ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Coach Steve Bell's Augustana football program will get the 2018 season underway on Saturday, September 1, traveling to Cedar Rapids, Iowa to take on Coe at 1:00 p.m. The Vikings were 1-9 a year ago and 1-7 in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin. The Kohawks finished 4-6 in 2017, including 2-6 in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, now known as the American Rivers Conference following a summer rebranding.
 
Senior Zachary Fuller (St. Patrick HS, Schiller Park, Ill.) will get the starting nod at quarterback for Augustana on Saturday. Fuller completed 57.8 percent of his passes for 517 yards last year before being injured in the fourth game. He threw for 1,520 yards and 10 touchdowns as a sophomore in 2016 and currently ranks eighth on the school's career passing yards list with 2,037.
 
Bells' starting offensive line includes four players who logged at least one start a year ago. Senior Ryan Pitra (Geneseo HS, Geneseo, Ill.), the Vikings' leading rusher each of the past two seasons, returns at running back. He ran for 541 yards and six touchdowns a year ago. Fuller's corps of receivers will include starters Ethan Jennings (Notre Dame HS, Chciago, Ill.) (21 catches for 359 yards and two touchdowns last year) and Max Uranich (La Salle-Peru HS, La Salle, Ill.) (5-79-0) as well as senior Ryan Hennessy (Oswego HS, Oswego, Ill.) (28-278-2), who is just 14 receptions away from Gary Fairchild's (1970-73) Augustana career record of 113.
 
Four-year starter Cassin Wolfe (Bettendorf HS, Bettendorf, Iowa) figures to be one of the leaders of the Viking defense from his linebacker slot. His 52 tackles a year ago were third on the team. Sophomore safety John Kappel (Wheeling HS, Wheeling, Ill.) is back after finishing second on the team in tackles (56) as a freshman. Junior Daniel Tjaden (Assumption HS, Bettendorf, Iowa), a three-year starter, led Augustana with 4½ sacks. In all, new defensive coordinator Dick Maloney welcomes back the team's top five tacklers from a year ago and eight of its top nine.
 
Senior Ryan Ganson (Geneseo HS, Geneseo, Ill.) will take over for All-CCIW placekicker Jacob Stytz and classmate Zachary Roling (Brimfield HS, Edwards, Ill.) steps into the starting punter role.
 
Coach Tyler Staker's Coe squad returns a half-dozen starters on each side of the ball. Junior quarterback Quentin White directs the Kohawk offense. Last year, he completed 64.9 percent of his passes for 2,134 yards and 17 touchdowns against 11 interceptions. He'll operate behind a line that includes Dalton Kuehl, a two-time first-team All-IIAC selection. Mitch Stopko caught 29 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns in 2017 and Tyler Dralle is Coe's leading returning rusher. He ran for 452 yards and two touchdowns on 109 carries a year ago despite missing four games.
 
Junior defensive back Jacob Elsbury led the Kohawks with 49 solo tackles a year ago and was second on the team with 87 total stops. Linebacker Terrence Hall (77 tackles, 9.5 TFL), lineman Daniel Vega (51 tackles, 2 sacks) and defensive back Kentrel Smith (38 tackles, 13 pass breakups) are other top returnees on defense.
 
This will be the first meeting between the teams since the 2009 season, when Coe won 9-7 in Cedar Rapids. The Kohawks lead the all-time series—which has consisted of home-and-home arrangements in 1903-04, 1945-46 and 2008-09—by a margin of 4-2. Coe was a 6-0 winner at home in the first meeting, followed by a 22-0 Augustana home win the next year. Coe won both of the matchups in the '40s—27-0 in Cedar Rapids, then 7-6 in Rock Island. The Vikings were 21-6 winners in the 2008 contest at Ericson Field.
  
 
2018 AUGUSTANA VIKINGS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE/RESULTS

DATE	OPPONENT		SITE	TIME/SCORE
September 1	Coe		Cedar Rapids, Iowa	1:00 p.m.
September 15	Elmhurst*		Elmhurst, Ill.	1:00 p.m.
September 22	Illinois Wesleyan*	Family Weekend	HOME	6:00 p.m.
September 29	Millikin*		Decatur, Ill.	6:30 p.m.
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
 
 
2017 CCIW STANDINGS

School	CCIW	Overall
North Central	7-1	10-2
Illinois Wesleyan	7-1	9-2
Wheaton	6-2	8-2
Millikin	5-3	7-3
Carthage	5-3	7-3
North Park	2-6	3-7
Elmhurst	2-6	2-8
AUGUSTANA	1-7	1-9
Carroll	1-7	1-9