The
Steve Bell era at Augustana gets under way on Saturday, September 5, when the Vikings host Mount St. Joseph in the third annual Austin E. Knowlton Kickoff Classic at Lindberg Stadium. Opening kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. The teams have split the first two Classics, with Augustana besting the Lions 20-10 in Rock Island in 2013 and dropping a 58-25 decision last year in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Bell welcomes back veteran quarterback
Sam Frasco (Prospect HS, Mt. Prospect, Ill.) for his senior season. Over his two seasons as a starter, Frasco has rushed for 1,444 yards and 16 touchdowns and thrown for 2,107 yards and 14 scores. He's averaged 208.9 yards of total offense, 5.7 yards per rush attempt and completed 56.8 percent of his passes during that time. A second team All-CCIW selection last year, he is currently seventh in school history in career passing yards.
The ground game figures to be in good shape, with Frasco joined in the backfield by junior running back
Brandon Price (Providence Catholic HS, Plainfield Ill.) and sophomore fullback
Austin Chausse (Nokomis HS, Nokomis, Ill.). Price rushed for 470 yards and two touchdowns last year, earning second team All-CCIW honors and Chausse ran for 258 yards and three touchdowns while averaging 5.9 yards a carry.
Frasco's top two targets from a year ago are also back. Senior
Sean Fitzgerald (Providence Catholic HS, Manhattan, Ill.) caught 30 passes for 322 yards and a touchdown. He'll be joined in the starting lineup by junior
Danny Lattner (Fenwick HS, Riverside, Ill.), who missed much of last season with an injury. Senior
Kyle Frake (Central HS, Clifton, Ill.), the team's leading receiver a year ago (31 catches, 481 yards, three touchdowns), returns as well and should see plenty of action.
Guard
Matt Zimmerman (Mercer County HS, New Boston, Ill.), center
Ryan McCarthy (Wheaton-Warrenville South HS, Wheaton, Ill.) and tackle
Tommy Wilson (St. Charles East HS, St. Charles, Ill.), all juniors, are returning starters on the offensive line.
The defense will be led by junior middle linebacker
Jack Asquini (Buffalo Grove HS, Arlington Heights, Ill.), who led the Viking with 94 tackles a year ago and earned second team All-CCIW recognition. He'll be flanked by juniors
Michael Daniels (Geneseo HS, Geneseo, Ill.) and
Erik Johnson (Warren HS, Gurnee, Ill.). Daniels has recorded 88 tackles in two seasons as a starter and Johnson was in on 55 stops last year and led the team with 9½ tackles for loss.
Senior end
Brandon Stiers (Deer Creek-Mackinaw HS, Mackinaw), who had seven tackles for loss and 3½ sacks a year ago, is the lone returning starter up front. The secondary returns
Daniel Watson (Peoria HS, Peoria, Ill.), who made 44 tackles as a freshman starter at cornerback in 2014, and safety
John Bastian (V. Sue Cleveland HS, Rio Rancho, N.M.), who was a starter as a freshman in 2013, before suffering an injury.
Senior
Jeremy Lensing (Peotone HS, Manhattan, Ill.) and sophomore
Jacob Stytz (Minooka HS, Channahon, Ill.) will handle the placekicking duties, with Lensing kicking off and Stytz on extra points and field goals. Sophomore
Jeremy Collier (St. Thomas Aquinas HS, Overland Park, Kan.) will be the Vikings' punter.
Coach Rod Huber's Mount St. Joseph team went 8-2 a year ago and averaged 42.6 points and 449.3 yards of total offense per game. The Lions were very balanced, averaging 233.9 yards per game (5.7 per carry) on the ground and 215.4 through the air.
Charles McCall (75 carries, 478 yards, five touchdowns) is the team's top returning ground gainer. Ronell Colbert (31 catches, 361 yards, three touchdowns) is MSJ's top returning receiver. Mike Williams (25 of 45, 318 yards, two touchdowns) could be the frontrunner to step into the starting quarterback role.
The Lions' defense will be led by lineman Nolan Miller, linebackers Kevin McHale and Zach Dickman and cornerback Marvin Draper.
LAST YEAR... 09/06/14—MOUNT ST. JOSEPH 58, AUGUSTANA 25 Vikings fall in season opener at Mount St. Joseph CINCINNATI, Ohio—Mount St. Joseph scored on four of its first five possessions Saturday and went on to claim a 58-25 win over Augustana at Schueler Field. The Vikings start off 0-1 and the Lions are now 1-0 after the season opener for both teams.
The hosts took the opening kickoff and went 75 yards in six plays—all on the ground—for the go-ahead touchdown. Denzell Norvell took it in from 17 yards out and Shane Kelly's point after gave the Lions a 7-0 lead. Augustana went three-and-out on its first two possessions and a 79-run by freshman quarterback Greg Simpson set up MSJ's next score, a 19-yard Kelly field goal.
The Vikings cut the deficit to 10-6, going 65 yards in five plays—all rushes by
Sam Frasco (Prospect HS, Mt. Prospect, Ill.)—for a touchdown with 2:35 left in the first quarter. The junior quarterback finished off the drive with a one-yard scoring run, but the point after attempt by freshman kicker
Jacob Stytz (Minooka HS, Channahon, Ill.) was blocked. The march was aided by a pair of facemask penalties on the Lions. Simpson then hooked up with 6' 8" wide receiver John Peters for a 26-yard touchdown pass and MSJ led 17-6 after one period.
After the Lions went up 24-6, a 76-yard run by junior slot receiver
Sean Fitzgerald (Providence Catholic HS, Manhattan, Ill.) set the stage for a
Brandon Price (Providence Catholic HS, Plainfield, Ill.) three-yard touchdown run that cut the deficit to 24-12. The Vikings' two-point conversion attempt failed.
After the teams traded punts, Simpson connected with Charles McCall from 10 yards out for a 31-12 Lions advantage. Augustana went from its own 21-yard line to the MSJ 30, but saw the first half clock expire.
Stytz converted a 37-yard field goal on the Vikings' opening possession of the second half. Later in the period, Mike Williams hit Ronell Colbert for a 17-yard scoring pass. On the ensuing point after, Augustana blocked the kick and sophomore linebacker
Jack Asquini (Buffalo Grove HS, Arlington Heights, Ill.) gathered it in and took all the way back for a defensive two-point conversion to make the score 37-17 after three periods.
The Vikings added a safety and a 15-yard
Chris Salazar (Providence Catholic HS, Plainfield, Ill.) touchdown run in the fourth quarter, while the Lions tacked on three more scores, including a pair of defensive touchdowns.
Augustana will attempt to even its record on Saturday, September 13, when the Vikings travel to Holland, Michigan to face Hope at 12:30 p.m. central time.
2015 AUGUSTANA VIKINGS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE/RESULTS| DATE | OPPONENT | SITE | TIME/SCORE |
| September 5 | Mount St. Joseph (Austin E. Knowlton Classic) | HOME | 6:00 p.m. |
| September 12 | Albion (Family Weekend) | HOME | 1:00 p.m. |
| September 19 | Loras | Dubuque, IA | 1:00 p.m. |
| October 3 | *Elmhurst | HOME | 6:00 p.m. |
| October 10 | *Wheaton | Wheaton, Ill. | 1:00 p.m. |
| October 17 | *Illinois Wesleyan (Homecoming) | HOME | 1:00 p.m. |
| October 24 | *Carthage | HOME | 1:00 p.m. |
| October 31 | *North Park | Chicago, Ill. | 1:00 p.m. |
| November 7 | *North Central (Senior Day) | HOME | 1:00 p.m. |
| November 14 | *Millikin | Decatur, Ill. | 1:00 p.m. |
* - College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin game
2014 CCIW STANDINGS| School | CCIW | Overall |
| Wheaton | 7-0 | 11-1 |
| North Central | 6-1 | 8-2 |
| Elmhurst | 4-3 | 5-5 |
| AUGUSTANA | 4-3 | 5-5 |
| Illinois Wesleyan | 2-5 | 4-6 |
| Carthage | 2-5 | 3-7 |
| North Park | 2-5 | 2-8 |
| Millikin | 1-6 | 3-7 |
was introduced as the 19th head coach in the storied history of Augustana football on January 9, 2015. In 15 seasons as the head football coach at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois, Bell fashioned a 112-44 (.718) overall record. During his tenure at Monmouth, his teams won four Midwest Conference championships (2005, 2008, 2009, 2011) and finished second six times. Bell is a 1992 graduate of Bemidji State University with a degree in physical education.
