ROCK ISLAND, Ill. -- The Augustana Vikings football team will face a tall order on Saturday as they head to Naperville to take on the No. 1 ranked North Central Cardinals in their first conference road contest of the season.
North Central recently moved up to No. 1 in the country following a 20-7 road victory over No. 5 Wheaton last week. The Cardinals, who won the NCAA DIII national championship in 2019, did not compete in a single contest in 2020 due to COVID-19. They have not lost a home game since September of 2018. North Central enters Saturday 2-0 with a win over No. 21 Aurora 64-7 in their season opener to go with last week's victory over the Thunder. Quarterback Luke Lehnen finished the contest 13-20 for 345 yards and a touchdown. The Cardinals had two players with over 150 receiving yards, led by Andrew Kamienski with 193. Kamineski ranks 16th in the NCAA DIII this season in receiving yards.
Augustana is coming off a heartbreaking 27-21 overtime loss to Millikin last Saturday. The Big Blue utilized a 19-play drive in the fourth quarter that resulted in a touchdown and two-point conversion to tie the game. A last-second Vikings field goal was blocked to end regulation and Millikin was able to hold Augie scoreless on the opening possession of overtime before scoring a touchdown on 3rd and long on their ensuing drive. Overall, Millikin out-gained Augustana 395-276 in the contest, but also saw 23 more plays on offense. Each team saw an average of 5.1 yards per play, with the Vikings holding a slight edge in passing at 210 yards to the Big Blue's 202.
Thomas Hall finished the night 15-25 through the air with the two scores.
Casey Erickson had a team-high 65 yards catching the ball. On defense,Â
Josh Timm posted a game-best ten tackles. He also added one for loss.
Nick Harper was next in line with nine to go with two interceptions. Neither team allowed a sack.
North Central currently holds a 15-game winnings streak over Augustana, with the Vikings last win coming in 2005-- a 20-17 victory. Their last meeting came in 2019 in Naperville, which resulted in a 42-14 win for the home team. The victory was the first of 11 straight to close out the year for North Central, ending in a 41-14 triumph in the national title game over UW-Whitewater.
Head Augustana coach Stephen Bell knows the challenge that awaits his team, but says the Vikings will be ready to match the Cardinals mental toughness for 60 minutes. He notes the game is not for the weak-hearted and will be looking to see continued consistency in all of the intangibles.
"As with every week that we play in the CCIW, we need to control the consistency, effort, and mental toughness of our team," Bell said. "They are very good, well-coached, and play the game with physicality that has put them in this position to be number one. Our goals are to match that, be mentally tough throughout the 60 minutes, and make plays."
Kickoff is slated for 2:00 p.m.
Game Coverage at North Central
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