KENOSHA, Wis. -- The Augustana Vikings football team won its sixth straight game on Saturday, squeaking out a 16-13 victory over the Carthage Firebirds in the final road game of the season.

It was an uneventful opening quarter from the offensive side of the ball as the two teams played to a scoreless tie after 15 minutes of action. Carthage had the biggest threat of the frame, moving the ball inside the Augie red zone, but a missed field goal from 32 yards out kept the game deadlocked. The Firebirds were also the first to reach the opponent's side of the field in the second, but the Augie defense forced a punt to stall out an 11-play drive at its own 45. 

Augustana's first opportunity for points began at the eight-minute mark at its own 20. The team moved the ball to the Carthage 37 on eight plays, but could not get any deeper as they were forced to punt. The Vikings grabbed the lone points of the opening half on the final drive of the quarter, capitalizing on a turnover on downs deep in Firebirds territory with a successful kick from Sidney Maroon from 32 yards out with just seconds to spare. The Vikings led 3-0 at intermission.

After a three-and-out forced by the Augustana defense, the Vikings quickly found the end zone for the first time. On the first play from scrimmage for Augie in the second half, Tyler Rivelli took a handoff 58 yards in for the score to move the margin to nine points. Carthage answered later in the quarter with a 15-play scoring drive to make it 9-7 in favor of Augustana heading into the final quarter. 

Another long drive from the Firebirds kicked off the fourth period and resulted in another touchdown for the home team. Using 14 plays, Carthage took the lead after taking off five-plus minutes to begin the quarter, but a failed two-point conversion kept the score at 13-9 with 10 minutes remaining in the game. The Vikings promptly answered with a touchdown of their own, quickly moving down the field in just six plays, five of which were on the ground. Mike DiGioia put the team back out in front with a touchdown scamper from five yards out. 

The two teams traded punts, setting up one final drive from the Firebirds to tie or take the lead. After reaching the Augie 40-yard line, the Vikings forced four straight incompletions to turn the home team over on downs and hang on for the 16-13 victory.

The Vikings out-gained the Firebirds 317-242 in the win, with over half of the yardage coming on the ground. Rivelli tallied 145 yards rushing the ball on 16 attempts, while Cole Bhardwaj finished his afternoon 13-26 through the air with 135 yards. Sean Schlanser led the balanced attack in the passing game with three catches for 38 yards.

On defense, Tim Swaney secured 16 tackles to lead both teams in that category. Two of those came for a loss to go with his one pass breakup. Chase Tatum added the lone sack for the Vikings.

With the win, Augustana improves to 8-1 on the season and 7-1 in the CCIW. The team will play for a share of the CCIW title on Saturday, November 11 when they host the No. 1 ranked North Central Cardinals. Kickoff is scheduled for noon.