ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Augustana was unable to build on a promising start Saturday, falling 41-24 to 19th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan at Lindberg Stadium in the 2018 Knowlton Kickoff Classic. The Vikings dropped to 2-1 on the season and 1-1 in the CCIW, while the Titans improved to 2-1 overall and 2-0 in the league.  

The hosts got off to a great start. Sophomore Alek Jacobs (Rock Island HS, Rock Island, Ill.) brought the opening kickoff out to the Augustana 37-yard line and it took just three plays for the Vikings to reach the IWU four-yard line. Zachary Fuller (St. Patrick HS, Schiller Park, Ill.) sandwiched completions of 16 yards to Max Uranich (La Salle-Peru HS, La Salle, Ill.) and 26 yards to Ryan Pitra (Geneseo HS, Geneseo, Ill.) around a 17-yard Pitra rush. The Titan defense stiffened, however, and Augustana settled for a 21-yard Ryan Ganson (Geneseo HS, Geneseo, Ill.) field goal to go up 3-0.
 
Illinois Wesleyan's first possession yielded more points for the Vikings. After the Titans were called for holding and Xavier Holley (Bettendorf HS, Davenport, Iowa) sacked Brandon Bauer for a nine-yard loss, IWU faced third-and-22 from its own 11. Under heavy pressure, Bauer threw over the middle, where junior Luke Sawicki (Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville, Ill.) picked off the throw and returned it 21 yards for a touchdown. Ganson's PAT made it 10-0 Augustana with 9:43 left in the first quarter.
 
After the teams traded punts, the Titans drove 72 yards in eight plays, eventually getting on the board with a seven-yard Bauer-to-Jack Healy scoring strike. That started a string of 35 unanswered points for the visitors. A pair of Quinton Walters interceptions set up Illinois Wesleyan's next two scoring drives. The first was capped with a two-yard Bauer-to-Anthony Ryan touchdown pass and the second ended with Bauer taking it in from three yards out. Patrick Tata converted both PAT's and IWU led 21-10 with 4:14 left in the half.
 
The Titans added the final score of the half with 1:41 left. On the first play after a Viking punt, Healy took a short pass from Bauer, eluded one defender and outran the Augustana defense down the left sideline for a 64-yard touchdown. The point after attempt was botched and Illinois Wesleyan took a 27-10 lead to the locker room.
 
IWU took the second-half kickoff and found the end zone for the fifth straight possession. The Titans drove 75 yards in 11 plays, with Bauer taking it in from a yard out.
 
The Vikings cut the deficit to 34-17 on a 27-yard Bobby Jarosz (Prospect HS, Mt. Prospect, Ill.) touchdown run with 3:33 left in the third quarter and each team added a touchdown in the final period. Bauer and Healy hooked up for their third scoring pass of the night, this one from two yards out with 11:52 to play. Augustana answered with the game's final touchdown at the 9:17 mark. Fuller hit a diving Ethan Jennings (Notre Dame HS, Chicago, Ill.) on a post pattern from 34 yards out. Ganson's extra point accounted for the final.
 
Fuller finished 14 of 22 for 181 yards and a touchdown, while throwing his first two interceptions of the season. Pitra (13 carries, 61 yards) and Jarosz (5-53) led the ground game and Jennings and Pitra each caught four passes for 62 and 49 yards, respectively.
 
Senior linebacker Cassin Wolfe (BettendorfHS, Bettendorf, Iowa) led the defense with 13 tackles and an interception. Sophomore John Kappel (Wheeling HS, Wheeling, Ill.) added 10 stops.
 
Illinois Wesleyan put up 507 yards of total offense. Bauer completed 24 of 35 passes for 320 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for an additional two scores. Healy caught 12 passes for 203 yards and three touchdowns and Morgan Alexander led the Titan ground game with 118 yards on 24 carries.
 
Coach Steve Bell's club will look to get back on the winning track on Saturday, September 29, when it travels to Decatur, Illinois to take on Millikin. Kickoff at Lindsay Field is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.