WHEATON, Ill. -- The Augustana Vikings football team will open CCIW play on Saturday, September 21 when they venture to the Chicagoland suburbs to take on the No. 18 ranked Wheaton Thunder.

Augustana currently sits at 1-0 on the season and is coming off its lone bye week following a 30-13 victory against Simpson back on September 7. Against the Storm, the Vikings had a big opening half, forcing a three-and-out on the Simpson opening drive that resulted in a 28-yard field goal by Joren Clem for the first points of the day. Another critical defensive stop followed by the Vikings, this time turning Simpson over on downs on the Augustana 30-yard line. Augie then went 70 yards in just four plays, beginning with a 50-yard pass from Cole Bhardwaj to Ethan Vrabec to put the team in the red zone. Three plays later, Bhardwaj connected with Brett Holcomb from three yards out for the Vikings' first touchdown of the season. The Vikings led 9-0 after 15 minutes of action.

A four-yard touchdown pitch and catch from Bhardwaj to Sean Schlanser kicked off the second to make it a 16-0 game. Kaden McShaw gave the Vikings the ball right back with an interception, setting up a 67-yard touchdown run by Josh Lim two plays later. The Augie defense continued to keep the Storm off the scoreboard and the Vikings took a 23-0 advantage into the halftime break. Mike DiGioia accounted for the lone touchdown in the second half for Augustana, but it was more than enough as the team coasted to the 17-point victory.

On offense, Bhardwaj finished his night 19-29 through the air with 236 yards and two touchdowns, while Vrabec was the top receiver with 90 yards. Schlanser hauled in seven catches for 90 yards as well, while Lim led the ground attack with 121 yards. Augustana out-gained Simpson 420-269. Defensively, Dylan Burton led the charge with a team-high eight tackles, with Hugh Keany and Luke Willis following with six apiece. Keany also added a forced fumble and a blocked extra point.

Wheaton enters Saturday's matchup 0-1 on the early season after dropping a non-conference clash with UW-Oshkosh by a score of 21-14. After a scoreless opening quarter, the Titans struck first on a 63-yard touchdown pass in the second. The Thunder answered with two minutes remaining, but an Oshkosh score with 55 seconds showing on the clock put the home team up six at the break. Wheaton took the lead with the lone touchdown in the third and held a 14-13 advantage nearly to the end, but the Titans converted a one-yard touchdown run with just 16 seconds to spare to steal the victory. Mark Forcucci led the Thunder with 232 yards through the air, while Giovanni Weeks had 59 on the ground.

The Thunder finished last season with a 10-2 overall record and qualified for the Division III playoffs, where they knocked off Mount St. Jospeh in the first round. Wheaton saw its season come to an end the following weekend in a 49-42 loss to UW-Whitewater. The Thunder were 5-1 on their home field last season.

Augustana is 29-35-2 all-time vs. Wheaton, with the Thunder currently on a 16-game win streak in the series. Wheaton narrowly knocked of Augie last season at home by a score of 41-34.

Start time on Saturday is scheduled for 6 p.m.