Freshman linebacker Grant Burke records one of his eight tackles
last week in 26-20 win over North Park.Augustana rushed for a season-high 367 yards this past Saturday—with sophomore
Brandon Price (Providence Catholic HS, Plainfield, Ill.) supplying a career-high 178 of those—in a 26-20 win over North Park. With its third straight win, Coach
Rob Cushman's squad moves to .500 on the season at 4-4 and over .500 in the league at 3-2. The Vikings face a big challenge on the road this week, visiting 23rd-ranked North Central in Naperville, Illinois on Saturday, November 8.
Playing in place of injured starter
Sam Frasco (Prospect HS, Mt. Prospect, Ill.), junior quarterback
Chris Salazar (Providence Catholic HS, Plainfield, Ill.) got his team off on the right foot Saturday, finding
Kyle Frake (Central HS, Clifton, Ill.) for a 60-yard touchdown pass on the game's first play from scrimmage. After that, the ground game took over. In addition to Price's big day, freshman
Austin Chausse (Nokomis HS, Nokomis, Ill.) went for 94 yards and a 49-yard touchdown on 11 carries and senior
Benjamin Hodges (St. Charles North HS, Elburn, Ill.) gained 85 on seven carries with a touchdown. Senior corner
Ben Fornek (Batavia HS, Batavia, Ill.) led the defense with nine tackles and sealed the win with a late interception.
On the year, Augustana is averaging 226.8 rushing yards per game and 4.8 per carry. Frasco (116 carries, 526 yards, 4.5 yards per carry and 9 touchdowns) leads the team, followed by Price (108-437-4.0-2), Hodges (47-264-5.6-1) and Chausse (37-228-6.2-2). Frasco is 83 of 154 (53.9%) through the air for 873 yards. He's thrown for six touchdowns and has been intercepted just three times. The Vikings' top receivers have been junior
Sean Fitzgerald (Providence Catholic HS, Manhattan, Ill.), with 25 catches for 262 yards and one touchdown, along with seniors Frake (23-361-3) and
Antonio Owens (Naperville North HS, Chicago, Ill.) (20-167-3). Augustana is averaging 21.6 points and 356.0 total yards per game through eight contests.
On defense, sophomore linebacker
Jack Asquini (Buffalo Grove HS, Arlington Heights, Ill.) has team highs of 51 solo, 22 assisted and 73 total tackles, as well as two fumble recoveries. Sophomore linebacker
Erik Johnson (Warren HS, Gurnee, Ill.) had 2½ tackles for loss Saturday and now leads the team with seven on the year. Fornek's interception was his fourth of the year, tying him for the team lead with
Tim Maroder (Burlington Central HS, Elgin, Ill.) and his six pass breakups lead the Vikings as well. As a team, Augustana is allowing averages of 24.6 points, 116.5 rushing yards, 249.0 passing yards and 365.5 total yards per game.
Senior kicker
Conner Murray (Conifer HS, Morrison, Colo.) had two field goals against North Park and has hit five in a row over the last two weeks. He's six of eight with a long of 48 yards this season.
North Central defeated Illinois Wesleyan 45-24 Saturday. Coach John Thorne's squad is 6-2 overall and 4-1 in the CCIW. The Cardinals average 42.5 points per game and allow an average of 22.2. Their offense produces averages of 229.9 rushing yards (5.3 per carry), 203.5 passing yards and 433.4 total yards per game. The defense is allowing 109.2 yards per game on the ground (3.2 per carry), 241.2 through the air and 350.5 total.
Individually, Dylan Warden has taken most of the snaps at quarterback and is 82 of 135 (60.7%) passing for 1,333 yards and 17 touchdowns with seven interceptions. He's also North Central's second-leading ground gainer with 493 yards on 95 carries (5.2 per carry) and two touchdowns. Ryan Kent (76-533-7.0-4) leads the Cardinals in rushing with Warden and Oshayne Brown (76-452-5.9-4) not far behind. Peter Sorenson, with 37 receptions for 726 yards (19.6 per catch) and nine touchdowns, is far and away the team's leading receiver. Sorenson was a first team All-CCIW pick last year, while Kent and junior offensive lineman Eric Knaperek were second team selections.
Senior linebacker Michael Monterrubio leads the Cardinals with 49 tackles. Defensive linemen Jon Egan (team-high six tackles for loss) and Brian Wilson are tied for the team lead with 2½ sacks apiece. Junior defensive backs Kevin Schroeder and Richard Zirngibl have team bests of three interceptions and seven pass breakups, respectively. Sophomore P.J. Crotty has three picks as well.
Freshman kicker Dom Zavaglia has converted 11 of 14 field goal attempts with a long of 39 yards and is 39 of 43 on extra points.
2014 AUGUSTANA VIKINGS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE/RESULTS| DATE | OPPONENT | SITE | SCORE/TIME |
| September 6 | Mount St. Joseph | Cincinnati, Ohio | L, 25-58 |
| September 13 | Hope | Holland, Michigan | L, 27-37 |
| September 20 | Loras | HOME | W, 34-17 |
| October 4 | *Elmhurst | Elmhurst, Illinois | L, 10-17 |
| October 11 | *Wheaton (Homecoming) | HOME | L, 13-20 |
| October 18 | *Illinois Wesleyan | Bloomington, Illinois | W, 7-2 |
| October 25 | *Carthage | Kenosha, Wisconsin | W, 31-36 |
| November 1 | *North Park | HOME | W, 26-20 |
| November 8 | *North Central | Naperville, Illinois | 1:00 pm |
| November 15 | *Millikin | HOME | 1:00 p.m. |
* - College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin game
2014 CCIW STANDINGS| School | CCIW | Overall |
| Wheaton | 5-0 | 8-0 |
| North Central | 4-1 | 6-2 |
| Elmhurst | 4-1 | 5-3 |
| AUGUSTANA | 3-2 | 4-4 |
| Carthage | 2-3 | 3-5 |
| Illinois Wesleyan | 1-4 | 3-5 |
| North Park | 1-4 | 1-7 |
| Millikin | 0-5 | 2-6 |
is in his fourth season as the head coach of the Augustana football program. He has spent the 2008-10 seasons serving as the Viking defensive coordinator. His coaching career began at Cal State-Chico in 1979. His first head coaching position was at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande, Oregon, where he spent five seasons before being named the first head coach at Feather River College in Quincy, California in 2002. He led the fledgling program to a 34-21 (.618) record in five seasons, reaching a post-season bowl game each year. He served as special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York in 2007, prior to coming to Augustana.
