BISMARCK, ND – The University of Mary opened Northern Sun play against the defending conference champion and contested the contest deep into the game in a hard-fought 35-13 loss to visiting #14 Augustana.
A one-score game at halftime as the Marauders entered intermission down 14-6, UMary (1-1 overall, 0-1 NSIC) kept within two scores until a late Augustana (1-0 overall, 1-0 NSIC) touchdown sealed the outcome.
Following a scoreless first quarter keyed by Marauders sacks from
Mason Phillips and
Grant Collins, the Vikings scored first on a Gunnar Hensley 4 yard run at 14:09 of the second.
UMary followed with an impressive 17 play drive covering 71 yards. Headlined by a 30 yard catch by
Karsyn Jablonski from
Sofian Massoud,
Kevin Powell drove home a 21 yard field goal to cut the deficit to 7-3.
Following a second Vikings touchdown, the Marauders reeled off another 13 plays and 63 yards against one of the nation's toughest and most experienced defenses to convert a 35 yard field goal off the foot of Powell as time expired on the first half.
The Vikings tried to pull away from the Marauders in the third quarter, scoring a pair of touchdowns in the stanza to gain a 28-6 advantage.
A quick strike touchdown pass from Massoud to
Mujeeb Rufai early in the final quarter quickly got the Marauders back into the game. On a 3
rd-and-2 at the home 34, Rufai turned a short pass into a race into the end zone, scoring from 66 yards out to get the Marauders within 28-13.
A stalwart Marauders defensive unit forced the Vikings to punt on their next two possessions but UMary was unable to take advantage.
Collins, Phillips and
Josh Obisui all had sacks in the game for UMary as the Marauders limited the Vikings to 100 yards rushing and 236 passing for 336 total yards.
Christopher Federico led the Marauders with nine tackles, including six solo stops and one for a loss. Collins had two tackles for loss as UMary had seven stops behind the line of scrimmage.
Jakob Petry and
Tuakoi Mahe both knocked down two passes.
Massoud finished with 240 yards passing, completing 21-of-33 passes for one touchdown and no interceptions. Rufai finished with two catches for 75 yards and a score and Jablonski snared four tosses for 60 yards.
Gunnar Hensley led the Vikings with 220 yards passing and three touchdowns, completing 15-of-19 passes. He also ran for a score. Myles Taylor, Will Davis and Christian Connelly all had two sacks each for Augie.
Following two Thursday night home games, the Marauders next take their first road trip of the season when UMary visits the University of Sioux Falls on Saturday, September 14, in Sioux Falls, SD. Kickoff is slated for 1 pm. Follow the game live online at
www.GoUMary.com/coverage.
#marauders#
