ROCK ISLAND -- The Augustana Vikings football team will play its final home game of the season on Saturday, November 9 when they welcome the Carthage Firebirds to Lindberg Stadium.

Augustana enters with a 3-5 overall record and 2-5 mark in the CCIW. The team is recently coming off a one-possession loss on the road to the Illinois Wesleyan Titans by a score of 29-21. The Vikings struck first in the game with a 21-yard touchdown connection between Liam Crawley and Sean Schlanser and took a 7-3 lead into the second quarter. Crawley and Breyden Smith accounted for the lone touchdown for Augie in the second to help the team bring a 14-12 lead into the halftime break.

Illinois Wesleyan found its first lead of the game with a field goal to begin the second half, the first of three lead changes in the third quarter alone. Facing a 3rd and 18 on the ensuing drive, the Vikings countered with another touchdown strike, posting a 48 yard pitch and catch between Crawley and Smith for their second time securing points. The Titans regained a one-point lead three minutes later to make it a 22-21 score entering the fourth. The final period featured just two possessions apiece for each team. Both times with the ball for Augustana resulted in trips deep on Illinois Wesleyan's side of the field, but neither amounted to any points. The Titans added on to their lead with a long, seven-minute drive that went 80 yards and ended with seven more points. Trailing by eight, Augie saw an opportunity inside the red zone with under a minute remaining, but a sack on fourth down ended the threat and sealed the victory for the home team.

Crawley ended the afternoon with three touchdowns through the air to go with 255 yards. Schlanser grabbed a game-high 10 catches for 92 yards, followed by Smith with seven catches and Ethan Vrabec with six. Luke Willis led the defensive unit with nine tackles.

Carthage currently sits with a 2-6 overall record and is tied with Augie in the CCIW at 2-5. The Firebirds are riding a two-game winning streak, recently picking up a 22-21 home win over North Park last Saturday. After leading by a touchdown through one quarter, North Park out-scored Carthage 14-0 in the second to go up by seven entering halftime. Following a scoreless third period, the Firebirds notched the only points of the fourth with just three minutes to spare, securing an 18-yard touchdown run and a successful two-point try to steal the one-point victory. Carthage had 183 yards rushing in the win and was led by Mark Hunter's 89 yards and one touchdown. On the season, the Firebirds are posting 265.3 yards of offense per game, with 115.6 coming on the ground. The team is 1-3 on the road this season, with the last time out resulting in a 24-20 triumph at Millikin.

Augie is 68-19-4 all-time vs. Carthage and has won three of the last four meetings. The Vikings were victorious in Kenosha last season by a score of 16-13. Mike DiGioia had the go-ahead and game-winning touchdown with seven minutes to go in the fourth quarter.

Start time is scheduled for noon.