ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Augustana will look to bounce back from a tough loss at Millikin when it hosts North Central as part of Homecoming festivities on Saturday, October 6. The Vikings fell 28-27 on Saturday night in Decatur, Illinois and are now 2-2 overall and 1-2 in the CCIW. The 17th-ranked Cardinals will bring a 3-1 record and a 2-1 conference mark into this Saturday's game at Lindberg Stadium.
Coach
Steve Bell's offense continues to show great balance. The ground game is averaging 186.8 yards per game and 4.8 yards per carry, including league bests of 201.0 and 5.6, respectively, in three CCIW games. The passing attack has produced an average of 237.8 yards per contest.
Senior quarterback
Zachary Fuller (St. Patrick HS, Schiller Park, Ill.) has completed 80 of 121 passes (66.1 percent) for 926 yards and six touchdowns with just two interceptions. Sophomore
Max Uranich (La Salle-Peru HS, La Salle, Ill.) leads five Vikings in double-digit receptions with 18 catches for a team-best 266 yards. Senior
Ryan Pitra (Geneseo HS, Geneseo, Ill.) leads the rushing attack with 354 yards and two touchdowns on 74 carries (4.8 per attempt). sophomore
Alek Jacobs (Rock Island HS, Rock Island, Ill.) (27-183-1) and junior
Bobby Jarosz (Prospect HS, Mt. Prospect, Ill.) (26-179-3) have been productive as well, averaging 6.8 and 6.5 yards per carry, respectively.
Junior linebacker
Luke Sawicki (Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville, Ill.) leads the defense in solo (20), assisted (12) and total (32) tackles, as well as tackles for loss (5½) and interceptions (two). Sophomore safety
John Kappel (Wheeling HS, Wheeling, Ill.) and senior linebacker
Cassin Wolfe (Bettendorf HS, Bettendorf, Iowa) have been in on 27 and 26 tackles, respectively. Each has an interception and Kappel also owns a fumble recovery. Junior end
Daniel Tjaden (Assumption HS, Bettendorf, Iowa) has a team-high three sacks.
Through four games, Augustana leads the CCIW in red-zone defense (54.5 percent/3.27 points per trip) and turnover margin (+2.25 per game) and ranks second in scoring defense (19.0 ppg).
Coach Jeff Thorne's North Central outfit was ranked fifth in the nation in last week's D3football.com Top 25, but suffered a 52-30 loss to Wheaton Saturday in the teams' Little Brass Bell rivalry game.
Led by quarterback Broc Rutter, the Cardinal offense has put up averages of 41.8 points and 534.0 total yards per game this season. Rutter has completed 109 of 147 passes (74.1 percent) for 1,223 yards and eight touchdowns with just two interceptions. Four of his receivers have at least 19 catches, led by Andrew Kamienski with team-bests of 29 receptions, 385 yards and four touchdowns. Rutter and Kamienski were both first team All-CCIW selections a year ago.
Sharmore Clarke, second team All-CCIW as a freshman in 2017, anchors the Cardinal offensive line. Running behind him have been Ethan Greenfield (63 carries, 367 yards, three touchdowns), Dominick Muoghalu (44-237-6) and Terrence Hill (18-113-2).
The North Central defense returns second team All-CCIW performers Josh Leonhard at end and D.J. Warkenthien at linebacker. Warkenthien has team highs of 27 solo and 40 total tackles, along with eight tackles for loss. Linebacker Ben Wong is next with 31 stops. Tackle Tommy Hyland leads with three sacks and cornerback Jake Beesley has a pair of interceptions. The Cardinals have given up averages of 21.2 points and 316.8 yards of total offense per game.
09/29/18—MILLIKIN 28, AUGUSTANA 27
Mistakes costly in 28-27 loss at Millikin
DECATUR, Ill. – For the second week in a row, Augustana jumped out to a two-score lead Saturday, but eventually fell, dropping a 28-27 decision to Millikin at Lindsay Field. The Vikings are now 2-2 on the year and 1-2 in the CCIW, while the Big Blue improved to 3-1 overall and 2-1 in the league.
It was all Augustana early. A
Daniel Tjaden (Assumption HS, Bettendorf, Iowa) sack of Nicco Stepina helped stall Millikin's opening drive and after the Big Blue punted,
Zachary Fuller (St. Patrick HS, Schiller Park, Ill.) led the Vikings on an eight-play, 80-yard touchdown drive. He completed four of five passes, including a 10-yarder to
Tom Dolis (Notre Dame HS, Chicago, Ill.) for the score. Senior
Ryan Ganson (Geneseo HS, Geneseo, Ill.) added the point after.
Augustana stopped Millikin on downs inside its own five-yard line and the offense went right back to work. Fuller rushed 33 yards on a 3rd-and-11 from his own five and completed three passes on a 15-play, 94-yard march. Sophomore
Alek Jacobs (Rock Island HS, Rock Island, Ill.) finished it off with a two-yard touchdown run on the last play of the first quarter and Ganson's PAT made it 14-0.
Junior linebacker
Luke Sawicki (Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville, Ill.) intercepted a Stepina pass on the next possession, setting the Vikings up in Millikin territory. However, the drive stalled following a penalty, starting a string of four straight Augustana possessions to be derailed by penalties or a turnover.
After the teams traded punts, Stepina found his rhythm and led his squad on a five-play, 51-yard scoring drive. His 13-yard touchdown pass to Gerald Perry and William Raibley's extra point pulled the hosts to within 14-7.
Jacobs returned the ensuing kickoff 60 yards, but coughed the ball up and the Big Blue recovered at their own 30. A 57-yard Stepina-to-Tyrice Hines pass keyed an eight-play, 70-yard touchdown drive. Stepina hit Perry from two yards out to cap the march. Raibley added the point and the teams went to halftime tied 14-14.
The Vikings took the second half kickoff and went right down the field. However, they failed to gain a first down after having second-and-one from the Millikin six and had to settle for a Ganson 27-yard field goal and a 17-14 lead.
Stepina hit Jordan Smith with a 55-yard touchdown pass on the next possession, giving Millikin its first lead of the night, but Augustana answered with a nine-play, 65-yard touchdown drive to get it back. Fuller went into the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the one and Ganson's kick made it 24-21 Vikings with 2:20 left in the third quarter.
Stepina connected with Smith again, this time from 24 yards with 14:21 left in the game and the hosts had the lead for good. Raibley's kick made it 28-24 Big Blue.
Augustana was stopped again deep in Millikin territory and Ganson's 21-yard field goal cut the deficit to 28-27 with 9:15 to play. After the defense recorded a pair of stops, the Vikings twice penetrated Big Blue territory. A sack forced them to punt on the first trip and on the second, Ganson's 51-yard field goal attempt came up short with 51 seconds left, allowing Millikin to run out the clock.
Fuller finished 25 of 39 through the air for 246 yards and one touchdown. Sophomore
Max Uranich (La Salle-Peru HS, La Salle, Ill.) caught six passes for 70 yards.
Senior
Ryan Pitra (Geneseo HS, Geneseo, Ill.) led a 218-yard rushing attack with 77 yards on 16 carries. Jacobs added 62 yards and a touchdown on 11 attempts and Fuller had 40 yards and a touchdown on eight totes. Junior
Bobby Jarosz (Prospect HS, Mt. Prospect, Ill.) carried six times for 39 yards.
Sophomore safety
John Kappel (Wheeling HS, Wheeling, Ill.) led the defense with eight solo and nine total tackles.
Stepina threw for 353 yards and four touchdowns. Perry was on the receiving end of 13 passes for 116 yards.
Augustana will host fifth-ranked North Central at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 6. That contest will be part of Homecoming festivities at Lindberg Stadium.
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 |
1:00 p.m. |
| October 13 |
North Park* |
|
Chicago, Ill. |
1:00 p.m. |
| October 20 |
Wheaton* |
|
HOME |
1:00 p.m. |
| October 27 |
Washington-St. Louis* |
|
HOME |
1:00 p.m. |
| November 3 |
Carroll* |
|
Waukesha, Wisc. |
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 |
3-0 |
3-1 |
| Millikin |
2-1 |
3-1 |
| North Central |
2-1 |
3-1 |
| Washington U. |
2-1 |
3-1 |
| Wheaton |
2-1 |
3-1 |
| Carthage |
2-1 |
2-2 |
| AUGUSTANA |
1-2 |
2-2 |
| Carroll |
1-2 |
2-2 |
| Elmhurst |
0-3 |
1-3 |
| North Park |
0-3 |
1-3 |
Washington U. 44, North Park 21
Washington U. at Elmhurst, 1:00 pm
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.
