INDIANOLA, Iowa -- The Augustana Vikings football team won their fifth consecutive season opener on Saturday, defeating the Simpson Storm by a score of 49-27 in the programs' first-ever meeting.

The home team got on the board right away and accounted for the only points of the opening quarter after taking the ball 49 yards on their first possession of the game. Trailing 7-0 after 15 minutes of action, the Vikings marched down the field early in the second quarter, finishing off a drive that began at the 3:27 mark of the first with a 1-yard touchdown run from Ben Ludlum to even the game at 7-7. Augie went 69 yards in 11 plays and took off 4:43 from the clock, the longest possession for either team in the first half. 

After the Augie defense forced a punt on their side of the field, the offense moved quickly to take the lead, going 83 yards in just five plays that saw a 38-yard touchdown pitch and catch from Cole Bhardwaj to Ian Gorken. The Storm answered with a long, but quick, drive of their own on the ensuing possession, connecting on an 11-yard touchdown pass. The point-after attempt was no good, keeping Augustana in front with a score of 14-13.

The two teams traded empty chances with the ball, with the Vikings' defense forcing a punt deep in the Storm territory just before the half. With just seven seconds left, a personal foul penalty moved the down punt from the Augie 49 to Simpson 36, setting up one final play for Augustana before the break. With no time left on the clock, Jordan Vesey hauled in a Hail Mary heave sent deep into the right side of the end zone to put an exclamation point on the first half of action. Augie led 21-13 at intermission. 

The Vikings shined on both sides of the ball the rest of the way, specifically in the third quarter as they outscored the Storm 21-0 to make it a 42-13 game after three quarters of action. After the Augie defense sent Simpson into negative yardage to begin the half, Tyler Rivelli notched the team's second touchdown on the ground, taking it 50 yards on the team's first play of the second half. A Nick Harper interception on the ensuing Storm possession gave the ball right back to Augustana in the Simpson red zone, resulting in another touchdown for Rivelli, this time from a yard out. The Vikings made it a perfect 3-3 on third quarter possessions, benefiting from Mike DiGioia touchdown run later on to bring the margin to 29 entering the fourth.

Following a pair of scoreless drives to begin the fourth, the Augie defense got on the board with points of their own. On the first play of a Simpson possession at their own 7-yard line, Teke Nieto tipped a pass attempt towards the sideline up in the air and grabbed it for the interception, breaking a couple of tackles on his way into the end zone. The Storm tallied two final touchdowns to close out the game and shrink the score differential to its 49-27 final.

On offense, Bhardwaj began his senior campaign with a 14-20, 184-yard effort to go with two touchdowns through the air. He completed passes to five different receivers, led by Vesey's six catches for 76 yards. Rivelli earned a 100-yard performance on the ground, racking up 106 yards on just 10 rushes. 

Defensively, Tim Swaney led the way with 10 tackles, two for loss, and one sack. Darren Oregon was next with eight, seven of which were solo. Harper ended his night with five tackles, two interceptions, and one pass break up.

As a team, the Vikings were out-gained 448-367, but averaged 1.5 yards more per play and won the turnover battle 3-0. The Vikings also out-rushed the Storm 180 yards to 40. 

The Vikings now sit at 1-0 overall and will have a bye week before diving into CCIW play. Augie will host Elmhurst for their next contest on September 16. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.