MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Augustana College Vikings football team was victorious in their season-opening contest on Saturday, using a strong effort in the first half to knock off the Rhodes College Lynx by a score of 31-21 from inside Crain Field.
Following a three-and-out on the defensive side to begin the game, the Vikings started their opening possession in plus-territory inside the Lynx 40-yard line. After a third down conversion through the air from starting quarterback
Thomas Hall, the Vikings pounded it on the ground the rest of the drive, eventually putting it into the end zone on a six-yard scamper from
Tyler Rivelli to give Augie the early 7-0 advantage. On the ensuing kickoff, Rhodes' JaVon Cooper took it 93 yards in for a score to immediately deadlock the game back up at 7-7.
The Vikings put together their second scoring drive in as many attempts as another strong effort from the run game got them within
Sidney Maroon's range. The junior kicker punced a 26-yard field goal through the upright to put Augie back in front 10-7 halfway through the opening frame. Following a three-and-out on the other side of the ball and a shanked punt from Rhodes, Augustana continued their momentum on offense, putting together a short touchdown-scoring drive after getting the ball back on the Lynx 22-yard line. Four plays in, the second quarterback to see the field in
Jason Grimes connected through the air with
Bobby Inserra from 15 yards out to make it 17-7 at the end of the first quarter. Augustana finished the first quarter with four of five possessions beginning on Rhodes' side of the field.
The Augie defense continued to make it easy for the offense to start the second quarter, forcing yet another three-and-out. A much more methodical drive ensued, going 74 yards on ten plays that was capped off with a Rivelli ten-yard touchdown run. Augustana saw just one more possession in the second, but made the most of it, this time utilizing a 77-yard drive on ten plays. With 41 seconds remaining in the half, Grimes tallied his second touchdown toss of the game, hooking up with
Jordan Vesey from 23 yards out to make it 31-7 heading into the halftime break. Grimes finished the contest with 133 yards on 11-17 passing to go with his two touchdowns.
Rhodes made a push in the second half and slowly found themselves climbing back into the contest, posting a plus-seven margin in the third quarter to make it 31-14 in favor of the Vikings. That score held the same heading into the fourth until the Lynx struck again a minute into the final frame, converting a fourth and goal from three yards out to shrink the deficit to ten at 31-21. With just under two minutes to go in the game, Rhodes converted a 45-yard pass to send them deep into Vikings territory to set up another scoring threat but two plays later the drive was thwarted thanks to a
Brody Blackford interception that all but sealed the win for the Vikings. Augie took over with 1:40 remaining and successfully ran out the clock, giving them the 31-21 victory to open the 2021 season.
The Vikings dominated most statistical categories, including a 358-229 margin in total offense. The team saw 14 more first downs than their counterpart and held the Lynx to just 43 yards on the ground. The Augie offense was spearheaded by their rushing attack as Rivelli ended with a game-high 105 yards on 17 carries to go with two touchdowns. On the receiving end,
Craig Shelton tallied 77 yards on six catches.
On defense,
Tim Swaney led the way with a team-high eight tackles. Blackford, who had one of two interceptions for the Vikings, was behind with him with seven.
Chase Tatum added three solo tackles and a sack.
"A win is a win and especially on the road," head coach Stephen Bell said of the performance. " As a team, we need to shore up a lot of the mental mistakes, turnover issues we had in the 3rd quarter, and gain some mental toughness when in an advantageous position like we were at halftime. We will definitely use this as a learning experience and become a better football team as we move forward. It was really nice to see our defense hold it all together in the second half and allow us to pull out a win."
With the victory, the Vikings have now won three of the last four season openers, with the lone loss coming in the 2020 during the abbreviated season due to COVID-19. The team will have a bye week next Saturday and will host Millikin in their next contest on Saturday, September 18th. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. from inside Lindberg Stadium.
