Augustana football takes over first place in NSIC

Augustana took over sole possession of first place in the NSIC with a 34-16 victory over host Minnesota State Mankato on Saturday.

The Vikings, ranked No. 20 in the d2football.com poll, trailed the No. 9 Mavericks, 9-7, at halftime, before scoring 27 unanswered points in the second half to take a 34-9 lead with 3½ minutes remaining.

Augustana, MSU Mankato and Wayne State were tied for first going into Saturday’s games. Wayne State lost to Sioux Falls on Saturday.

The Mavericks scored with two minutes, five seconds remaining, but the Vikings recovered the ensuing onside kick.

Gunnar Hensley threw for 263 yards and two TDs and Jarod Epperson, Augustana’s all-time leading rusher, rushed for 72 yards and two TDs for the Vikings.

Hayden Ekern threw for 268 yards and two TDs for the Mavericks.

Minn. Duluth 35, Minot State 21: Alex Riley rushed for 103 yards and three TDs and Kyle Walljasper passed for 156 yards and two TDs to lead the Bulldogs past the visiting Beavers.

Northern State 35, Concordia (St. Paul) 34: Wyatt Block’s 2-yard TD run and the PAT with 10 seconds remaining lifted the Wolves past the host Golden Bears. Block’s touchdown capped an 11-play, 72-yard drive by the Wolves, who trailed 24-7 in the second quarter. Jeff Isotalo-McGuire’s 34-yard field goal with three minutes, 32 seconds remaining gave the Golden Bears a 34-28 lead.

Winona State 31, Bemidji State 28: Cade Stenstrom rushed for two TDs and passed for 150 yards and a TD to help the host Warriors outlast the Beavers. Stenstrom’s 1-yard TD run and the PAT with two minutes, 10 seconds remaining gave the Warriors a 31-21 lead. The Beavers responded with an 11-play, 93-yard drive to pull within 31-28 with 18 seconds remaining but the Warriors recovered the ensuing kickoff.

North Dakota State 59, Murray State 6: The top-ranked Bison built a 42-3 lead in the first half and went on to defeat the host Racers in Murray, Ken. CharMar Brown ran for 97 yards and three TDs for the Bison.

South Dakota State 20, South Dakota 17 (OT): Amar Johnson’s 3-yard TD run in overtime lifted the host Jackrabbits to the victory. The Coyotes opened the OT with a 40-yard field goal.

Youngstown State 41, North Dakota 40 (OT): The host Penguins went first in OT and scored and then stopped North Dakota’s two-point conversion to hold on for the victory. The Penguins sent the game into OT on a 35-yard field goal with 12 seconds remaining.

Bethel 70, Hamline 0: Cooper Drews threw six TD passes — four to Joey Kidder — in the Royals’ victory over the host Pipers.