NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- The Augustana Vikings football team was defeated by the top-ranked team in the nation on Saturday, falling to the North Central Cardinals on the road by a score of 58-6.

It did not take long for the Cardinals to get on the board, taking the ball into the end zone on the second play of the game to make it 7-0. Following an Augie punt, the Cardinals quickly pushed the score to 14-0 after converting their second possession into another touchdown. The Vikings responded with a 13-play, 65-yard drive and on a 4th and goal on the North Central two-yard line, quarterback Thomas Hall found Tag Grampp through the air for the score. The ensuing point-after attempt was no good, but Augustana trailed just 14-6 after 15 minutes of action.

A big second quarter for the Cardinals broke the game open, putting up 27 points to take a 41-6 advantage into the locker room at halftime. North Central began the third quarter with a touchdown on 4th and goal to move momentum back in their favor. They went on to add two other rushing touchdowns in the frame, including one with 20 seconds remaining in the half to stretch the lead going into intermission. 

The scoring for the top-ranked Cardinals slowed down in the second half, earning two touchdowns in the third and one field goal in the fourth en route to their 58-6 victory. As a team, North Central out-gained Augie 602 yards to 189 and junior running back Ethan Greenfield set a career school record for total touchdowns (50) in the win. For the Vikings, Hall finished the game with 107 yards through the air, completing passes to eight different Vikings players. Bobby Inserra led the offense with four catches for 46 yards, both team highs. Jacob Brooks and Tyler Rivelli shared the workload in the backfield as the two combined for 68 yards on the ground on 20 attempts.

On defense, Jordan Geroulis had a game-high nine tackles. Tim Swaney was close behind with eight, while Chase Tatum and Nick Harper each tallied seven. Tatum had one for loss as well.

With the loss, Augustana drops to 1-2 on the season and 0-2 in CCIW play. The team will return home for their next game on Saturday, October 2nd when they North Park Vikings come to town for a homecoming matchup. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. from inside Lindberg Stadium.