SIOUX FALLS – All-American offensive tackle Trey Pipkins was all smiles after his University of Sioux Falls Football Team (3-1, 3-1 NSIC South) rolled up 576 yards in total offense, including a season-high 332 rushing, to key a 51-13 victory over city rival Augustana (2-2, 2-2 NSIC) on Saturday before 6,159 fans at Kirkeby-Over Stadium. For Pipkins, the victory was the most fulfilling of three straight wins over the Vikings. 

"I am really proud of my teammates today," said Pipkins, who remembers the last loss to the Vikings, a 35-27 setback at Bob Young Field, when USF led nearly the entire game before falling short at the end. "We really played hard and stayed after those guys (Augustana) all day," said Pipkins, who was named to a pair of preseason All-American teams this summer. "I was really proud of the way we stayed aggressive and worked hard all day long."

On this day, the Cougars, which has won six games in seven "Key to the City Series" games, put together the most dominating performance of the series with the 38-point differential, the largest in the series. USF also scored over 50 points for the first time in the series. In fact, it is the most points scored by USF against Augustana since the Cougars recorded a 46-0 win in the first-ever contest between the rivals in 1916.

The Cougars rushed to a 17-0 lead and led 37-13 at halftime. In the second half, USF had a 14-0 advantage with both TDs – rushing scores – coming in the fourth quarter as USF iced the game on the strength of its rushing attack.

"Clearly, we had a great performance today.  Our guys played physical and we aggressive on both sides of the ball," said USF head coach Jon Anderson, who is now 2-0 against Augustana. "We had a fast start and built on it all day," added Anderson, who was also on the coaching staff on the 2012 team that won the first-ever contest between the schools in double overtime, 32-31.

USF continued a road trend today in that the Cougars have never lost at Kirkeby-Over Stadium, running their mark to 4-0 at the Vikings' home. Actually, winning on the road is a tradition at USF that dates back to the first NAIA championship in 1996 when head coach Bob Young's Cougars did not have a "true" home field but rolled to a 14-0 record, winning every playoff game on the road. In the past 26 games at the NCAA DII level, USF has won 22 times.

"We had solid performances on offense and defense and you can credit defensive coordinator Nick Benedetto for the defensive performance and holding a good offense to just 13 points. And, offensive coordinator Jim Chapin had the offense clicking for a second straight week."

The USF offense rolled up 576 on 63 plays for a 9.1 yard per play average, which tied USF's DII mark set against St. Cloud State on Sept. 1, 2016. USF featured a strong rushing game, led by a pair of junior running backs. Gabe Watson had 23 carries for 140 yards and a career-best four TDs, which set a Kirkeby-Over Stadium record and was the most since Luke Papilion had four against MSU Moorhead on Sept. 15, 2016. Watson has now rushed for 705 yards on 98 carries for an NSIC-best 10 TDs in 2018. But Watson wasn't USF's leading rusher today  – junior Colton Myles had the honors with a career-best 154 yards on 15 carries. Myles capped off the scoring with a career-best 58-yard TD run. In total, USF, led by Pipkins and his offensive line mates, rolled up 332 yards and six rushing TDs, which is the most in a game in the DII era.

"I was really pleased with the way we ran the ball. Colton and Gabe played really well," said Anderson, also noting the performance of his offensive front. "It was a physical game and we really shined with what we did offensively and running the ball and being physical is our identity," he said.

However, USF was also efficient throwing the ball as Caden Walters completed 13-of-21 passes for a career-best 244 yards. He also had four carries for 35 yards and a TD. Junior wide receiver Nate Johnson accumulated five receptions for a career-high 94 yards while senior wide out Michael Maxwell had four receptions for a career-best 99 yards.

Of note, the Cougars had the largest margin of victory since a 51-7 win (44 points) at Upper Iowa on Nov. 5, 2016. In addition, the 37 points by halftime was the most since that Upper Iowa game. This was also the first time since that game that the Cougars rolled up 50 points in a game. USF had the most yards rushing in a game since accumulating 346 in a 24-14 win over Minnesota State on Oct. 29, 2016. In addition, USF has now had back-to-back rushing games over 300 yards for the first time since Sept. 17 (Minot State, 328) and Sept. 24 (Bemidji State, 406) in 2016.

While the work of the offense was front and center, USF's defense played a central role. The Cougars forced five turnovers and now has a 12-to-4 turnover differential this season. Of those turnovers, USF had four interceptions, including a pair by Parker Gregston, who returned one 75 yards for a momentum-changing score in the second quarter. With that TD, USF now has scored 39 special teams or defensive touchdowns in the DII era.

Sophomore defensive back Nate Durfee led USF with eight tackles while junior safety Tucker Stout had six. Ryan Nieman and Noah St. Pierre also recorded their first career interceptions.

SCORING BREAKDOWN –
For the first time this season, USF lost the coin toss and received the ball. That may have been a bad omen for the Vikings as USF moved the ball 84 yards on nine plays and sophomore Mason Laramie converted his first-career field goal from 37-yard for a 3-0 lead at the 10:37 mark of the first quarter. However, USF shut down Augustana – holding them to just one first down in the opening three possessions. By that time, USF had built on their lead, pushing the advantage to 17-0, keyed by a pair of Watson TD runs.

After Johnson had a 38-yard punt return, the Cougars worked from a short field. And, that meant handing the ball to Watson, who tugged the ball for four carries for 42 yards, including a 33-yard TD gallop with 6:24 to play in the quarter. After USF held the Vikings again, USF drove the ball 84 yards in five plays with Watson carrying the ball the final 19 yards to the end zone for a 17-0 lead after Laramie's extra point. The key play in the drive was Walter's 44-yard pitch-and-catch with Maxwell.

Augustana broke through with a score early in the second quarter after a 28-yard field goal from Luis Guarita cut the deficit to 17-3.

The momentum swung right back to USF on the ensuing drive as Walters hit on passes of 14 yards to Johnson and Maxwell for 35 yards. Then, USF gave the ball to Watson, who rumbled 33 yards for a score to culminate a four-play, 75 yard scoring drive. With Laramie's extra point, the Cougars took a 24-3 lead.

On the ensuing possession, St. Pierre picked off Saddler, returning the ball 17 yards. USF let Myles do the work on this possession. He had runs of 17 and 45 yards to take the ball to the Augustana one-yard line. Then, USF gave the ball to Watson, who scored his fourth TD of the game and USF built a 30-3 advantage with 9:44 to play in the second quarter.

AU tried to get back into the game when they blocked a punt by Thomas Chapin. Six plays and 24 yards later, the Vikings scored on Kyle Saddler's three-yard TD pass to Brett Shepley to trim the deficit to 30-10. After a three and out, USF's Chapin, who had four punts for 216 yards (54.0 average), hit a career-long 72-yard punt, to get USF out of poor field position.

Saddler, who completed 30-of-61 passes for 378 yards with four interceptions and a TD, moved the Vikings deep into USF territory. On a third and seven play, Saddler's pass was picked by Gregston, who took it to pay-dirt. The 75-yard defensive TD by Gregston was the longest since Kyle Campiotti returned an interception 67 yards against Upper Iowa on Nov. 4, 2017. With Laramie's extra point, USF had extended the lead to 37-10 and by all accounts created a near-insurmountable advantage for USF.

The Vikings were able to get a first and goal late in the first half but had to settle for a 20-yard field goal from Guarita as the Cougars took a 37-13 lead to the break.

Neither team was able to put up any points in the third quarter before USF scored twice in the fourth quarter. Walters scored on an eight-yard run to cap a 16-play, 88-yard drive that took 9:28 off the fourth quarter clock and built a 44-13 advantage. At the 2:38 mark, Myles finished off the scoring with a 58-yard scoring run down the left sideline as the Cougars pushed the lead to 51-13 and to the approval of the USF fans on the visitor side of Kirkeby-Over Stadium.

Next for USF will be the Cougars Days (homecoming) game with Minot State at 1 p.m., on Saturday, Sept. 29 at Bob Young Field.

Notes –
~ Watson has rushed for 702 yards in four games, which ranks second to Max Mickey with 759 (2017) in USF's DII era.
~ USF has gone over 1,000 yard rushing this season with 1,070 on 183 attempts or 5.9 per carry and 267.5 yards per game.
~ Quarterback Caden Walters has completed over 60 percent of his passes, hitting 43-of-71 for 696 yards and just two interceptions with six TDs.
~ Colton Miles has 48 carries for a career-high 305 yards and a TD with his first-ever 100-yard rushing game against Augustana. He is averaging 6.4 yards per carry.
~ USF has not committed a turnover in two games and now has eight interceptions or the same total as a year ago. The Cougars have a 12-to-4 turnover differential.
~ Punter Thomas Chapin is averaging 44.0 yards per kick with five placed inside the 2-yard line and six 50 yards or longer kicks
~ Nate Johnson and Michael Maxwell are turning into a tough 1-2 receiving duo. Johnson, who averaging 12.2 yards on punt returns and 32.2 yards on kickoff returns. Has a team-high 13 catches for 250 yards with three TDs. Maxwell has four catches of four yards or more and 11 receptions for 275 yards and a TD.