Wayne State 34 Augustana 32
Max Martin's 49 yard field goal with 13 seconds remaining gave Wayne State College a dramatic 34-32 win at Augustana College Saturday afternoon in Northern Sun Conference football played at windy Kirkeby-Over Stadium in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Wildcats move to 7-3 overall and 7-2 in the NSIC while Augustana College is now 5-5 on the season while sporting a 5-4 league mark.
Wayne State had the wind at their back in the first quarter, forcing Augustana to punt on all four possessions. After WSC had to punt on its first possession, the Wildcats scored on their second drive of the game as WSC marched just 42 yards on eight plays capped by a eight yard run from senior Bryce Hawthorne with 7:54 to play in the first quarter to put the 'Cats in front 7-0. The Wildcats scored again on their next possession with the wind as Kevin Paulsen hauled in a nine-yard scoring strike from quarterback Nate Most for a 14-0 Wildcat lead with 3:52 to play in the first quarter. WSC finished the quarter with the wind gaining 101 yards to just 10 for the Vikings, forcing Augustana to punt on all four possessions.
In the second quarter, the Vikings took advantage of the wind and scored on their final three possessions to take a 17-14 lead at intermission. Phil Uecker scored on a two yard run, capping a five play 47 yard drive that cut the Wildcat lead to 14-7 with 6:39 to go in the second quarter. After forcing a WSC punt and getting the ball at the WSC 45, the Vikings needed just six plays to score as Josh Hanson delivered a 10-yard scoring pass to Ben Parsley to even the score at 14-14 with 1:55 to go before halftime.
Augustana forced the Wildcats to punt and got the ball at the Wildcat 48 yard line with 1:23 left in the half. The Vikings were able to move to the WSC 28 with 2.7 seconds left and used a Drew Behrens 46 yard field goal on the final play of the first half to take a 17-14 halftime lead. With the wind in the quarter, Augustana gained 141 yards to just 13 for the Wildcats.
The Vikings opened the scoring in the third quarter on a four yard run by Uecker, but a two point run failed by Austin Luecke to make the score 23-14 with 9:48 remaining in the third quarter. Later in the third quarter, Wayne State scored as senior wide receiver Aaron Konicek had a 23 yard touchdown pass from Most, cutting the Viking lead to 23-21 with 6:15 to play in the third quarter. WSC took a 24-23 lead with 1:43 to play in the quarter as Max Martin nailed a 28 yard field goal into the wind to cap an eight play, 69 yard drive.
Augustana regained the lead early in the fourth quarter at 26-24 on a Drew Behrens 25 yard field goal with 11:34 to play. Wayne State got a big play from the defense as senior Tommy Warren intercepted Augustana quarterback Josh Hanson and raced 38 yards for the score to put Wayne State back in front 31-26 with 7:24 remaining. Later in the quarter, Augustana drove 80 yards on 10 plays into the wind and took a 32-31 lead with 1:10 remaining on a Grant Gebhardt three yard pass from Hanson. A two-point pass conversion failed and that would prove to be a big play for the Wildcats.
Wayne State started their next drive at their own 29 with 1:06 remaining. A run of 10 yards by Most and a 15 yard pass from Most to Montgomery were two big plays that allowed WSC to move the ball to the Augustana 32 yard line. The Vikings forced WSC into a fourth and nine at the Augie 32 and Max Martin, a junior from Sioux City (Iowa) North HS, connected on a 49 yard field goal to give Wayne State the thrilling 34-32 win over the Vikings.
The Vikings held a narrow advantage in total yards over the Wildcats 346-338. Wayne State's defense was able to hold Augustana to 58 yards rushing while surrendering 288 yards through the air while the AC defense gave up 186 yards on the ground and another 152 in the air to Wayne State. Augustana was able to hold a 3-1 turnover ratio forcing the 'Cats into two interceptions and a fumble while WSC picked off one AC pass.
Individually, Bryce Hawthorne led the Wildcats' rushing attack with 36 carries for a 167 and one touchdown while Nate Most completed 14 of 31 passes for 152 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Senior wide receiver Mitch Montgomery was the top target for Most on the afternoon with seven receptions for 73 yards while Aaron Konicek and Kevin Paulsen each reeled in a touchdown pass.
Richard Daniel spearheaded the 'Cats defense with 10 tackles (three for a loss) and a sack while James Worthen notched eight tackles. Mario Melvin, Tommy Warren, Austan Pomajzl, Nick Monzu and Michael Bazata all came up big for the defense with seven tackles and Warren also had one interception in the game. Junior punter Randy Weich booted eight punts for an average of 43.6 yards with a long of 62.
The Wildcats play their final game at home next Saturday hosting Winona State in the annual Egg Bowl Game at Bob Cunningham Field in Wayne starting at 1:00 p.m.
