Augustana football's season ends in first-round loss to Bemidji State

A fast start from the Bemidji State Beavers proved to be too much for the Augustana Vikings to overcome in Saturday’s NCAA Division II playoff opener at Jim Heinitz Field.

The Vikings exploded in the third quarter to take the lead briefly, but Bemidji State responded and held on the rest of the way, pulling out a 28-24 upset over the fourth-seeded hosts and earning the program’s first playoff win in their first appearance.

“I think it was an excellent example of Division II football with two quality teams getting after it,” Augustana coach Jerry Olszewski said. “They played a good football game, and we didn’t quite get it done...I just feel for our seniors and the guys here.”

The loss ends Augie’s season at 9-3, while Bemidji State (10-2) moves on to face the region’s No. 1 seed, Colorado School of Mines.

Earlier: Home for playoffs for first time since 2010, Augustana football aiming for postseason run

For the Beavers, the victory also avenges a 52-24 home loss against the Vikings earlier this season. Since then, Bemidji State has rattled off eight wins in a row.

“We’ve got resilient kids,” Beavers coach Brent Bolte said. “It was a tough game. Obviously Augustana’s a great ball club, and the first game we played them we felt like we were a little better than what we showed in Bemidji.”

Brandon Alt finished 19-of-34 passing for 326 yards with three touchdowns and one interception to lead the Beavers offense, which amassed 413 total yards in the game.

On the opening play of the game, Alt connected with Brendan Beaulieu on a 46-yard deep post over the middle. Three plays later, it was Alt to Beaulieu again for a 23-yard TD that gave Bemidji State a 7-0 lead with 13:35 to play in the first quarter.

Beaulieu finished with eight catches for a game-high 142 yards receiving.

“They’ve been scoring points on everybody,” Olszewski said. “They hit some side-pocket shots and some one-on-one plays that they’re good at. They’ve got some really good players. Brandon Alt put the ball where it needed to be, and they’ve got some good guys to go to.”

The Vikings drove inside the 10 on their first possession but stalled and were forced to settle for a 20-yard field goal from Ben Limburg, but the Beavers took a 14-3 lead on the next possession when Alt hit Malik Williams over the middle on a quick slant that went for a 67-yard score.

“That was the plan, just start out fast and get up on this team because we know they’re a great team, and if we get up on them we kind of just see how they play,” Alt said. “We trust our defense to go out there and stop them, and the defense trusts us to go out there and score.”

Augie responded with an eight-play, 68-yard drive that culminated in an 11-yard TD pass to Devon Jones. With pressure in his face, Kyle Saddler delivered a perfect strike just over the defender and into Jones’ hands in the left corner of the end zone, pulling the hosts within 14-10 with 6:15 to play in the first.

A pair of Vikings defensive linemen each forced a turnover — a forced fumble and recovery by Ben Kemp and an interception by Myles Taylor — but the hosts weren’t able to produce any points as both offenses struggled to move the ball in the second quarter.

“We left some points out there in the first half,” Bolte said. “A couple trips to the red zone, we had some turnovers, but we were able to kind of weather that and regroup in the third quarter and find a way.”

Late in the quarter, Alt engineered a 68-yard drive that ended when Williams hauled in a 19-yard touchdown pass to extend the Beavers’ lead to 21-10.

Saddler completed 24 of 44 passes for 232 yards and two TDs. He did, however, throw an interception on the ensuing possession as Augie headed into halftime trailing by 11.

Strong opening to second half

The Vikings began the third quarter methodically with an impressive 66-yard drive that lasted 12 plays and was capped by a 5-yard TD pass from Saddler to Logan Uttecht on third-and-goal, pulling Augustana within 21-17 with 8:53 left in the period.

The Vikings’ defense then forced a three-and-out before the offense found the end zone in just four plays when Kyle Graham took a delayed handoff 35 yards in for the score, giving the hosts their first lead of the game at 24-21.

The Vikings outgained the visitors 187-17 in yardage during the third quarter, during which they carved out 117 yards on the ground alone.

“I think we ran the ball with some good efficiency, which opens up some things in the pass game,” said Olszewski, who spoke to his team at halftime about improving its execution. “It was the same game plan we had going into the game. We just didn’t execute it quite as well in the first half.”

Augie’s offense quickly got the ball back but turned it over on downs at the Bemidji State 32, and the Beavers made them pay, putting together a 68-yard drive that ended when Kyle McGath bursted across the goal line for a 2-yard score that regained a 28-24 lead for the visitors.

“It was a huge play,” Bolte said about his defense’s key stop on fourth-and-short. “You felt like the momentum definitely had switched at that point, and it had. So kudos to the defense for making some plays. We made some timely plays.”

Jarod Epperson finished with 15 carries for a game-high 154 yards to lead Augustana’s rushing attack, but an injury late in the game forced him to watch from the sideline.

Meanwhile, Augie’s offense suffered, with Graham limited to minus-3 yards rushing in the final period. He finished the game with 60 yards on the ground.

Augie moved the chains just one time in the fourth quarter but gave itself one final chance in the closing minutes when it began its final drive at the Bemidji State 39 after a 26-yard punt.

On second-and-6, Saddler delivered a potential go-ahead touchdown pass into the end zone, but Madden Pikula was unable to secure the ball as he went to the ground. Then on fourth-and-10, Saddler’s pass intended for Devon Jones fell incomplete, all but securing the victory for the Beavers with Augie out of timeouts.

“The biggest thing in this game is they’ve got a really good quarterback and haven’t given up a lot of sacks. I think we got him off his point a little bit in the second quarter, and then on that last drive we got him pushed out of the pocket a couple times, too,” Bolte said. “Any time you can pressure the quarterback and get some hits on him, that’s the key.”

Graduating veterans

The Vikings will say goodbye to many of their seniors, and though it’s uncertain which of the 22 players recognized on Senior Day will be eligble to return next year, senior Logan Swanson believes they left an indelible mark on the program.

“Since we were freshmen, our goal was to make Augustana a football school, and I’m proud to say we can leave Augustana saying we made Augustana a football school,” Swanson said.

After the game, Olszewski was moved to tears when asked about his senior class.

“Watching boys become men is a real joy. It’s an incredible joy,” he said. “Some programs maybe pulled apart during COVID. Ours galvanized.

“The 11 games prior to this give you this opportunity, and then it’s a one-and-done. We said all week that it’s 60 minutes for 60 minutes more, but the 11 games previous, this is a good football team. It’s unfortunate that we didn’t advance. We’re a really good football team. They’ve done great things.”

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Augustana's season ends in first-round playoffs loss to Bemidji State