ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Augustana defeated Elmhurst 24-19 this past Saturday at Langhorst Field in Elmhurst, Illinois. The Vikings, now 1-4 overall and 1-2 in the CCIW, host 12th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan on Saturday, October 7 at Lindberg Stadium.
 
Freshman quarterback Alek Jacobs (Rock Island HS, Rock Island, Ill.) saw an increased number of snaps in the Elmhurst game. On the season, he's rushed 47 times for 216 yards and four touchdowns and completed five of 11 pass attempts for 43 yards and one touchdown with one interception. Junior running back Ryan Pitra (Geneseo HS, Geneseo, Ill.) is the Vikings' leading rusher with 416 yards and five touchdowns on 99 carries.
 
Senior Riley Donald (Morton HS, Morton, Ill.) and sophomore Ethan Jennings (Notre Dame HS, Chicago, Ill.) are Augustana's leading receivers. Donald has 17 catches for 165 yards and Jennings 14 receptions for 251 yards and two touchdowns.
 
Sophomore safety Devin Haxby (Geneseo HS, Colona, Ill.) leads Coach Steve Bell's defense with 31 solo tackles and 43 total stops. Senior lineman Grant Burke (Hersey HS, Arlington Heights, Ill.) leads with five tackles for loss and sophomore end Daniel Tjaden (Assumption HS, Bettendorf, Iowa) has a team-high three sacks.
 
The Viking kicking game has been outstanding all season. Senior Jacob Stytz (Minooka HS, Channahon, Ill.) is perfect on 10 extra point attempts (72 in a row over the last three years) and seven field goal tries with a long of 52 yards. Freshman Alex Bryan (Wethersfield HS, Kewanee, Ill.) is averaging 43.8 yards per punt with a long of 63 yards and has dropped a half-dozen punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line.
 
Illinois Wesleyan, ranked 12th in the nation by D3football.com, moved up seven spots after a 14-10 victory at fifth-ranked Wheaton this past Saturday. Coach Norm Eash's Titans improved to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in the CCIW.
 
The IWU defense—led by 2016 second team all-conference selections linebacker Brinton Wilkey and defensive tackle Justin Krzeczkowski—allows an average of just 13.4 points per game. Titan opponents have managed just 54.4 rushing yards per contest and 1.7 yards per carry. Linebacker Jordan Hassan has a team-high 49 tackles. Defensive end John Nolan leads with five tackles for loss and bookend Eric Dubose has a team-best four sacks.
 
Quarterback Brandon Bauer guides the IWU offense. He's completed 85 of 146 passes (58.2%) for 961 yards with five interceptions. He has four receivers in double-digit receptions, led by Ian Keffer with 20 grabs for 217 yards and a touchdown. Bauer's eight touchdown passes have gone to five different receivers, led by Jack Healy's (16-219) three TD catches.
 
Morgan Alexander—running behind 2016 All-CCIW second team linemen Mike Mulcrone and Nicholas Monferdini—is Illinois Wesleyan's leading rusher with 522 yards and two touchdowns on 101 carries.
 
 
09/30/17—AUGUSTANA 24, ELMHURST 19
 
Vikings win 24-19 at Elmhurst
                        
ELMHURST, Ill. – Freshman quarterback Alek Jacobs (Rock Island HS, Rock Island, Ill.) rushed for one touchdown and threw for another Saturday, as Augustana spoiled Elmhurst's homecoming with a 24-19 win over the Bluejays at Langhorst Field. The Vikings moved to 1-4 on the year and 1-2 in the conference, while the hosts are also 1-4 overall and 1-2 in the league.
 
Elmhurst took Jacob Stytz's (Minooka HS, Channahon, Ill.) opening kickoff and marched 65 yards in five plays to take the lead. Quarterback Orlando Hernandez had runs of 11 and 27 yards and capped the drive with a five-yard touchdown pass to Hasahn Austin. Matt Brachmann's point after made it 7-0.
 
Augustana answered with a 12-play, 71-yard touchdown drive. With a fourth-and-one from his own 38-yard line, freshman Alex Bryan (Wethersfield HS, Kewanee, Ill.) rushed for 13 yards on a fake punt to keep the march alive. Junior Luke Bleyer (Williamsville HS, Springfield, Ill.) completed three passes for 46 yards before Jacobs returned and carried twice for the final nine yards, including a five-yard touchdown run. Stytz added the extra point.
 
After the teams traded punts, the Bluejays drove to the Viking 24, but Brachmann's 41-yard field goal attempt with 12:44 left in the second quarter was wide right and the score remained 7-7.
 
Each team had a three-and-out before Augustana put together another scoring drive, going 43 yards in 10 plays before Stytz knocked through his seventh field goal in as many attempts this season. The 33-yarder gave the visitors 10-7 lead, which they maintained going into halftime. The key play on the drive was a 17-yard Jacobs-to-Ryan Pitra (Geneseo HS, Geneseo, Ill.) pass.
 
After a 61-yard Bryan punt pinned Elmhurst at its own seven-yard line early in the third quarter, junior linebacker Cassin Wolfe (Bettendorf HS, Bettendorf, Iowa) picked off a Hernandez offering to set the Vikings up with great field position at the Bluejay 17. Three plays later, Jacobs hit junior Ryan Hennessy (Oswego HS, Oswego, Ill.) on the left side and he weaved through the Elmhurst defense with the help of a Danny Oliger (Davenport Central HS, Davenport, Iowa) block and got into the end zone standing. Stytz's kick made it 17-7 Augustana.
 
On the ensuing possession, the Buejays drove to the Augustana three-yard line, but on fourth and two, senior Grant Burke (Hersey HS, Arlington Heights, Ill.) threw Brock Bethke for a four-yard loss on a toss sweep and the Vikings took over on downs.
 
With 9:41 left in the game, Hernandez hit Bethke with a two-yard touchdown pass, capping an eight-play, 61-yard march and pulling the Bluejays to within 17-13. However, Blake Bailey's extra point attempt struck the upright and bounced away, leaving the Viking lead at four points.
 
Augustana responded with the key drive of the contest. Taking over with 9:35 left, the Vikings went 71 yards in 15 plays and took 8:17 off the clock. Pitra carried 11 times for 47 yards on the march, including a 10-yard run on third-and-four from midfield on which he grabbed an errant snap and broke several tackles to keep the drive alive. He eventually went into the end zone from four yards out and Stytz's kick made it 24-13 with 1:21 to play.
 
Elmhurst cut the deficit to 24-19 with a nine-play, 67-yard touchdown drive aided by a circus catch by Jawan Gaines off a twice tipped pass and a pass interference penalty on Augustana. Hernandez eventually found Brachmann in the back of the end zone with 11 seconds left on the clock.
 
The Bluejays' two-point attempt failed and the ensuing onside kick went only four yards, allowing the Vikings to run out the clock.
 
Pitra finished with 89 rushing yards on 23 carries. Jacobs carried 16 times for 74 yards and completed five of eight pass attempts for 43 yards. Bleyer finish 4-for-6 for 50 yards passing. Pitra was the leading Augustana receiver with five catches for 56 yards.
 
Freshman safety John Kappel (Wheeling HS, Wheeling, Ill.) led the defense with seven solo tackles and three assists. The Viking kicking game was outstanding. Stytz remained perfect on the year with a field goal and three PATs and Bryan averaged a whopping 50.5 yards on four punts.
 
Augustana is back at Lindberg Stadium on Saturday, October 7, hosting Illinois Wesleyan at 1:00 p.m.
 
 
2016 AUGUSTANA VIKINGS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE/RESULTS

DATE	OPPONENT		SITE	TIME/SCORE
September 2	Cortland State		Cortland, N.Y.	L, 32-34
September 9	Central		Pella, Iowa	L, 22-33
September 16	Carroll		Waukesha, Wis.	L, 25-28
September 23	Carthage	Family Weekend	HOME	L, 14-55
September 30	Elmhurst		Elmhurst, Ill.	W, 24-19
October 7	Illinois Wesleyan		HOME	1:00 p.m.
October 14	Millikin	Homecoming	HOME	1:00 p.m.
October 21	North Central		Naperville, Ill.	2:00 p.m.
October 28	North Park	Senior Day	HOME	1:00 p.m.
November 4	Wheaton		Wheaton, Ill.	1:00 p.m.

* - College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin game
 

2017 CCIW STANDINGS

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

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