Box Score Augustana 52 Wayne State 48

                Augustana College scored a touchdown with 15 seconds remaining to ruin a miraculous second half comeback by Wayne State as the Vikings escaped with a 52-48 wild Northern Sun Conference football victory over the Wildcats Saturday afternoon at Bob Cunningham Field in Wayne.  The Wildcats drop to 4-3 overall and 2-1 in the NSIC South while Augustana is now 4-3 overall and 1-2 in divisional play.
                The game was scoreless after one quarter, but quickly turned into a shootout in the second quarter as Augustana took advantage of two Wildcat turnovers while scoring on five possessions in the second quarter to take a 35-7 lead at halftime.
                The Vikings scored on the first play of the second quarter following a Wildcat turnover as sophomore quarterback Trey Heid found Matt Gerry on a 20-yard pass, giving Augie a 7-0 lead.  WSC responded on the ensuing drive, marching 75 yards on 10 plays with senior fullback Chad Koch finding the end zone on a six yard run to knot the score at 7-7 with 11:32 to go in the first half.
                Augustana then used scoring passes of 23 and 61 yards from Heid to Matt Heller and 23 and 15 yards from Heid to Charlies Hayes to take a 35-7 lead on the Wildcats heading into halftime.
                Wayne State opened the scoring in the second half on a 38 yard scoring strike from Zach Osborn to Adam Stark, trimming the Augustana lead to 35-13 with 8:47 to go in the third quarter. 
                The 'Cats gained momentum after forcing an Augustana punt as sophomore Nick Roth blocked the Viking punt and recovered the loose ball in the end zone for a touchdown, making the score 35-20.
                After an Augustana field goal put the Vikings ahead 38-20, WSC scored with 1:55 to go in the third quarter on an 18 yard pass from Osborn to Roth making the score 38-27 heading into the fourth quarter. 
                The Vikings score early in the fourth quarter when running back Dajon Newell was on the verge of scoring on a touchdown run, but fumbled at the one yard line with the ball recovered by Hayes in the end zone for a touchdown to put Augustana ahead 45-27.
                WSC drove 83 yards on 10 plays on the ensuing drive with Osborn finding Marcel Dunson on a 17 yard pass with 9:49 to play, trimming the Augustana lead to 45-34.  The Wildcat pinned Augustana deep in their own territory with Chase Samuel forcing a fumble by Augustana quarterback Trey Heid at the six yard line that was scooped up by Wildcat defensive end Abram Walker into the end zone for a score, pulling WSC within five at 45-40 with 8:21 left.
                The Wildcats forced an Augustana punt, but Lucas Wainman's 45 yard punt was downed at the WSC one yard line.  Wayne State then drove 99 yards for the go-ahead score.  The 'Cats kept the drive alive on 4^th and 10 from the Augie 42 when Osborn connected with Stark on a 33 yard reception.  Two plays later, senior fullback Chad Koch ran around the right side for a two-yard score to give WSC the lead at 48-45 following a two-point pass to Joe Trouba that had Wildcat fans thinking the miraculous comeback was complete.
                Augustana used a 38-yard kickoff return by Justin Greenway to start their drive from their own 41 yard line with 1:12 remaining.  Heid found tight end Nick Lee on a 30-yard pass, putting the ball at the WSC 18.  Two plays later, Heid hit Charlie Hayes in the right corner of the end zone with 15 seconds left to give Augustana the victory.
                Wayne State outgained its opponent for the seventh straight game with a 615-525 advantage over the Vikings.  The 'Cats had 116 yards rushing and 499 passing while the Vikings produced 186 on the ground and 339 through the air.
                Sophomore quarterback Zach Osborn posted career-high numbers, completing 39 of 59 passes for 499 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.  The 499 yards were the third-most by a Wildcat quarterback in a single game. 
                Senior wide receiver Adam Stark also had career-high numbers with 12 catches for 199 yards and one score.  He is now the sixth Wildcat player in school history to surpass 2,000 yards in career receiving yards and now sits at 2,112.  Senior Cole McDaniel added eight catches for 92 yards with Brian Kent producing eight receptions for 83 yards.
                Osborn was Wayne State's top rusher with 48 yards on nine attempts while Ryan Ludlow finished with nine rushes and 44 yards.
                Junior linebacker Nate Kroupa led WSC defensively with 13 tackles followed by senior linebacker Nick Monzu with nine.
                Wayne State will be on the road next Saturday, visiting Southwest Minnesota State in a NSIC South Division battle starting at 6 p.m. in Marshall, Minnesota.