A stout Wheaton defense shut down Augustana's CCIW-leading ground game this past Saturday on its way to a 20-3 win over the Vikings at Lindberg Stadium. Now 3-4 on the season and 2-4 in the conference, Coach
Steve Bell's squad is back at Lindberg on Saturday, October 27 to host Washington University with kickoff scheduled for 1:00 p.m. This will be the schools' first meeting ever on the gridiron.
Despite rough sledding against Wheaton, the Viking rushing attack still leads the league with averages of 194.3 yards per game and 5.3 yards per carry through six CCIW games. Bell's outfit also leads the conference in turnover margin (+3), fewest yards penalized (48.0 per game), fewest sacks allowed (eight) and kickoff coverage (43.3 average net).
Led by junior linebacker
Luke Sawicki's (Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville, Ill.) 17 tackles, the Augustana defense held the Thunder 18 points and 169 total yards below their season averages. On the year, Sawicki leads the Vikings in solo (48), assisted (25) and total (73) tackles, as well as tackles for loss (13) and interceptions (two). Senior linebacker
Cassin Wolfe (Bettendorf HS, Bettendorf, Iowa) and sophomore safety
John Kappel (Wheeling HS, Wheeling, Ill.) are next with 43 and 40 tackles, respectively. Kappel shares the interception lead with Sawicki and junior ends
Daniel Tjaden (Assumption HS, Bettendorf, Iowa) and
Xavier Holley (Bettendorf HS, Davenport, Iowa) share the sack lead with four each.
On offense, senior quarterback
Zachary Fuller (St. Patrick HS, Schiller Park, Ill.) is 126 of 205 (61.5%) through the air for 1,375 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions. He currently ranks sixth in program history with 3,412 career passing yards. Sophomore
Max Uranich (La Salle-Peru HS, La Salle, Ill.) has been his top receiver with 32 catches for 418 yards and a touchdown. Junior
Ethan Jennings (Notre Dame HS, Chicago, Ill.) (20-301-2) and senior
Ryan Hennessy (Oswego HS, Oswego, Ill.) (20-182-0) are next on Augustana's reception list.
Senior
Ryan Pitra (Geneseo HS, Geneseo, Ill.) has rushed 126 times for 645 yards (5.1 per carry) and five touchdowns. Sophomore
Alek Jacobs (Rock Island HS, Rock Island, Ill.) (52-323-2) and junior
Bobby Jarosz (Prospect HS, Mt. Prospect, Ill.) (37-212-5) have complimented Pitra's work with averages of 6.6 and 5.7 yards per carry, respectively.
Head Coach Larry Kindborn's Washington University squad is 5-2 overall and 4-2 in its first season in the CCIW. The Bears are coming off a 27-21 loss to 17th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan this past Saturday.
Quarterback Johnny Davidson leads the WashU offense with 187 completions in 271 attempts (69.0%) for 1,850 yards and 14 touchdowns against just five interceptions. Matt Goldberg and Nick Cione are the team's top receivers. Goldberg has 36 catches for 394 yards and three touchdowns and Cione's numbers are 33, 263 and two, respectively. An additional half-dozen Bears have at least 14 receptions. John Fisher is WashU's top ground gainer with 434 yards and four touchdowns on 104 carries. The Bears average 28.4 points and 373.1 total yards (275.0 passing/98.1 rushing) per game.
The CCIW's leading tackler, linebacker Jake Coon, leads the WashU defense in solo (47), assisted (34) and total (81) tackles. The league's sack leader, end Peter Pigatti, has team highs of 12 tackles for loss and 10 sacks. Defensive back Jeff Marek leads with three interceptions. The Bears allow averages of 21.1 points and 392.3 total yards (294.1 passing/98.1 rushing) per game.
10/20/18— WHEATON 20, AUGUSTANA 3
Wheaton rides defense to 20-3 win over Vikings
ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – On a day when howling northwesterly winds neutralized the passing games of both teams, Wheaton shut down the CCIW's top rushing offense and produced enough of a ground game itself to defeat Augustana 20-3 Saturday at Lindberg Stadium. The Vikings dropped to 3-4 on the season and 2-4 in the CCIW, while the Thunder, ranked 23rd in the nation, improved to 5-2 overall and 4-2 in the league.
In a first half dominated by the defenses, Augustana had two excellent scoring opportunities, but came away empty.
On Wheaton's second possession,
Matt Albers (Rochelle HS, Rochelle, Ill.) broke through to block a Zach Feddeler punt which would have given the Vikings possession at the Thunder 10-yard line. However, an offside call with a sideline interference infraction tacked on not only nullified the blocked kick, but gave the visitors a first down.
Late in the first quarter, Coach
Steve Bell called a timeout, forcing Wheaton to punt into the wind. The tactic paid off, as Feddeler's boot went just seven yards, with Augustana taking over at the Wheaton 15. However, after two plays from scrimmage gained nothing, the quarter ended and it was the hosts heading into the wind. Eventually the Vikings passed on what would have been a 26-yard field goal attempt and
Zachary Fuller's (St. Patrick HS, Schiller Park, Ill.) throw on fourth-and-four from the Thunder nine fell incomplete.
A 23-yard Philip Nichols punt return set up the only touchdown of the first half. Wheaton took over at the Augustana 33 and Jacob Cretin raced 29 yards to the Viking four on the first play from scrimmage. Three rushes netted just three yards, but on fourth-and-goal from the one, wildcat quarterback Spencer Peterson pushed the pile into the end zone. Griffin Bowes' point after made it 7-0 with 5:57 left in the half and the score remained that way as the teams went to intermission.
With the wind at its back, Augustana scored its only points on its second possession of the third quarter. Aided by a Thunder face masking penalty and a Fuller-to-
Patrick Byrne (St. Patrick HS, Chicago, Ill.) completion for 18 yards—equaling the team's longest play of the day—the Vikings drove to the Wheaton 18 before the march stalled.
Ryan Ganson's (Geneseo HS, Geneseo, Ill.) 35-yard field goal cut the deficit to 7-3 with 7:11 left in the third.
The visitors got their ground game in gear on their next possession, rushing seven times for 72 yards on a 75-yard touchdown drive. Cretin did the honors from five yards out to put the Thunder up 13-3 with 2:54 left in the third quarter. Bowes' point after try was pushed wide left by the wind.
Wheaton added its final touchdown with 4:11 left to play. The Thunder drove 45 yards in 10 plays, with Noah Frazier carrying around left end for a six-yard touchdown. Bowes added the PAT to account for the final.
The guests limited the CCIW's leading rushing offense to just 77 yards on 30 carries.
Ryan Pitra (Geneseo HS, Geneseo, Ill.) carried 17 times for 51 yards. The Augustana passing game didn't fare much better. Fuller was just eight of 18 for 50 yards. Senior
Ryan Hennessy (Oswego HS, Oswego, Ill.) was the leading Viking receiver with three catches for 18 yards.
Luke Sawicki (Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville, Ill.) led a solid effort by the Augustana defense. The junior linebacker recorded 13 solo and 17 total tackles—including two for loss—and a pass breakup on the day. In addition, sophomore corner
Zach Stewart (Crown Point HS, Crown Point, Ind.) broke up three passes and junior corner
Luke Phelan (Joliet Catholic HS, Shorewood, Ill.) had an interception.
Cretin rushed 27 times for 170 yards, nearly 60 percent of Wheaton's total offense (297) for the day. Quarterback Curtis McWilliams completed just seven of 20 pass for 80 yards.
Bell's crew is back at Lindberg Stadium on Saturday, October 27. Washington University visits, with kickoff scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
2018 AUGUSTANA VIKINGS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE/RESULTS
| DATE |
OPPONENT |
|
SITE |
TIME/SCORE |
| September 1 |
Coe |
|
Cedar Rapids, Iowa |
W, 26-7 |
| September 15 |
Elmhurst* |
|
Elmhurst, Ill. |
W, 35-0 |
| September 22 |
Illinois Wesleyan* |
Family Weekend |
HOME |
L, 24-41 |
| September 29 |
Millikin* |
|
Decatur, Ill. |
L, 27-28 |
| October 6 |
North Central* |
Homecoming |
HOME |
L, 10-48 |
| October 13 |
North Park* |
|
Chicago, Ill. |
W, 41-7 |
| October 20 |
Wheaton* |
|
HOME |
L, 3-20 |
| October 27 |
Washington-St. Louis* |
|
HOME |
1:00 p.m. |
| November 3 |
Carroll* |
|
Waukesha, Wis. |
1:00 p.m. |
| November 10 |
Carthage* |
Senior Day |
HOME |
1:00 p.m. |
* - College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin game
2018 CCIW STANDINGS
| School |
CCIW |
Overall |
| Illinois Wesleyan |
6-0 |
6-1 |
| Millikin |
5-1 |
6-1 |
| North Central |
5-1 |
6-1 |
| Washington U. |
4-2 |
5-2 |
| Wheaton |
4-2 |
5-2 |
| AUGUSTANA |
2-4 |
3-4 |
| Carroll |
2-4 |
3-4 |
| Carthage |
2-4 |
2-5 |
| Elmhurst |
0-6 |
1-6 |
| North Park |
0-6 |
1-6 |
Illinois Wesleyan 27, Washington U. 21
Washington U. at AUGUSTANA, 1:00 pm
Carthage at North Park, 1:00 p.m.
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 has gone 8-22 during Bell's first three seasons. He is a 1992 graduate of Bemidji State University with a degree in physical education.
