ROCK ISLAND -- The Augustana Vikings football team will seek a share of its first conference title since 2006 on Saturday, November 11 when they welcome in the No. 1 ranked North Central Cardinals for Senior Day.

The Vikings sit 8-1 on the season and 7-1 in the CCIW, their first 8-1 start since 2005. Augustana is coming off a hard-fought 16-13 victory on the road last weekend over Carthage, scoring the game's final touchdown in the fourth quarter to claim the win. After a scoreless first quarter, the Vikings grabbed the first points of the game with just 10 seconds to spare in the half, bringing the 3-0 margin into halftime. After a three-and-out forced by the Augustana defense to begin the second half, the Vikings quickly found the end zone for the first time. On the first play from scrimmage for Augie, Tyler Rivelli took a handoff 58 yards in for the score to move the cushion 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. 

A 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.

North Central enters Saturday with a perfect 9-0 record overall and 8-0 in conference. The defending national champions have won 35 straight regular-season games, including 32 CCIW contests, and have scored touchdowns on 51 of 56 first-half possessions thus far this season. The team is averaging just under 62 points per game and is outscoring opponents, 382-33, in the first two periods of play. In their most recent outing, North Central defeated Illinois Wesleyan by a final of 83-26. The Cardinals put up 28 points in the first quarter, followed by 27 in the second to make it a 55-6 game at half. North Central is averaging 589 yards of offense per contest, with 335 of those coming on the ground.

Saturday will feature the top two defenses in the CCIW as Augustana and North Central sit as the only teams to allow less than 20 points per game. Both the Cardinals and Vikings also ranked No. 1 and 2 in rushing offense as well.

This will be the 93rd all-time meeting between the two programs, with Augie holding a 57-33-1 advantage. North Central has won the last 16 contests dating back to 2006, including last year's 63-3 victory in Naperville.

Start time on Saturday is scheduled for noon.