UMD keeps it perfect record intact and moves to 13-0. The Bulldogs will face the winner of Saturday's Central Missouri/Northwest Missouri contest in the semifinals. Augustana finishes its season with a record of 11-2.
The Vikings' 11 wins is a school record by three games. Augustana also advanced the deepest it ever has in the playoffs with this quarterfinal appearance.
The Bulldog offense had its way with the Vikings, racking up 247 yards on the ground against a defense that led the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in fewest rushing yards allowed. Hanson was complimented by backfield neighbor Brad Foss, who ran the ball 20 times for 59 yards. Chase Volger threw for 61 yards and ran for another 67 yards.
UMD's defense was responsible for one of the Bulldogs' three touchowns and held a normally potent Augsutana offense to just a pair of touchdowns.
Viking quarterback Josh Hanson finished the game 14 of 28 for 130 yards and one touchdown. Tyler Schulte, who grabbed four balls for 63 yards, was the recipient of that score.
Joe Clark mustered 50 yards on the ground.
Defensively, the Vikings were paced by Chris Janish's 15 stops.
Augustana looked to be picking up right where it left off from last week's 38-6 thumping of No. 6 Grand Valley State. Zac Kallas picked off Chase Volger's pass on the Bulldogs' inaugural offensive series.
Energized, the Vikings quickly worked down the field, covering the remaining 42 yards in three plays—a drive capped by a Hanson-to-Schulte connection that spanned 34 yards along the right sideline to quickly put Augustana ahead 6-0. Drew Behrens pushed his PAT attempt right.
The Bulldogs, though, immediately dispatched their offensive unit to redeem the opening drive. Boosted by the legs of Foss, UMD siphoned off six minutes of clock on the ensuing drive and eventually found paydirt after Hanson plunged in from 4 yards out to give the Bulldogs a 7-6 lead.
UMD tacked on another pair of scores in the second quarter, the first coming on a Brad Foss 1-yard run at the 5:16 mark and the second just before halftime after Robbie Aurich scooped up a fumble by Josh Hanson and returned it 23 yards for the score.
The Bulldogs led 21-6 at intermission.
The Vikings went three and out to open the second half, and UMD quickly added three points to its lead with a 42-yard field goal from Nadeau.
In desperate need of a score, the Vikings looked to set up Behrens for a 47-yard field goal on their ensuing possession. The sophomore kicker got tangled up by a Bulldog defender on the attempt, and Augustana came out with an automatic first down via a roughing the kicker call. And the Vikings made good on it as Clark scampered in on a 1-yard run three plays later to make it 24-13 contest.
The two teams exchanged possessions for the most of the fourth quarter. The Vikings did manage to hold the Bulldogs on a key fourth down to start the fourth, but the possession resulted in a punt.
UMD spoiled a promising Augustana offensive series with around four minutes left in the game, forcing a Hanson fumble and taking possession with 3:31 remaining.
The Bulldogs kept the ball on the ground, but Hanson fumbled with 1:49 left and gave Augsutana the ball and one last chance to score and make it a one-possession game.
The resulting drive game unglued after Cameron Harper intercepted Hanson on a fourth-and-11 situation.
The 180 yards by the Augustana offense marked a season low, and the 50 yards rushing was also the worst in 2010.
Schulte's touchdown catch to open the game put his season total at 18 and extended his single season record in the category.
The Vikings were making their third appearance in the NCAA Playoffs and now own an all-time postseason record of 1-3.
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