Football faces bittersweet season finish
Augustana University’s football season is over, following a NCAA playoff first-round exit. The team lost to Minnesota State-Mankato 20-19.
Despite a heartbreaking end to the season, the Vikings can look back at a year full of historic milestones.
Augustana opened its season on the road against the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota. The run-defense began the season on the right foot (pun intended), only allowing UMary to rush for two total yards in the 35-13 win.
The Viking defense also proved its pass-rushing prowess, as defensive linemen Myles Taylor ‘26, Will Davis ‘26 and Christian Connelly ‘27 produced two sacks apiece.
Sophomore Gunnar Hensley earned the nod to start the season. At the helm, he threw for 214 yards and passed for two touchdowns. He added another score with his legs. The team headed to Brookings, South Dakota, next to face the South Dakota State Jackrabbits for the first time in 20 years.
The team played in front of 19,376 fans, the largest crowd in Augustana history and the second largest crowd at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
Augustana’s pass defense held its own, picking off SDSU's Mark Granowski twice and holding him to under 200 total yards. However, SDSU found holes in Augustana’s run defense, rushing for 233 yards in the game.
The Viking offense couldn’t seem to get anything going, producing only 171 total yards of offense. The loss set up a bounce back game at Kirkeby-Over Stadium in the Vikings’ home opener.
The team trounced the Northern State Wolves 41-3 to improve to 2-1 on the season. The offense produced six touchdowns and over 500 yards, while the defense only allowed one touchdown and less than 200 total yards. The team then headed to Moorhead, Minnesota.
Although the Viking offense was gelling, the team lost a close affair 41-43 to the MSU-Moorhead Dragons. The Vikings allowed Dragons quarterback Jack Strand to pass for 475 yards while forcing the Dragons offense to -1 rushing yards.
Running back Jarod Epperson and receivers Jack Fisher and Isaiah Huber crossed the 100-yard threshold individually in the game. Augustana quickly bounced back, closing out the regular season winning five out of their last six games.
The wins were headlined by many records falling. Against Winona State, Epperson’s 118 rushing yards were enough for him to pass Joe Clark to become Augustana University’s all-time rushing leader.
Coach Jerry Olszewski joined the party, breaking a record of his own the following week. Olszewski became the winningest head football coach in program history with a 34-16 win over the Minnesota State-Mankato Mavericks, his former team. The win improved his record to 80-43, passing Jim Heinitz. He continued to build on that record throughout the season to 82 wins. That includes a win against cross-town rival University of Sioux Falls.
The Vikings beat the Cougars 27-21, the first Augustana win against USF at home since 1986. With the win, the team clinched a share of the NSIC regular-season champion title. Epperson led the charge, rushing for two touchdowns.
Although the Vikings put up a fight, the team lost to the Bemidji State Beavers in its final regular season matchup. Junior cornerback TJ Murray intercepted the Bemidji state quarterback to keep things close, but ultimately Augustana dropped a defensive battle 17-10. The team’s regular-season record finished at 8-1. The NCAA playoff matchup was set to be a good game, as the familiar Minnesota State-Mankato Mavericks came to Kirkeby-Over Stadium.
In the last game of the season, the Augustana Vikings dropped a close one to lose in the first round of the NCAA playoffs. The contest looked all-but-over in the last two minutes of the game. Mavericks quarterback Hayden Ekern launched a 33 yard touchdown to Grant Guyett to move the game within a possession at 19-17. The Mavericks had already burned a time out earlier in the second half, leaving them with two and slim odds to retain possession.
The Mavericks' prayers were answered, when they recovered an onside kick on their own 48 yard line. Aided by a Viking defensive pass interference penalty on the drive, the Mavericks set up a 34 yard field goal attempt.
The Mavericks kicker launched one through the uprights as time expired, stunning the crowd and ending the Vikings’ season at home. Epperson believes the team still has a lot to be proud of.
“One thing that I'll take away from this season is that we never quit and always kept fighting until the final whistle,” Epperson said. “There's only so many snaps you can play, so we needed to play every one of them like our last.”
Despite the unfavorable ending, the Vikings picked up many individual awards for its success on the season.
Epperson was named NSIC Offensive Player of the Year. Augustana’s all-time leading rusher picked up 976 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground in 10 games. His 6.34 yards per carry led the NSIC. Epperson said he had made it a goal to win Offensive Player of the Year, but he usually gets on the field thinking about the guys around him rather than awards.
“It's always great getting honored with accolades, but it's not possible without the other 10 on the field with me during each and every play,” Epperson said. “We all have a job to do to be successful. There are many great athletes on the offensive side of the ball in this conference so it's pretty cool to be recognized by the other coaches in this league as the top player.”
Defensive back Peyton Buckley added an NSIC Defensive Player of the Year award to his Augustana career accolades. His eight pass breakups, 76 tackles and single sack helped earn him the award. The two weren’t the only players receiving NSIC recognition, as the team had 11 players named First Team All-NSIC and seven Second Team All-NSIC. Coach Olszewski picked up a few awards himself.
Olszewski was the Division II Region 5 Coach of the Year and earned his fourth NSIC Coach of the Year. This year, he coached the program to its fifth NCAA playoff game in Olszewski’s tenure.
