Mav football travels to Augustana

After defeating the SMSU Mustangs last week, the team looks to build on their stellar performance.

Aaron Young
Staff Writer

The Mavericks travel to Sioux Falls, South Dakota this weekend to face the Augustana Vikings. Coming off a victory over the Mustangs last Thursday night, 49-13, the Mavericks look to continue to build on their momentum moving forward Saturday at 1:00 PM.

From the football team’s first game, players on both sides of the ball made an impact. 

Junior QB Ryan Schlichte completed 11 passes for 201 yards and 2 TD’s, and backup JD Ekowa had 5 passes for 49 yards and a TD of his own.

Ekowa also had a rushing TD as well during the team’s takeover on Thursday night.

Schlichte believes they had to get the “pregame jitters” out when the offense failed to put points on the board first time through against the Mustangs.

Well, with a statement victory, they sure did just that. The takeaway from the first game was when RB Nate Gunn said, “Defense did their job. Let’s go do our job.”

MSU combined for 268 rushing yards, with running backs Nate Gunn and Vance Barnes each getting the ball across the goal line for touchdowns.

Another player worth mentioning is Shane Zylstra, whose brother, Brandon Zylstra, officially made the Minnesota Vikings 53-man roster earlier this week, also caught a TD late in the 3rd quarter for the Mavs. 

Going from offense to defense, the Mavericks were on the prowl. Sophomore Cole Schroedermeier led the team with 10 tackles, while Senior Michael Palme and Sophomore Cade Johnson had 8 each.

Although there were no interceptions in the game, the team sacked the opposing QB four times on the day.

The Mavericks opponent this week in Augustana, however, is coming off a game against the Upper Iowa Peacocks, where they came back from behind to win it. They trailed 24-14, and ended up winning 48-45.

The Mavericks should be concerned because the Vikings did what SMSU couldn’t, storm back and eventually win. However, Augustana did finish last season 4-7 overall, and 2-9 in the conference. But that was last season and this is a whole new year, where everyone is once again fighting for a spot at the top.

The Mavs defeated the Augustana Vikings last season, 42-21, at home. Let’s see if they have what it takes to beat them again this year.

Based on last game’s performance, fans should be excited to see their team perform against a up-and-coming Augusta football, who’s coming off a big victory against Upper Iowa last weekend on the road in Iowa.

As the Vikings face-off against the Mavericks this weekend, the Mavs look to show-off their electric running game, after scoring five total touchdowns last weekend against SMSU.

Stay tuned this weekend and go online to support our Minnesota Maverick football team, as they look to defeat the Vikings in another key matchup for the Mavericks this season.

For a gallery from the game, click here.

Feature Photo: The Mavericks (pictured above) look to continue their dominance, as they travel to face-off against the Augustana Vikings this Saturday. (Mansoor Ahmad | MSU Reporter)