This Saturday, October 12, defending CCIW co-champ Elmhurst comes to Rock Island as Augustana's first Homecoming opponent in the Lindberg Stadium era. The weekend also marks the dedication of the Dave Wrath Press Box at Austin E. Knowlton Outdoor Athletic Complex.
 
The Vikings traveled to Wheaton this past Saturday and dropped a 24-15 decision to the 15th-ranked Thunder. In a game that was delayed nearly an hour and a half by lightning, Augustana scored two touchdowns in the final two minutes and recovered onside kicks after each, but ultimately ran out of time. Coach Rob Cushman's team is now 2-2 on the year and 0-1 in CCIW play.

Through four games, the Augustana defense has allowed an average of 285.0 total yards per contest. On the ground, the Vikings are giving up 139.0 yards per game and 4.0 yards per carry. Their opponents have completed 57.4 percent of their pass attempts for an average of 146.0 yards a game. Led by Ben Fornek's (Batavia HS, Batavia, Ill.) three, Augustana has recorded eight interceptions.
 
Senior linebacker Erik Westerberg (York HS, Elmhurst, Ill.) leads the team with 32 tackles (21 solo and 11 assists), followed by freshman linebacker Michael Daniels' (Geneseo HS, Geneseo, Ill.) 24 (8-16) and junior safety Bo Goshorn's (Romeoville HS, Romeoville, Ill.) 21 (17-4). Senior corner Sean Walker (Annawan HS, Annawan, Ill.) has a team-high five pass breakups and has recorded an interception, forced fumble and fumble recovery as well.
 
Sophomore quarterback Sam Frasco (Prospect HS, Mt. Prospect, Ill.), who threw a pair of touchdown passes to freshman running back Brandon Price (Providence Catholic HS, Plainfield, Ill.) Saturday, leads an Augustana offense that averages 330.0 total yards per game. The ground game averages 4.5 yards per carry and 212.0 yards a game. Senior running back Eric Chandler (Cary-Grove HS, Cary, Ill.) has rushed for 241 yards and two touchdowns on 42 carries and Frasco has 195 yards and two scores on 53 carries.
 
Frasco is 50 of 86 (58.1 percent) through the air for 472 yards and four touchdowns. He's thrown five interceptions. Senior Nick Krantz (Moline HS, Moline, Ill.), with 16 catches for 141 yards, has been Frasco's favorite target. Price has caught four passes for 86 yards, but three have gone for touchdowns.
 
Elmhurst comes into Saturday's contest at 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the CCIW. The Bluejays dropped a 31-14 decision to fourth-ranked North Central at home this past Saturday. They defeated Loras 35-9 in their season opener before falling at Trine (16-7) and Chicago (10-0). Elmhurst went 10-2 a year ago and shared the conference title with North Central and Wheaton at 6-1. Augustana lost 31-27 at Elmhurst in 2012.
 
First-year Bluejay Head Coach Joe Adam has had the unenviable task of replacing six first team and two second team All-CCIW performers from a year ago, including 2012 Gagliardi Award winner Scottie Williams (2,033 yards and 22 TD's rushing) and three first team all-conference offensive linemen.
 
Elmhurst averages 198.0 rushing yards per game and 4.9 per carry. Williams' younger brother Josh is the Bluejays' leading rusher through four games this season with 304 yards and three touchdowns on 60 carries. Senior Andrew Tubek has rushed for 249 yards on 54 carries. Junior Joe Camiliere and sophomore Logan Stelzriede have shared the quarterbacking duties. Camiliere is 25 of 44 (56.8 percent) for 297 yards and two touchdowns, while Stelzriede is 12 of 34 (35.3) for 79 yards with no touchdowns. Each has been intercepted four times. Junior tight end Will Caspers is the team's leading receiver with eight catches for 69 yards and senior wide receiver Chase Hamby has averaged 20.8 yards on five grabs.
 
Defensively, Elmhurst has allowed averages of 149.5 yards per game and 3.8 per carry on the ground. Bluejay opponents have completed 56.7 percent of their passes for an average of 168.5 yards per contest. Senior linebacker George DeMaria leads Elmhurst with 28 tackles (12 solo and 16 assists) and is tied for the team lead in tackles for loss (five), sacks (two), interceptions (one) and fumble recoveries (one). Junior cornerback Marvin Carr (17-8—25), senior linebacker Wills Massie (7-17—24) and senior defensive end Charlie Roberts (14-9—23) have also recorded over 20 tackles. Roberts shares the team lead with five tackles for loss and a pair of sacks.
 
 
2013 AUGUSTANA VIKINGS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE/RESULTS

DATE	OPPONENT	SITE	SCORE/TIME
September 7	Mount St. Joseph	HOME	W, 20-10
September 14	Central (Family Weekend)	HOME	L, 13-38
September 21	Loras	Dubuque, Iowa	W, 35-10
October 5	*Wheaton	Wheaton	L, 15-24
October 12	*Elmhurst (Homecoming)	HOME	1:00 p.m.
October 19	*Millikin	Decatur, Illinois	1:00 p.m.
October 26	*North Park	HOME	6:00 p.m.
November 2	*Carthage	Kenosha, Wisconsin	1:00 p.m.
November 9	*Illinois Wesleyan	HOME	1:00 p.m.
November 16	*North Central	Naperville, Ill.	1:00 p.m.

* - College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin game
 
 
2013 CCIW STANDINGS

School	CCIW	Overall
Wheaton	1-0	4-0
Illinois Wesleyan	1-0	4-0
North Central	1-0	4-0
North Park	1-0	1-3
AUGUSTANA	0-1	2-2
Carthage	0-1	1-3
Elmhurst	0-1	1-3
Millikin	0-1	1-3

           

LAST WEEK'S SCORES  
October 5
Wheaton 24, AUGUSTANA 15
Illinois Wesleyan 35, Millikin 21
North Central 31, Elmhurst 14
North Park 22, Carthage 20
           
THIS WEEK'S GAMES 
October 12
Elmhurst at AUGUSTANA, 1:00 p.m.
Wheaton at Carthage, 1:00 p.m.
North Park at Illinois Wesleyan, 1:30 p.m.
Millikin at North Central, 6:00 p.m.