Vikings defense hopes to sustain growth

Augustana football has spent the first seven games of the season learning how to respond to challenges.

With a 5-2 overall record and 4-2 record in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC), the team is looking to keep up its recent defensive improvement in the final stretch of the season.

Head coach Jerry Olszewski said the team’s offense continues to play at a high caliber. Their defense is still developing following the departure of last year’s defensive coordinator. Several players, like Camron Maciejewski and Steel Schomaker, have also stepped into larger roles.

“I am in many ways pleased with our performance this season,” Olszewski said. “We had many players to replace on our defense and have been growing and improving weekly on that side of the ball.” 

Olszewski emphasized team chemistry and offensive production as two of the team’s strongest areas, but said that consistency on defense, winning the turnover battle and scoring efficiently in the red zone remain priorities.

The Vikings endured two close losses this season, falling to University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) on September 3 and Winona State University on September 26. According to Olszewski, both games came down to a small number of plays. In Duluth, after a two hour rain-delay, the Bulldogs scored on their final drive to win. During the Winona State game, Augustana lost in overtime to a two-point conversion. 

“After both of those contests the team learned, grew and challenged each other,” Olszewski said.

Sophomore kicker Colin Nehe said the team has focused on learning from their mistakes rather than dwelling on missed opportunities. 

“Bouncing back has been our best thing,” Nehe said. “If you have a rough practice or a game, a guy will pick you up and make up for that in their next play.” 

Captain and starting kicker Jake Pecina, a fifth-year senior, said he has grown his leadership skills to help younger teammates understand their responsibilities and develop throughout the season. He also discussed the importance of having players ready to step into new roles when injuries occur.

“It’s the next man up mentality if one of our starters goes down,” Pecina said. “The next guy has to fill that role and the standard doesn’t change.”

On defense, the adjustments have become important as the season has progressed. 

“We were hoping for a quicker maturity process,” Olszewski said. “Following the Winona loss our defense has played at the level I believe we are capable of and the results have shown that.”

Junior cornerback Trey Malone III said that their new defensive strategy relies on more zone coverage and defensive schemes.

“We disguise a lot of our plays so it confuses a lot of quarterbacks,” Malone said.

Malone said these changes have helped create more opportunities for interceptions.

According to Olszewski, the rest of conference play will remain a challenge. Six conference teams had two losses or fewer through seven games, making the final four weeks especially important to determining post-season rankings. Olszewski said the team’s focus remains on its own performance rather than on its opponents. 

“Of course we want to win every week and believe that is in our reach,” Olszewski said. “We have some big games ahead of us in the conference race, but the truth is until we are the best version of us it doesn’t matter who we play, it matters how we play.” 

For Pecina, the team’s ability to remain connected is paramount.

“No matter what happens we’re always staying together,” Pecina said. 

The next game will be held on October 24 at Kirkeby-Over Stadium against Southwest Minnesota State University.