KENOSHA, Wis. -- Jacob Brooks ran for 190 yards on the ground and the Augustana Vikings football team accounted for over 500 yards of total offense as they picked up a double-digit road victory on Saturday, defeating the Carthage Firebirds by a score of 42-14.
The Vikings struck first late in the first quarter, seeing a touchdown through the air as Cole Bhardwaj connected with Craig Shelton from 28 yards out. A quick three-and-out by the Vikings defense gave them the ball back and on the second play of the ensuing drive, Brooks tallied one of his three rushing touchdowns on a 56-yard scamper. Augustana led 14-0 after one quarter of play.
Augie's defense continued to keep the Carthage offense in check, coming up with a couple of stops to begin the second quarter before adding another rushing score, this time from Tyler Rivelli, to give them a 21-0 cushion. The Firebirds had two scoring threats come up empty the rest of the half, seeing a kickoff return for a touchdown called back due to a penalty and other drive stall out before the end of the second quarter. Facing a 4th and goal from the Vikings six-yard line with just three seconds remaining in the half, the Firebirds elected to go for it, but a pass attempt fell incomplete to keep the score at 21-0 in favor of Augie heading into intermission.
It took just three plays for the home team to go 73 yards to begin the third quarter as Carthage found themselves on the scoreboard early in the half to trim the margin to 14 points at the time. Augie went three-and-out on their ensuing possession, but a muffed punt by the Firebirds at their own four gave the Vikings the ball back, resulting in a Brooks touchdown run from a yard out. Brooks added another 21-yard run for this third touchdown of the game later in the quarter to make it 35-7 heading into the final frame.
Each team traded a score early in the fourth, with the Vikings tallying their fifth rushing touchdown of the game on Rivelli's second. The 42-14 score held the rest of the way to give Augie their third win of the season.
As a team, Augustana out-gained Carthage on offense 526-356, fueled by their rushing attack that saw 251 yards and five touchdowns. Through the air, Bhardwaj finished 19-29 with 275 yards and a touchdown. Bobby Inserra was the leading pass-catcher hauling in six for 85 yards. On defense, four different players led the way with six tackles apiece. Chase Tatum, who was a part of that group, added a sack and had two tackles for loss. Nick Harper and Johnny Breeden each had an interception for the Vikings.
"I love the way all three phases competed today," said head coach Steve Bell. "The mental toughness and physicality we showed up with today is a testament to our players and coaches believing in each other and staying true to the process for 60 minutes. They key now is to bottle that formula up and bring it next week."
With the win, Augustana improves to 3-5 on the season and 2-5 in CCIW play. The team will host Elmhurst on Saturday, November 6 for their final home game of the season. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. from inside Lindberg Stadium.
Vikings use balanced attack to cruise to road win over Firebirds
/seasons/2021/boxscores/20211030_1njf.xml
2021
Augustana
42
Carthage
14
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Augustana (3-5) | 14 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 42 |
| Carthage (3-5) | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
Oct 30, 2021