ELMHURST, Ill. – The Elmhurst football team outscored Augustana College 14-0 in the fourth quarter to score a 17-10 come-from-behind win over the Vikings.
Elmhurst (2-2, 1-0 CCIW) stepped up in the second half, outscoring Augustana 14-7 while holding the Vikings to less than 100 yards of offense and also forcing two key turnovers.
With the score even at 3-3 at halftime, Augustana took the opening kickoff of the second half and drove 57 yards, capping the scoring drive with a four-yard touchdown run from Brandon Price.
Elmhurst was driving on its first possession of the second half, moving from its own 25-yard line to the Augustana 34-yard line, but Joe Camiliere's pass was intercepted by Augustana, ending the Bluejays' scoring chance.
The Bluejays' defense forced its own turnover on Augustana's next possession. Vikings QB Sam Frasco was chased out of the pocket and Jake Garabedian jarred the ball loose with a hit. Valdez Honorable recovered the loose ball on the Vikings' 35-yard line.
After the fumble recovery, Elmhurst drove to the doorstep, marching to the Vikings' four-yard line after converting a pair of fourth-down attempts to keep the drive alive. The Bluejays were turned away twice from the Vikings' one-yard line, giving the ball back to Augustana with just seconds left to play in the third quarter.
The Bluejays' defense came up big on the ensuing Augustana possession as Jake Pawlicki stripped Frasco of the football on the first play of the fourth quarter. Elmhurst recovered the fumble at the Augustana six-yard line and needed just one play to score. Camiliere connected with Garrett Claxon on a six-yard touchdown pass to even the score at 10-10 just 15 seconds into the fourth quarter.
Elmhurst's defense forced three consecutive three-and-outs on the Vikings' next three possessions, with Elmhurst taking over on offense at their own 35-yard line with just five minutes to play in the contest.
The Bluejays pounded the ball on the ground with four straight runs to move to the Vikings' 35-yard line. Camiliere then hit Kaylon Miller for a 16-yard completion to the Augustana 19-yard line. Josh Williams followed with a 13-yard run to the Augustana six-yard line. On first-and-goal, Williams rushed for two yards and forced Augustana to burn a timeout. Williams picked up two more yards on second-and-goal to bring the ball to the Augustana two-yard line. After Augustana burned its second timeout, Williams punched the ball home off the right side of the line to give Elmhurst its first lead of the game with 1:26 left to play.
Elmhurst's defense held Augustana to only six yards on the next possession, forcing a turnover on downs and sealing the victory for the Bluejays.
Augustana had built a quick 3-0 lead in the first quarter, driving 46 yards and settling for a Conner Murray 35-yard field goal. Elmhurst answered back later in the quarter as the Bluejays drove inside the Augustana 10-yard line before tying the score on a 29-yard field goal from Brett Bayer.
Elmhurst had an opportunity to take the lead early in the second quarter, as the Bluejays drove across midfield. Williams ripped off a 43-yard run to the Augustana three-yard line, but on first-and-goal Williams was ruled to have fumbled even though his knees appeared to be down before the ball came loose.
Augustana took over at its own three-yard line and drove all the way to the Elmhurst five-yard line, but were flagged for a personal foul, backing the Vikings up the Bluejays' 18-yard line. Murray's 35-yard field goal attempt into the wind was missed wide left, resulting in the game being tied at halftime.
Elmhurst finished the contest with 306 yards of total offense, rushing for 160 yards and passing for 146 yards. Augustana totaled 281 yards of offense, but were limited to just 94 yards in the second half. The Vikings rushed for 158 yards while passing for 123. The Bluejays also won the turnover battle, forcing three turnovers, while surrendering the ball to Augustana just twice.
Williams led Elmhurst's ground attack, rushing 28 times for 144 yards and a touchdown. He averaged 5.1 yards per carry and also caught three passes for 42 yards. Camiliere finished 16-of-30 for 146 yards and a touchdown. Claxon was Elmhurst's top receiver, hauling in eight passes for 54 yards and a touchdown.
Frasco led Augustana on the ground with 54 yards on 19 carries. He also completed 9-of-21 passes for 76 yards. Sean Fitzgerald was the leading receiver for the Vikings, catching seven passes for 67 yards.
Honorable and Garabedian led Elmhurst's defense with nine tackles apiece. Honorable recovered a fumble while Garabedian had a sack and forced a fumble. John Eliades and Eddie Beyer totaled seven tackles apiece in the victory.
Elmhurst continues CCIW play next Saturday, October 11, by traveling to Carthage College.