Senior Ryan Pitra opened the 2018 campaign with a 148 yard rushing effort on
31 attempts in the Vikings 26-7 win over Coe on September 1.
ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – After a 26-7 victory at Coe in week one, Coach
Steve Bell's Augustana football team was idle this past Saturday. The Vikings begin College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin play on Saturday, September 15 with a 1:00 p.m. contest at Elmhurst. Both Augustana and the Bluejays will bring a 1-0 record into Saturday's game.
Senior quarterback
Zachary Fuller (St. Patrick HS, Schiller Park, Ill.) has completed 20 of 32 passes for 243 yards and one touchdown. Senior running back
Ryan Pitra (Geneseo HS, Geneseo, Ill.) leads the Vikings in rushing with 148 yards and a touchdown on 31 carries and sophomore
Max Uranich (La Salle-Peru HS, La Salle, Ill.) leads the receiving corps with five catches for 90 yards.
Sophomore
David Lane (Civic Memorial HS, Bethalto, Ill.) has team highs of eight solo and nine total tackles, along with an interception. Senior
Austin Nice (Normal Community HS, Bloomington, Ill.) has eight stops, including one of the Vikings' four sacks. Sophomore safety
John Kappel (Wheeling HS, Wheeling, Ill.) owns two of the Vikings' six takeaways, with an interception and a fumble recovery.
Senior placekicker
Ryan Ganson (Geneseo HS, Geneseo, Ill.) has field goals of 43 and 40 yards and senior
Zachary Roling (Brimfield HS, Edwards, Ill.) averages 41.7 yards per punt with a long of 71 yards.
Elmhurst rallied from a 13-0 deficit to win 21-20 at Aurora this past Saturday. Orlando Hernandez threw for 272 yards and two touchdowns—both to Jawan Gaines—and Blake Bailey kicked three field goals, including the game-winner from 36 yards with 10:52 to play.
Brock Bethke led the Bluejay rushing attack with 74 yards on 17 carries and Gaines, a second team All-CCIW return specialist in 2017, caught four passes for 169 yards.
Defensively, cornerback Brandon Greer led the way for Elmhurst with 10 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble. Defensive end Romain Richards, a second team All-CCIW selection a year ago, recorded two tackles for loss. The Bluejays gave up 387 total yards to the Spartans—152 on the ground and 235 through the air.
This will be the 64th meeting between Augustana and Elmhurst. The all-time series stands 54-8-1 in favor of the Vikings. Coach
Steve Bell's outfit won last year's matchup 24-19 at Langhorst Field in Elmhurst, Illinois.
09/01/18—AUGUSTANA 26, COE 7
Defense shines in 26-7 win at Coe
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Augustana forced six Coe turnovers and held the Kohawks to just 18 rushing yards Saturday, opening the 2018 season with a 26-7 win at Clark Field. Coach
Steve Bell's squad will be idle next Saturday before beginning College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin play at Elmhurst on September 15.
The Vikings recorded their first takeaway on the very first possession of the game when senior
John Asquini (Buffalo Grove HS, Arlington Heights, Ill.) intercepted a Quentin White pass. Their ensuing drive stalled after a 35-yard
Ryan Pitra (Geneseo HS, Geneseo, Ill.) run was negated by a holding call, but after forcing a Coe punt, they drove 41 yards in 10 plays and took the lead on a 40-yard field goal by senior
Ryan Ganson (Geneseo HS, Geneseo, Ill.).
After the defense stopped the Kohawks on fourth-and-one at the Augustana 41 late in the first quarter, the Vikings went 33 yards in six plays to take a 6-0 lead. The key play of the drive—capped by a 43-yard Ganson field goal—was a 32-yard completion from senior
Zachary Fuller (St. Patrick HS, Schiller Park, Ill.) to sophomore
Max Uranich (La Salle-Peru HS, La Salle, Ill.).
When sophomore
David Lane (Civic Memorial HS, Bethalto, Ill.) picked off another White pass on the next possession, the Vikings had equaled their interception total for the entire 2017 season. Fuller capped a four-play, 18-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to junior
Ethan Jennings (Notre Dame HS, Chicago, Ill.) on a fourth-and-three play. Ganson's point after made it 13-0 at 11:42 of the second quarter.
Coe got on the board when White found Matt Kopp behind the Augustana secondary on the Kohawks' next drive. Their 34-yard scoring connection capped a seven-play, 75-yard drive.
With 3:20 left in the half, junior
Devin Haxby (Geneseo HS, Colona, Ill.) recovered a bad shotgun snap at the Coe 33-yard line. The Vikings drove to the one, but the Kohawk defense stiffened, stopping Pitra on both third and fourth down to keep the score 13-7 at intermission.
The momentum created by the goal line stand appeared to carry over into the second half, as the hosts forced an Augustana three-and-out and then went on a 13-play, 63-yard march, reaching the Viking 21. However, Tristan Connell's 38-yard field goal try went wide left.
Bell's bunch responded with a seven-play, 73-yard scoring march. Fuller hit junior
Tom Dolis (Notre Dame HS, Chicago, Ill.) for 12 yards, senior
Justin Pope (Whale Branch HS, Beaufort, S.C.) for 24 and senior
Ryan Hennessy (Oswego HS, Oswego, Ill.) for 27 and junior
Bobby Jarosz (Prospect HS, Mt. Prospect, Ill.) capped the drive by slipping down the right sideline and into the end zone from nine yards out. Ganson's conversion was no good and the visitors led 19-7 with 6:22 left in the third quarter.
New defensive coordinator
Dick Maloney's crew handled it from there. Sophomore safety
John Kappel (Wheeling HS, Wheeling, Ill.) recorded a fumble recovery and an interception on Coe's next two drives and Augustana forced a punt and stopped the Kohawks on downs twice on their next three possessions.
Pitra's 35-yard touchdown run on fourth-and eight with 1:53 to play—along with Ganson's PAT—completed the day's scoring.
Pitra carried 31 times for 148 yards and a touchdown and Fuller completed 20 of 32 passes for 243 yards and a score. Uranich snared five passes for 90 yards. Lane had team highs of eight solo and nine total tackles. Senior
Austin Nice (Normal Community HS, Bloomington, Ill.) added eight stops, including one of the Vikings' four sacks.
Coe managed just 18 net rushing yards on 29 carries and White needed 50 attempts (25 completions) to throw for 294 yards.
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. |
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
2018 CCIW STANDINGS
| School |
CCIW |
Overall |
| AUGUSTANA |
0-0 |
1-0 |
| Carroll |
0-0 |
1-0 |
| Elmhurst |
0-0 |
1-0 |
| Millikin |
0-0 |
1-0 |
| North Central |
0-0 |
1-0 |
| North Park |
0-0 |
1-0 |
| Washington |
0-0 |
1-0 |
| Wheaton |
0-0 |
1-0 |
| Carthage |
0-0 |
0-1 |
| Illinois Wesleyan |
0-0 |
0-1 |
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.
