Wayne State’s defense forced seven Augustana turnovers and won a hard-fought battle over their NSIC South Division rivals, claiming a 16-13 win Saturday afternoon at Kirkeby-Over Stadium in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Defense dominated the game early as the two teams combined for eight punts and two turnovers before the Wildcats scored midway through the second quarter. The Wildcats marched 66 yards on 10 plays before settling for an Ethan Knudson 26-yard field goal to make it 3-0 with 7:14 left in the first half.
Late in the second quarter, Augustana moved the ball to the Wildcat 36 when senior Glenn Harris made his second interception of the ball game to stop the potential Viking scoring threat.
Starting from their own 17, WSC used a 17-yard run by Rashad Trimble followed by a 15-yard personal foul penalty on Augustana to place the ball near midfield. The Wildcats followed with a 34-yard pass from sophomore Aaron Bleil to Willie Walton to the Augustana 16 that set up a 33-yard field goal by Knudson as time expired to make it 6-0 at intermission.
The Wildcat defense created the next scoring opportunity for WSC as junior defensive end Randy Bryan intercepted Augustana quarterback Kyle Saddler and rambled 44 yards for a touchdown, giving Wayne State a 13-0 lead with 9:30 to play in the third quarter.
Wayne State’s defense wasted little time creating another scoring chance for the Wildcats as Cole Tirrel picked off Saddler at the Viking 48 and raced 46 yards on the return to give Wayne State a first and goal at the Augustana 2. The Wildcats had to settle for another Knudson field goal, this one from 22 yards out, to make it 16-0 with 7:13 left in the third.
Augustana drove to the Wayne State 18 on the ensuing drive, but the Wildcat special teams came up with a block from Xavier Graham to prevent Augie from getting on the scoreboard at the end of the third quarter.
A quick three-and-out by the Wildcats on the following drive gave Augustana the ball at the Wayne State 39. The Vikings marched down the field and used a 15-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Saddler to Trevor DeSchepper to cut the Wildcat lead to 16-6 after a failed two-point conversion.
With less than six minutes remaining in the contest, Glenn Harris came up with his third interception of the game, tying a Wildcat school record.
Both offenses stalled until 1:29 remained in the game when Augustana used an eight-play 90-yard drive capped off by a Saddler touchdown pass to Jake Welsheimer to trim the Wildcat lead to 16-13 with 1:36 to play.
Wayne State wasn’t quite able to run the clock out as Augustana got one last chance with a second left on the clock, but the game ended when Tyler Thomsen picked off Kyle Saddler as time expired to secure the Wayne State victory.
Augustana outgained the Wildcats on offense 436 to 222 yards. The Vikings rushed the ball 41 times for 243 yards while the Wildcats gained 84 yards on 38 attempts. Augie gained 193 yards through the air while WSC had 138 passing yards.
Trimble led the Wildcats on the ground with 53 yards on 24 carries.
Sophomore Aaron Bleil, who started at quarterback in place of injured senior Zach Osborn, completed 12 of 27 passes with no touchdowns and one interception. Junior Taylor Reedy took over at quarterback in the second half, gaining 36 yards of offense on the ground.
Willie Walton had three receptions for 62 yards followed by senior Nate Rogers who added three catches for 21 yards.
Defensively, the Wildcats set a new school record with seven interceptions in a game to break the previous record of six set by the 1984 Wayne State team against Hastings.
Glenn Harris tied a school record with three interceptions in a game and had three tackles to lead the Wildcats. Tyler Thomsen, Kolbie Foster, Randy Bryan and Cole Tirrel also each had interceptions on the day. Ian Ailts added 12 tackles while senior Logan Weinandt had the lone sack for Wayne State.
Wayne State (3-2, 1-0 NSIC South) will be at home next Saturday, hosting Southwest Minnesota State in the annual Homecoming/Hall of Fame Game with kickoff set for 1 p.m. at Bob Cunningham Field in Wayne.
