ROCK ISLAND, Ill. - The Augustana Vikings football team will open up their 2021 campaign on Saturday, September 4th when they take on the Rhodes College Lynx in a non-conference affair down in Memphis, Tenn at Crain Field.
The 2020 football season for Augustana ran from March 27 to April 16, 2021 and ended with the Vikings posting a 1-2 record. Fears over COVID-19 delayed it nearly seven months and limited it to three games—the fewest played since 1944, when the season was canceled during World War II. Augustana opened at home against Illinois Wesleyan and dropped a 12-0 decision. On April 3, the Vikings hosted Millikin and the teams went four overtimes before the Big Blue came out on top 40-34. The team wrapped things up with a 51-14 win at North Park on April 16.
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Looking Ahead
Thomas Hall is expected to start game number one at the quarterback position for the Vikings. The transfer from Bradley University will enter his first season playing college football after playing a year of basketball with the Braves. He played in six games as a freshman on the basketball team before heading to Augustana. In high school, he was a member of the football team at Metamora, earning all-state 5A honors at quarterback and owning every passing record at the school.
The young Vikings are anticipated to start three freshmen on the offensive side of the ball to go with one senior inÂ
Connor Hughes at right tackle.
Jacob Brooks will return in the backfield after rushing for 272 yards and two touchdowns on 47 carries in 2020. His average of 5.79 yards per carry was 21st in the nation and his 90.7 rushing yards per game ranked 29th.
On defense, Augie will see a more experienced group with four seniors and four juniors slated to hit the field for the opening snap on Saturday.
David Mason III and
Matt Payton will join key returner
Chase Tatum to spearhead the defensive line for the Vikings. Tatum tallied 21 tackles as a freshman in 2019 to go with 4.5 sacks. Behind them in the linebacker group is senior
Brody Blackford and junior
Josh Timm. They will join
Tim Swaney, a sophomore, who is coming off a stellar three-game stretch in 2020 where he recorded 42 tackles, including seven for loss. His 14.0 tackles per game ranked fourth in the nation and his 2.3 TFL per game ranked 10th.Â
Frank Giamarusti,Â
Vincent D'Orazio and
Nick Harper all return in the secondary for the Vikings.
Inside the Matchup
The matchup between the Vikings and Lynx will be the first-ever between the two programs. Augustana has won four of their last five season openers. Head coach
Steve Bell is excited to get back to a full season after enduring the struggles and adversity with the abbreviated 2020 season due to COVID-19.
"It's extremely exciting to be back to a sense of normalcy and have the opportunity to compete through the progression of a whole season," Bell said. "This past spring's shortened season was a terrific learning experience for a large number of our young starters and it shows in their development this fall. We feel we have the right kind of guys on the field physically, culturally, and from a leadership standpoint, so now it's time to go.  A long road trip to Rhodes College and the experience garnered through it is unique and will be a true building block to our success this fall."Â
About the Lynx
Rhodes, like most schools, saw an abbreviated season in 2020 as well-- playing just four contests in the spring. The team went 0-4 across that span with an average margin of defeat of 35.8 points. The Lynx played just one game at Crain a year ago, resulting in a 52-0 loss to Birmingham-Southern. In 2019, they posted a 1-9 record. The Lynx were picked to finish 8th in the SAA this season. Despite their struggles the past few seasons, Rhodes has won seven of their last eight season-openers.
Game Coverage
Follow us on social media for in-game score updates at @augieathletics.
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