ROCK ISLAND, Ill. -- The Augustana Vikings football team was defeated on Saturday to the visiting Carroll Pioneers, falling in overtime by a score of 29-26 from inside Lindberg Stadium. 
 
The Augie defense forced a three-and-out to begin the game, which led to the first points as the Vikings saw a 23-yard field goal attempt go through from Sidney Maroon. The Pioneers responded with a drive deep into Augie territory, but their 20-yard field goal attempt went wide left. The score remained the same until the Vikings secured a touchdown with less than a minute remaining in the opening frame as Cole Bhardwaj connected through the air with Craig Shelton from nine yards out. Augustana led 10-0 after 15 minutes of action.
 
Carroll quickly got on the board in the second, punching one into the end zone just 37 seconds in. After a few defensive stops both ways, the Vikings exploded for a big play when Bhardwaj tallied his second passing touchdown of the day, this time 73 yards to Bobby Inserra. The 17-7 score stood still heading into halftime. The Vikings out-gained the Pioneers 228-110 through the first two quarters and held the visitors to just 95 yards through the air. Inserra hauled in six of seven targets for 124 yards in the opening half.
 
The Pioneers forced a turnover deep in Augie territory to begin the second half, but the Vikings defense held strong, preventing any points for Carroll on another missed field goal attempt. With 2:26 remaining in the third, the Pioneers cashed in on a quick nine-play drive that spent just a little over a minute on the clock. The point-after try was no good and Augie held a 17-13 advantage entering the fourth quarter.
 
The Vikings contributed to their lead early in the fourth, converting a drive that started on their own 19 into another Maroon field goal to push the margin out to seven at 20-13. Augustana proceeded to force a Carroll three-and-out, but a fumble on the ensuing punt return gave the Pioneers the ball back near midfield. The drive resulted in a nine-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 20-20 with just over seven minutes showing on the clock. Immediately after, another quickly forced turnover by Carroll put the ball in their possession in plus-territory, taking several minutes off of the clock down to the Augustana 12-yard line where they drilled a 29-yard field goal to take the lead 23-20 with 2:29 left to go.
 
On the ensuing Vikings drive, Bhardwaj kept things alive on a 3^rd and 19 with a 29-yard pass play to Ian Gorken to put them in field goal range and eventually setting up a game-tying field goal from Maroon with 47 seconds remaining. Carroll saw their final drive push into Augustana territory, but their last-second heave towards the end zone fell incomplete and the game headed into overtime deadlocked at 23.
 
In the opening overtime session, Augie picked up a first down on their first play, but settled for a 29-yard field goal from Maroon to give the Vikings the 26-23 advantage. After getting down to the four-yard line, the Pioneers lined up for a possible game-tying kick, but coming out of a timeout decided to go for it, converting a four-yard touchdown pass on fourth down to win the game 29-26.
 
As a team, the Vikings posted 381 yards of total offense compared to the Pioneers' 357. The Augie defense held the pass-heavy offense of Carroll below their season average making it the second straight week doing so. Tim Swaney tallied a team-high ten tackles, two for loss. Four others secured eight tackles apiece, including Chase Tatum with 2.5 for loss and 1.5 sacks.
 
On offense, Inserra had a career day catching the ball, hauling in ten receptions for 180 yards a touchdown. His ten catches are two off the school-record mark of 12. Bhardwaj finished 24-36 for 316 yards and two touchdown completions. Augustana was -5 in the turnover category, including four fumbles lost. 
 
With the loss, Augustana drops to 2-5 on the season overall and 1-5 in CCIW play. The team will be back in action on Saturday, October 30 when they hit the road to take on Carthage. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. from Kenosha, Wis.