Augustana scored 22 unanswered points in the fourth quarter at Millikin this past Saturday, but came up just short in its bid for a comeback win, falling 43-35. The Vikings, now 2-5 overall and 1-4 in the CCIW will host league-leading North Central (6-0, 4-0) on Saturday, October 22. Kickoff at Lindberg Stadium is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
Sophomore
Luke Bleyer (Williamsville HS, Springfield, Ill.) got his first start at quarterback Saturday. On the season, he's completed 30 of 52 (57.7%) passes for 329 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. Classmate
Zachary Fuller (St. Patrick HS, Schiller Park, Ill.), who started Augustana's first six games and also saw action Saturday, is 108 of 214 (50.5%) for 1,402 yards and eight touchdowns with five interceptions.
Senior
Danny Lattner (Fenwick HS, Riverside, Ill.) had 10 catches at Millikin and on the year, has 32 receptions for team highs of 598 yards and four touchdowns. Sophomore Ryan Hennessey
(Oswego HS, Oswego, Ill.) (39-376-2) leads the Vikings in receptions.
Sophomore
Ryan Pitra (Geneseo HS, Geneseo, Ill.) is Augustana's leading rusher with 325 yards and two touchdowns on 99 carries. Freshman
Bobby Jarosz (Prospect HS, Mt. Prospect, Ill.)—who led the Vikings with 60 rushing yards and caught a touchdown pass on Saturday—is second with 154 yards and a team-high three touchdowns on 34 carries.
Senior middle linebacker
Jack Asquini (Buffalo Grove HS, Arlington Heights, Ill.) continues to lead Coach
Steve Bell's defense with 39 solo tackles, 40 assists, 79 total stops, 9½ tackles for loss and three sacks. Senior safety
Frank Kalble (Buffalo Grove HS, Arlington Heights, Ill.) is next with 61 tackles, followed by safety
John Asquini (Hersey HS, Arlington Heights, Ill.) with 54 and linebackers
Danny Giffels (Prairie Ridge HS, Crystal Lake, Ill.) and
Cassin Wolfe (Bettendorf HS, Bettendorf, Iowa), with 47 each.
Sixth-ranked North Central is the CCIW's only unbeaten team after defeating 12th-ranked Wheaton 35-25 on Saturday.
Coach Jeff Thorne's Cardinals are averaging 36.5 points per game. Of their 406.5 yards of total offense per contest, 284.3 come via the passing attack. Quarterback Broc Rutter is 123 of 185 (66.5%) for 1,665 yards this season. He's thrown 19 touchdown passes with just three interceptions. His favorite targets have been Alex Ulmer (37 receptions for 546 yards and five touchdowns), Ryan Kuhl (23-322-4) and former quarterback Dylan Warden (23-288-4). Ulmer was a second team All-CCIW selection a year ago, as was lineman Joe Fehrle.
Austin Bruenig (94 carries for 320 yards and two touchdowns) and Oshayne Brown (48-218-2) are North Central's leading rushers. Bruenig was a first team All-CCIW pick in 2015.
Defensively, the Cardinals give up just 15.8 points per game. Their opponents are averaging 86.5 rushing yards (2.6 per carry) and 201.3 passing yards per contest on 52.1% completions. Defensive back Pat Cravens (34 tackles) and linebackers Tom Sora (31) and Justin Stuursma (30)—a second team all-conference selection in 2015—are the team's leading tacklers. Lineman Billy Douds has team highs of eight tackles for loss and six sacks and defensive back Jeremy Niklos leads with four interceptions and seven pass breakups.
LAST WEEK...
10/15/16—MILLIKIN 43, AUGUSTANA 35
Viking rally at Millikin comes up short
DECATUR, Ill. – Augustana rallied for 22 unanswered fourth-quarter points Saturday, but its comeback came up short in a 43-35 loss to Millikin at Lindsay Field. The Vikings dropped to 2-5 overall and 1-4 in the CCIW, while the host Big Blue improved to 3-3 o the year and 2-2 in the league.
Millikin took the opening kickoff and went 85 yards in 11 plays with Gerald Perry hauling in a 31-yard scoring strike from Nicco Stepina to cap the march. Chayce Volpert's point after attempt was no good and the hosts led 6-0.
Augustana held the ball for 13 plays and nearly eight minutes on its first possession, eventually reaching the Big Blue 17-yared line. However, a pair of penalties and a third-down sack pushed the Vikings out of field goal range and they were forced to punt.
Millikin extended its lead to 20-0 late in the first half. First, Stepina and Perry hooked up again, this time for a 70-yard touchdown pass with 5:55 left to cap a four-play, 84-yard drive. After an Augustana three-and-out, the Big Blue went 57 yards in four plays for their third score. Stepina hit David Jackson with a 44-yard scoring pass with 3:07 left in the half. Volpert converted both PAT's.
The visitors got on the board with 1:10 before halftime. Sophomore quarterback
Luke Bleyer (Williamsville HS, Springfield, Ill.) hit freshmen
Bobby Jarosz (Prospect HS, Mt. Prospect, Ill.) for 30 yards and
Nick Karis (Glenbrook North HS, Northbrook, Ill.) for 12 before connecting with senior
Danny Lattner (Fenwick HS, Riverside, Ill.) for 29 yards and the Vikings' first touchdown. Junior
Jacob Stytz's
(Minooka HS, Channahon, Ill.) point after cut the deficit to 20-7.
It took Millikin just 29 seconds and five plays to go 60 yards for an answering touchdown. Stepina threw his fourth touchdown pass of the half—a 14-yarder to Jordan Smith that sent the Big Blue to the locker room with a 27-7 lead.
Stepina's fifth scoring toss of the day put his team up 34-7 early in the third quarter. He hit Smith again from four yards out to finish off an eight-play, 46-yard drive.
Bleyer guided a 13-play, 79-yard touchdown drive, capping it with a 10-yard touchdown pass to senior
Andrew Garcia (West Leyden HS, Melrose Park, Ill.). A two-point conversion attempt failed. Augustana forced a three-and-out on the Big Blue's next possession, but a 71-yard Wyatt Fox punt pinned the Vikings at their own two-yard line and on first down, Nikia Averitte tackled Jarosz in the end zone to put Millikin up 36-13.
Millikin took the ensuing free kick and went 49 yards in four plays for another touchdown. Stepina's sixth touchdown pass of the day went 14 yards to Avante Meriwether and gave the Big Blue a 43-13 lead with 13:30 to play.
Bleyer hit sophomore
Justin Pope (Whale Branch HS, Beaufort, S.C.) with a four-yard touchdown pass to cap an eight-play, 53-yard march. After a Millikin three-and-out,
Zachary Fuller (St. Patrick HS, Schiller Park, Ill.) replaced Bleyer and led Augustana on a six-play, 65-yard touchdown drive. The sophomore went five for five, including a nine-yard scoring toss to Jarosz. He hit Pope for the two-point conversion and the Vikings trailed 43-28 with 6:15 left.
After another Big Blue punt, Fuller went back to work. He completed six passes on an 80-yard drive, three of which went to Lattner, including a 27-yard connection on fourth-and-18. Fuller's 14-yard touchdown pass to Lattner and Stytz's PAT pulled Augustana to within 43-35 with five seconds left. However, Millikin recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock.
Bleyer finished 19 of 31 for 219 yards and three touchdowns in his first varsity start. Fuller was 11 of 16 for 144 yards and two scores in less than a quarter of action. Lattner caught 10 passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns and Jarosz led the rushing attack with 60 yards on 14 carries. Senior
Frank Kalble (Hersey HS, Arlington Heights, Ill.) had a game-high 10 tackles including 2½ for loss.
The Vikings are back in action on Saturday, October 22, hosting league-leading North Central in a 1:00 p.m. contest at Lindberg Stadium.
2016 AUGUSTANA VIKINGS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE/RESULTS
DATE |
OPPONENT |
SITE |
TIME/SCORE |
September 3 |
Mount St. Joseph (Austin E. Knowlton Kickoff Classic) |
Cincinnati, Ohio |
W, 21-10 |
September 10 |
Central (Austin E. Knowlton Kickoff Classic) |
HOME |
L, 17-45 |
September 17 |
*Carroll |
HOME |
W, 41-14 |
September 24 |
*Carthage |
Kenosha, Wis. |
L, 24-27 |
October 1 |
*Elmhurst (Homecoming) |
HOME |
L, 3-14 |
October 8 |
*Illinois Wesleyan |
Bloomington, Ill. |
L, 6-42 |
October 15 |
*Millikin |
Decatur, Ill |
L, 35-43 |
October 22 |
*North Central |
HOME |
1:00 pm |
October 29 |
*North Park |
Chicago, Ill. |
1:00 pm |
November 5 |
*Wheaton (Senior Day) |
HOME |
1:00 pm |
* - College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin game
2016 CCIW STANDINGS
School |
CCIW |
Overall |
North Central |
4-0 |
6-0 |
Wheaton |
4-1 |
6-1 |
Carthage |
3-1 |
5-1 |
Illinois Wesleyan |
3-2 |
4-2 |
Elmhurst |
3-2 |
4-3 |
Millikin |
2-2 |
3-3 |
AUGUSTANA |
1-4 |
2-5 |
North Park |
0-4 |
1-5 |
Carroll |
0-4 |
0-6 |
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. Augustana finished 4-6 in his first season. Bell is a 1992 graduate of Bemidji State University with a degree in physical education.