October 4th, 2025 4:00pm
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The No. 8 Augustana football team scored 19 fourth-quarter points to stun Sioux Falls and retain the Key to the City, 29-28, on Saturday afternoon at Bob Young Field.
The win is the third consecutive for the Vikings (6-0 overall, 5-0 NSIC) over the Cougars (3-3, 2-3). Wind played a huge factor as 50 of the 57 points scored in the game were in the north end zone.
In his first career start, Richard Lucero Jr. went 17 of 28 for 231 yards and two touchdowns, including 174 passing yards and both touchdowns in the fourth quarter alone. Isaiah Huber hauled in five passes for 116 yards and the final touchdown while Breylon Blount added 94 yards on the ground and 43 receiving yards and had two total touchdowns. His 75-yard burst to open the second half was the lone score in the south end zone. Sam Scholten had 22 receiving yards and the game-winning two-point conversion.
The defense was full of standouts, led by 13 tackles from Logan Leonard. Although they didn't record a sack, the defense totaled five tackles for loss from five different players. Zachary Richardson had eight tackles, a deflection at the line and a blocked field goal and Brody Shuss had six tackles while shining in the final frame for the defense.
The Cougars started the game with the ball into the wind and were effective on the ground. The Cougars went 70 yards, a number that jumped after a 29-yard rush to set up a first and goal from the AU10. In a battle that saw several game-saving plays, the first came on that carry when Brock Salm was able to chase down the rusher for a touchdown-saving tackle. It proved to be crucial four plays later when Richardson got a hand on a 22-yard field goal attempt for a block to keep the game scoreless.
Augustana's first possession went for eight plays and 42 yards, stalling at the USF 30. Lucero started his collegiate career with two completions for 28 yards on the drive before a 47-yard Jake Pecina field goal put the Vikings on the board first at 3-0 with 2:55 to play in the first quarter.
The first quarter concluded just over two drives into the game, as USF was faced with a fourth-and-1 from the AU21 as the game entered the second quarter. The Cougars handled the situation with ease, taking a rush 21 yards for a touchdown to take a 7-3 lead.
Three consecutive punts followed before the Cougars punched in a 24-yard touchdown run to grow their lead to 14-3 with 1:36 to go in the half. After another Vikings punt, USF looked to capitalize before the half but TJ Murray hauled in an interception in the end zone to keep the score at 14-3 into the break.
A spark came to open the third quarter when Blount ran free on the first play from scrimmage for a 75-yard house call to bring the Vikings within 14-10. The Cougars scored two touchdowns in the third quarter and nearly had another, but on a fourth-and-one following an offsides penalty on AU to negate a blocked field goal, Richardson stuffed USF at the AU 1 to turn them over on downs and bring life to the Vikings.
Facing a second and 10 from their own 1 yardline, the offense went to work to begin the fourth quarter. Lucero found Scholten for 11 yards before an incompletion and a five-yard pass to Huber forced a third and five.
Huber came free across the middle for a 67-yard catch and run to move the chains and then Lucero found Blount for a 16-yard touchdown, the first touchdown in Lucero's career. The offense stayed on the field and rewarded themselves when Lucero threw a shotput to Remmert in the end zone before being taken down for a sack to bring it to 28-18 with 13:16 to go in the game.
The defense followed suit, forcing a punt with 9:59 to go. The offense worked quickly, going 21 yards in just 1:06 of game time. In what may have saved the game, Scholten hauled in a high snap on a 52-yard field goal, getting it down just in time for Pecina to drill it and make it a one-possession game at 28-21 with 8:53 to go.
Another USF punt with 4:10 to go gave AU the ball at their 32 but an interception on the first play of the drive set up the Cougars near midfield. USF was able to burn 1:06 of game time and force an AU timeout but Logan Leonard stuffed a run on fourth and one at the AU 42 to give the Vikings one last breath.
Lucero opened the drive with back-to-back first-down completions to Jaxon Hayes to lead the Vikings down to the USF31 at the two-minute timeout. On the first play out of the break, he connected with DJ Page for seven yards and followed that by squeezing a perfect ball to Huber in the end zone to bring AU within one. Instead of settling for a tie game, the offense stayed on the field again. This time, Scholten took a reverse handoff to the pylon to give AU a 29-28 lead with 1:18 left.
With the chance to make one more stop, the defense did what it has all season: step up with the game on the line. After a 14-yard completion brought the Cougars to the USF39, Nate Ratzlaff picked up a tackle on a two-yard gain and, after an incompletion, Shuss picked up a breakup to force fourth down. The Cougars got what they needed, an open receiver in the middle of the field, but the ball hit the numbers and fell to the turf to close out the comeback victory.
The Vikings return to Kirkeby-Over Stadium on October 11, hosting Concordia-St. Paul for the annual Hall of Fame Game. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.