BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- The Augustana Vikings football team picked up a 38-14 win in their final game of the 2021 season on Saturday, defeating the Illinois Wesleyan Titans on the road to get back to .500 on the year after securing their third straight victory.

It was a quiet start to the opening quarter both ways as each team saw a couple of short drives. With 7:22 remaining in the quarter, the Vikings put together an 11-play drive over the course of four-plus minutes that ended in an eight-yard touchdown pass from Cole Bhardwaj to Craig Shelton. Augustana led 7-0 after 15 minutes of action.

The Vikings saw their most productive quarter of the game come in the second, but it began with a late first-quarter possession that carried over. This time, an eight-play drive resulted in another Augie touchdown just 55 seconds into the second quarter as Bhardwaj and Shelton connected again for the score. On the next Augustana offensive drive, Jacob Brooks took it in on the ground from 30 yards out to push the Vikings' lead to 21-0 at the time. Following a Sidney Maroon field goal to make it 24-0, the Titans got on the board shortly after to shrink the margin to 24-7 heading into halftime. Brooks finished with 66 yards rushing for the Vikings to help contribute to a ground attack that posted a plus-113 yard margin. Tyler Rivelli tallied 102 yards running the ball to add to that total.

The third quarter went scoreless both ways, but offense picked up again in the fourth when Bhardwaj recorded his third touchdown pass of the game on a 50-yard pitch-and-catch to Bobby Inserra. Rivelli put the exclamation point on the game later on, scoring on a two-yard touchdown run to put the game out of reach. The Vikings held on for the 38-14 win.

As a team, Augie out-gained IWU 398-304, led by Bhardwaj's 233-yard performance. The sophomore ended his 2021 campaign with three touchdowns and no interceptions, completing 18-33 passes. Shelton was the top pass-catcher, hauling in seven for 94 yards and the two scores.

On defense, Brody Blackford capped off his senior season with a team-high 10 tackles. He also added the game's lone turnover, picking off a pass early in the fourth quarter. Nick Harper and Tim Swaney tallied eight tackles as well.

With the win, Augustana finishes the year with a 5-5 record overall and 4-5 in the CCIW. It's the first time they have been at the .500 mark since week four. The team closes out the season with three straight wins, two on the road, with an average margin of victory over that span of 31 points.