ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – It was a successful senior day for the Augustana Vikings football team as they earned their second straight win following a 48-7 dismantling over the visiting Elmhurst Bluejays on Saturday from inside Lindberg Stadium.

"I am really excited to get our seniors a victory in their last home game," said head coach Steve Bell. "I am extremely proud of the way our whole team reacted to situational football and responded to the flow of the game, especially after having a lead at halftime. We definitely showed a growth in maturity today."  
 
The Augie defense quickly forced a three-and-out from Elmhurst to begin the game, eventually taking their opening possession 60 yards on 11 plays for the game's opening score. The Bluejays appeared they had a goal line stop brewing after stalling the Vikings on four consecutive plays from inside the five yard-line, but Cole Bhardwaj found Craig Shelton from six yards out to make it 7-0 with just under eight minutes showing in the first.
 
Elmhurst avoided disaster on the ensuing kickoff, recovering a fumble to maintain possession. On their very first play following recovery, Elmhurst connected on an 81-yard pitch and catch to knot the game at 7-7. A total of 19 seconds came off of the clock between the opening scores from each team. The score remained 7-7 after 15 minutes of action.
 
The Vikings' late first quarter drive went into the early part of the second quarter, resulting in points once again as Sidney Maroon sent a 31-yard field goal through the upright. On the next Bluejays possession, Jordan Geroulis made an acrobatic play to pick off the intended pass, setting up another scoring drive that concluded with a Bhardwaj and Shelton connection for the second time to push their lead to 17-7. With under four minutes in the half, the Vikings added another touchdown through the air as Bhardwaj found Bobby Inserra from 23 yards out. The score came after the Bluejays threw their third interception in just the second quarter alone. Maroon added another field goal to bring the Augie lead to 27-7 at halftime.
 
After a couple of possessions stalled both ways, the Vikings cushioned their lead ten minutes into the third quarter, using a Mikey DiGioia touchdown run to cap off a nine-play 69-yard drive. Augie continued to see success on offense, later closing out the quarter with another passing touchdown, this time to Ian Gorken from 17 yards. Augustana led 41-7 heading into the final frame.
 
Halfway through the fourth, backup quarterback Liam Crawley picked up his first career touchdown for the Vikings, finding Gorken 18 yards away to make it 48-7. The remainder of the game witnessed a high amount of rushing plays as time eventually ran out. Senior punter Justin Wehr took the final snap and kneel-down as Coach Steve Bell sent out a group of seniors for the final offensive snap.
 
As a team, Augie out-gained Elmhurst 425-242. The team saw 300-plus yards passing the ball for the second time in the last three games as Bhardwaj finished 25-37 for 287 yards and four scores. Crawley pushed them over the 300-yard mark with his 18-yard touchdown toss in his only attempt. Seven different Vikings caught a pass, led by Shelton with nine. Gorken had a team-high 79 yards receiving the ball. Tyler Rivelli led the rushing attack with 58 yards and a 7.3 average.
 
On defense, the Vikings held the Bluejays to just 65 yards on the ground and posted four takeaways, all interceptions. Tim Swaney tallied a team-high 11 tackles, while Chase Tatum had eight to go with three sacks. D.J. Higgins, Conner Waite, and Rukkus Hunkins all had an interception as well.
 
With the win, Augie improves to 4-5 on the season and 3-5 in CCIW play. The team will close out the season on the road on Saturday, November 13 as they look to get to .500 against the Illinois Wesleyan Titans. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. from Bloomington.