If there was an unusual play that occurred Saturday evening in the CCIW football opener at Augustana College’s Lindberg Stadium, it didn’t bode well for the hosting Vikings.
A tipped pass that went for an interception and was returned for a touchdown.
A blocked punt that turned into a touchdown.
A receiver catching a pass on his back that was caught for a 28-yard gain as part of a touchdown drive.
The 18th-ranked Wheaton Thunder benefitted from all those plays en route to a 50-7 league-opening victory over the Vikings — Wheaton’s 18th straight victory over Augie.
“I’m extremely disappointed; that includes myself, coaches, players,” said Augie coach Steve Bell. “In my opinion, that’s not who we are. It was who we were tonight, I guess, but that’s a very good football team over there.”
While the big plays went against the Vikings early, Bell put them in perspective.
“Those were really minor plays in the big picture, but they show up big,” said Bell, whose 1-1 club moved the ball well between the 30s before bogging down.
Augie finished with 251 yards of offense in 65 plays, with backup quarterback David Finfer getting Augie’s lone score on a 1-yard run with 6:11 left in regulation.
Wheaton finished the game with 439 yards of offense in 55 snaps. Starting QB Mark Forcucci completed 12 of 15 passes for 175 yards and one TD, a 9-yard toss to Seth Kortenhoeven that started a 22-point second quarter.
The Vikings had the ball to begin the game and showed a different look offensively. First-year quarterback Jimmy Makuh (20-34-1, 153 yards) fired six straight passes that moved the Vikings to the Wheaton 33.
But on his seventh attempt, he faced a stiff rush that Wheaton defensive end Rex Kroeger tipped up in the air, picked off and raced 52 yards for a touchdown.
Augie’s second drive showed promise, covering 61 yards in 11 plays, reaching the Thunder 22-yard line. But Makuh was stopped on a fourth-down QB sneak.
“That really swung momentum,” said Bell. “Who knows what would have happened had we been able to score there?”
From there, the Thunder methodically pulled away to a 29-0 halftime lead.
“You’re not going to beat that team running the ball,” said Bell, whose squad rushed 28 times for 72 yards.
Big defensive numbers
While the Vikings gave up plenty of yardage against a potent Thunder attack, Augie safety Toby Splitt came up with some big numbers of his own.
The senior totaled 19 tackles in the game, including 15 solo stops. He also forced a fumble that was Wheaton’s lone turnover of the contest.
Being on the short end of a lopsided score, Splitt couldn’t even take solace in his individual performance, which was a personal best for tackles.
“Obviously, they’re pretty good to put up 50 points against us,” he said. “It was tough to go against them. They just beat us. There’s not much more you can say about it.”
Bell praised his senior leader for the effort.
“He had a great game against Simpson (in the season-opening 42-41 overtime win) and he had a great game here,” said Bell. “He was where he was supposed to be when he was supposed to be there and made some great plays.
“That forced fumble was a great effort; just a tremendous effort on his part. He saw it, didn’t hesitate, and made the play on it. He locked in on that moment.”
Still, there was an issue the coach had with his tackle total that couldn’t immediately be confirmed as a single-game Augie record.
“I don’t know if I want my safety making 19 tackles,” said Bell. “Because I’d like someone in front of him getting those stops.”
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TJ Johnston
sports writer/golf editor
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