Mavs Grind Out Win in Sioux Falls, Augie Falls in OT

It was a tough Saturday for both the Augustana Vikings and Sioux Falls Cougars on the football field.

USF played host to #3 Mankato on Saturday afternoon, while Augie hit the road for a Saturday night contest at Winona.

Per GoAugie.com:

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WINONA, Minn. – Augustana football fell to Winona State 42-41 in overtime Saturday at Altra Federal Credit Union Stadium. The Vikings took a 34-31 lead with 3:26 left in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough in a game that went to overtime. Augustana threw for 405 yards and four touchdowns, added 105 rushing yards, and finished with 27 first downs.

Gunnar Hensley completed 29 of 44 passes for 405 yards and four touchdowns. Hensley has achieved at least four passing touchdowns in three consecutive games. Klayton Sattler caught eight passes for 124 yards and three touchdowns and added an interception during a Warriors hail mary attempt. DJ Page finished with nine receptions for 105 yards and one touchdown. Page surpassed 500 receiving yards for the season, totaling 598 with his performance in this game. Ashton Toll led the defense with 15 tackles, a season-high for him.

The Vikings' opening drive moved into scoring range when Hensley hit Cody Oswald for 54 yards to the Winona State 16, and Jake Pecina finished the possession with a 26-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead at 11:57. Winona State answered on its first drive, with Jacob Sampson connecting with Austin Johnston for a 50-yard touchdown at 10:03, though the extra point missed to leave Augustana down 6-3. After an AU punt, AJ Moore broke a 46-yard run to the AU 5 and later scored from one-yard out, with the kick pushing the Warriors ahead 13-3. Hensley led Augustana back with completions to Oswald and Sattler before finding Page for a 29-yard touchdown at 3:46, and Winona State carried a 13-10 lead into the end of the first quarter after reaching the AU 30.

Winona State opened the second quarter at the AU 30 and, despite tackles for loss by Joshua Lee-O'Bryant and Toll, finished the drive on Jacob Sampson's 5-yard touchdown pass to Nolan Ginskey at 11:58 before the extra point made it 20-10. Augustana answered with an 80-yard drive, converting third-and-14 on Hensley's 24-yard pass to Sattler and later scoring when Hensley found Sattler for a 20-yard touchdown at 9:12 to cut the score to 20-17 after Pecina's kick. The Warriors drove back inside the AU 5, but a holding penalty wiped out a touchdown, and Mathias Yaggie's 26-yard field goal at 1:55 pushed the score to 23-17. After AU punted on its final possession of the quarter, Eli Detert sacked Sampson and Sattler intercepted Sampson at the AU goal line as time expired, leaving Winona State ahead 23-17.

After an early Hensley interception gave Winona State the ball at its own 23, AU's defense held after the Warriors reached the AU 31, with Camron Maciejewski breaking up a fourth-down pass at 9:41. Hensley then led a 69-yard drive that included completions to Page and Oswald before finding Sattler for a 15-yard touchdown at 7:33, and Pecina's extra point put Augustana in front 24-23. After Lee-O'Bryant dropped AJ Moore for a loss and Trey Malone III broke up a third-down pass to force a punt, Breylon Blount opened the next AU possession with a 38-yard run and Hensley hit Sattler again for a 9-yard touchdown at 5:05. Winona State intercepted Hensley in the end zone late in the quarter, but AU carried a 31-23 lead into the fourth.

Winona State opened the fourth-quarter scoring when Jacob Sampson broke a 44-yard touchdown run at 12:42, and the successful two-point conversion tied the game at 31-31. Augustana moved into Winona State territory on the ensuing possession before a fourth-down sack turned the ball over at the Winona State 49, but the defense forced a punt after three plays. From its own 3, AU put together an 87-yard drive highlighted by Hensley completions to Jaxon Haynes and Isaiah Lemmond, and Pecina's 23-yard field goal at 3:26 put AU ahead 34-31. The Warriors drove to the AU 6 and tied it on Mathias Yaggie's 23-yard field goal at :47, and AU reached the Winona State 40 before Pecina's 57-yard attempt was no good at 0:00, leaving the game tied 34-34.

After entering overtime tied at 34, AU overcame a false start with Blount's 4-yard run and Hensley's 10-yard completion to Lemmond to reach the Winona State 16. Max Carlson was stopped on third-and-1, but he converted the fourth down with a 16-yard touchdown run, and Pecina's kick put AU ahead 41-34. Winona State used a pass-interference penalty to move to the AU 12, then reached the 1 on Jacob Sampson's completions to AJ Moore and James Durst. Moore scored from the 1, and the Warriors converted the two-point try to finish the overtime with a 42-41 win.

Up Next
Augustana football returns home to host cross-town foes Sioux Falls in the Key to the City Game. Kickoff is slated for 1:05 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3. 

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Back in Sioux Falls, the Cougars fought hard, but fell against the #3 Mavericks. Per USFCougars.com:

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The University of Sioux Falls football team battled No. 3 Minnesota State Saturday afternoon at Bob Young Field, but a pair of late turnovers helped the Mavericks pull away for a 28-14 victory during Cougar Days.

Sioux Falls remained within one score at 21-14 midway through the fourth quarter and came up with three takeaways defensively, including two interceptions from Beau Giblin. The Cougars finished with 317 yards of total offense and held the football for nearly 33 minutes, but Minnesota State turned four USF turnovers into 13 points to hand the Cougars their second loss of the season. USF moves to 3-2 overall and 3-1 in NSIC play.

First Half Recap

Minnesota State opened the scoring on its first possession, marching 68 yards in eight plays. Mitchell Thompson broke free for a 41-yard run to move the Mavericks inside the USF 10 before finishing the drive with a six-yard rushing touchdown to give MSU a 7-0 advantage.

The Cougar defense kept Minnesota State from adding to its lead later in the first quarter. After the Mavericks moved to the USF 18, Connor Fournier missed a 35-yard field goal attempt, keeping the deficit at seven.

USF's special teams unit helped flip the field early in the second quarter when Scott Dickson delivered a 70-yard punt that pinned Minnesota State at its own two-yard line. The Cougar defense forced a punt five plays later, giving the offense possession at its own 31.

Sioux Falls moved across midfield on the ensuing possession before Minnesota State's Connor Stauff intercepted Bennett Brueck and returned it 69 yards for a touchdown, extending the Maverick lead to 13-0 with 6:43 remaining in the half.

Minnesota State came away with another interception on USF's next possession and returned it to the Cougar 10, but the Sioux Falls defense answered with a takeaway of its own. On third-and-goal, Giblin intercepted Maximus Sims in the end zone to keep the Mavericks off the board.

The Cougars immediately capitalized, going 80 yards in six plays. Brueck opened the drive with a 35-yard run before connecting with Caden Henkes for 20 yards to move USF into the red zone. Two plays later, the pair connected again for a 19-yard touchdown, pulling Sioux Falls within 13-7 with one minute remaining.

Giblin struck again before the break, intercepting Thompson at the USF 30 with seven seconds remaining to send the Cougars into halftime trailing by just six.

Second Half Recap

The Sioux Falls defense opened the second half with another stop. Minnesota State moved to the USF 40 before Peyton Marceau broke up a fourth-down pass to give the Cougars possession.

USF responded with a methodical drive that reached the Minnesota State 29 before a sack stalled the possession. Brueck then pinned the Mavericks at their own three-yard line with a 33-yard punt.

Minnesota State responded with one of the defining drives of the afternoon, going 97 yards in 14 plays and taking 7:31 off the clock. Thompson finished the drive with a 12-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter before completing a two-point conversion to Jalyn Thompson, extending the Maverick lead to 21-7.

The Cougars refused to go away. USF answered with an 11-play, 75-yard drive that featured a 19-yard reception from Todd Benedict, a 13-yard run by Bubba Tann III and a 12-yard third-down run from Brueck. Facing fourth-and-seven from the Minnesota State 20, Brueck found Henkes in the end zone for their second touchdown connection of the afternoon, cutting the deficit to 21-14 with 9:25 remaining.

Minnesota State threatened to answer, driving from its own 30 to the USF two-yard line. Giblin came up with another key defensive play, forcing a Thompson fumble near the goal line that Owen McCloud recovered to give the Cougars possession with 3:50 remaining.

USF was unable to capitalize, however, as Minnesota State recovered a Cougar fumble at the USF five three plays later. Sam Backer scored on the next snap to stretch the Mavericks' advantage to 28-14 with 2:55 remaining.

The Cougars made one final push, moving 56 yards and converting a fourth down to reach the Minnesota State 12. The drive ended with an interception in the end zone with 34 seconds remaining, allowing the Mavericks to run out the clock.

Up Next

Sioux Falls will head to cross-town rival No. 20 Augustana next weekend with a kickoff scheduled for 1pm on Saturday, October 3 at Kirkeby-Over Stadium.

Sources: USFCougars.com and GoAugie.com