By james art 
SIOUX FALLS, SD (Dakota News Now) – The Augustana football team found poise and composure in a 28-7 victory over Concordia-St. Paul on Saturday afternoon at Kirkeby-Over Stadium.
The Vikings, winners of five straight, move to 7-2 overall and 7-1 in the NSIC, maintaining sole possession of first place in the conference and Concordia-St. Paul falls to 2-7, 2-6.
Jarod Epperson was the star again for the Vikings, hauling in 14 carries for 156 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also added 50 receiving yards on five catches to become the first player in program history and the third active player among all NCAA levels to amass at least 3,500 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in his career.
Hayden Wallace led another stellar defensive effort as he collected 10 tackles and recorded a 47-yard pick-six, his first career touchdown. KadeLynott had six tackles and a pass breakup, and Peyton Buckley added four tackles and two breakups. Logan Leonard recorded his fourth interception of the season and Tyler Byrne was the lone Viking sack.
Nine different Vikings recorded catches as Gunnar Hensley carried the ball around the yard. Isaiah Huber caught five passes for 41 yards and a touchdown, and Kanyon Bauer added three catches for 29 yards. In his first career action, Braylon Blount hauled in three carries for 51 yards, while Hensley and Ryan Kenney each had 20 rushing yards to help a ground game that outscored the CSP rushing attack 271-111.
For the fourth straight game, the AU kicker found the end zone on his kickoff to open the scoring. After the defense forces a punt, Epperson rolls. He totaled 25 rushing yards and 18 receiving yards on the first seven plays to lead the Vikings to a CSP 33.
A short reception by Huber and an 11-yard run by Max Grand put AU in the red zone before Hensley found Huber on a swing pass that was opened by a key Bauer block to set up a 20-yard touchdown.
That 7-0 lead carried over into the second quarter, but not for long. On the first play of the quarter, Wallace had a pass that bounced off the CSP running back and right into his hands, resulting in an interception return 47 yards for a touchdown to double AU’s lead at 14-0.
A CSP three-and-out and seven Viking plays led to a punt the Golden Bears looked to take advantage of before halftime. A 15-play, 60-yard drive that took up 7:23 of playing time set up CSP for a 39-yard field goal that went wide left and gave the Vikings a chance to add points with 1:47 to play. The 14-0 score would hold until halftime as AU’s 43-yard field goal would be kicked just left to send the teams to their locker rooms.
The Vikings opened the second half with a touchdown before the Golden Bears followed suit. AU struck quickly from there as a four-play, 80-yard march in which Epperson gained 63 yards and a touchdown extended the Viking lead to 21-0 with 9:41 left in the third quarter.
CSP would lose nine yards on its next drive before giving the ball back to the Vikings. They would be on defense long as an interception on the second play of AU’s drive put them at the AU 24. Three plays later, the Golden Bears scored for the first time of the day on a 15-yard touchdown to cut the AU lead to 21- 7.
The teams traded shots before the Vikings fought back to put the game out of reach. An Epperson run and a Huber catch set up 3rd and 4, which Epperson converted with an eight-yard reception. Another third down would be erased on a 19-yard run by Epperson, and on the next play he would cash in from 26 yards to cap the scoring with 9:43 left in the game.
The stage is now set for Nov. 9 when the Vikings host cross-town rival Sioux Falls (7-2 overall, 6-2 NSIC) at Kirkeby-Over Stadium. The action is scheduled for 1 p.m
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