for 371 yards and four touchdowns.
DJ Page caught nine passes for 147 yards.
Klayton Sattler finished with six receptions for 69 yards and two touchdowns.
Isaiah Lemmond added three catches for 70 yards and a touchdown.
The Vikings' first possession reached the Beavers' 16 behind Hensley's 39-yard completion to Page and runs of seven and four yards by
Max Carlson, but
Jake Pecina missed a 33-yard field goal at 11:35. The Beavers then put together a 14-play, 80-yard rushing drive, converting fourth-and-1 at their own 42 and moving inside the five before Jett Lundeen scored from the one yard line at 3:45; the extra-point attempt failed, leaving AU down 6-0. AU started its next drive at its own 25, used a 17-yard Hensley completion to Page and
Breylon Blount's two-yard fourth-down run at the Beavers' 45 to keep the possession alive, and reached the Beavers' 28 by the end of the first quarter with the Beavers leading 6-0.
Already inside the Beavers' territory, the Vikings turned a pass-interference penalty into points when
Max Carlson converted fourth-and-one at the four and scored from the one at 12:29, with Pecina's kick giving AU a 7-6 lead. The Beavers moved 75 yards on the next drive and went back in front when Jett Lundeen hit Tyler Stonebraker for a 37-yard touchdown at 8:30, but Hensley answered with completions of 31 yards to Lemmond and 33 yards to
Cody Oswald to put the Vikings ahead 14-13 after the extra point. The Beavers put together another 75-yard march late in the second quarter, capped by Sam Buckhanan's eight-yard touchdown run at :51 and the kick that made it 20-14.
Neal May's 45-yard kickoff return set AU up at the Beavers' 45, and Hensley needed three completions to reach the end zone, finishing the drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Sattler at :29 before Pecina's kick sent the Vikings to halftime ahead 21-20.
The Beavers used the early portion of the third quarter for a 14-play, 73-yard drive that converted four third downs, ending with Jett Lundeen's one-yard touchdown run at 6:58 and Jael Chavez's extra point for a 27-21 lead. The Vikings answered on the ensuing possession as Blount's 14-yard run and Hensley's 21-yard completion to Sattler moved the drive into the Beavers' territory, and after a holding penalty erased a touchdown run, Hensley found Sattler for 12 yards on fourth-and-11 from the Beavers' 36. Hensley finished the drive with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Lemmond at 3:36, and Pecina's extra point put AU ahead 28-27. The Vikings' defense limited the Beavers' next series after
Wyatt Hamersma dropped Brandon Hines Jr. for a three-yard loss, May returned the ensuing punt 13 yards to the AU 34, and Hensley's nine-yard run closed the third quarter with the Vikings ahead 28-27.
The Vikings opened the fourth quarter by finishing an eight-play, 66-yard drive, with Hensley completing passes to Page, Oswald and Blount before finding Sattler for an eight-yard touchdown at 11:35, and Pecina's point-after made it 35-27. After
Trey Malone III broke up a third-down pass with pressure from
Tyler Birn, the Vikings drove from their 39 to the Beavers' eight, using a 29-yard completion from Hensley to Page on third-and-five before Pecina made a 25-yard field goal for a 38-27 score at 6:06. The Beavers moved 75 yards on their next possession, aided by a 17-yard run and a 14-yard completion from Jett Lundeen, and Lundeen scored from two yards out at 3:14 before the pass attempt failed to leave the Vikings ahead 38-33. The Vikings took over at the Beavers' 45 after the onside kickoff, converted third-and-five on an 11-yard Hensley pass to Page and added a six-yard Blount run for another first down before running the clock to down to finish a 38-33 win.
Up Next
The Vikings stay home as they host MSU Moorhead on Saturday, Sept. 19, at 1 p.m.Â
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