Box Score
ROCK ISLAND, Ill. - The Elmhurst College football team suffered its first loss of the 2009 season after falling 21-3 at Augustana College.
Augustana's Robert Wood scored all three Augustana touchdowns to lead the Vikings (3-1, 1-0 CCIW) in the victory.
Elmhurst (3-1, 0-1 CCIW) jumped out on top of the Vikings in the opening quarter. The Bluejays received the opening kickoff and drove all the way to the Viking's six-yard line before settling for a Tyler Lomnicki 24-yard field goal.
Augustana answered back immediately. The Vikings took the ensuing kickoff and drove 66 yards in seven plays to take the lead. Wood capped the scoring drive with a 15-yard touchdown run. All seven plays in the scoring drive came on the ground.
After gaining four first downs in the opening drive of the game, the Bluejays' offense sputtered for the rest of the first half, amassing just two first downs. While the Elmhurst offense struggled, the Bluejays' defense prevented Augustana from any additional scoring in the half. The Vikings carried a 7-3 into the locker room at halftime.
The Vikings quickly added to their lead early in the second half. Augustana drove 65-yards in just three plays with Wood finding the end zone from 24 yards out to give the Vikings a 14-3 lead.
Elmhurst moved the ball early in the third quarter but a turnover on downs and an interception killed a pair of potential scoring drives.
Wood tacked on his third touchdown of the game in the opening minute of the fourth quarter, capping an 11-play, 55-yard scoring drive with a two-yard touchdown plunge.
Elmhurst was held to only four first downs in the second half and managed just one first down in the fourth quarter.
Augustana finished with 290 yards of total offense, with 199 yards coming on the ground. Elmhurst was limited to only 186 yards of offense with 137 coming through the running game. The Vikings enjoyed over a 10-minute time of possession advantage.
Quarterback Phil Pedi led Elmhurst on the ground in the loss. Pedi rushed 11 times for 58 yards. Scottie Williams and Jimmy Jenkins combined for 63 yards on 14 carries. Pedi and Joe Furco combined to complete 9-of-23 pass attempts for 49 yards.
Wood was a one-man wrecking crew for the Vikings. The running back carried 24 times for 146 yards and all three scores. Quarterback David Lee rushed 14 times for 42 yards and also completed 10-of-15 pass attempts for 87 yards.
Randy Wright led the Elmhurst defense in the loss. The junior linebacker recorded a team-leading 14 tackles, including five tackles for loss. Wright also had a quarterback sack. Brandon Jones added 13 tackles (three tackles for loss) and a sack in the loss.
Elmhurst continues CCIW play on Saturday, October 10, by hosting Carthage College at 1:00 p.m. The game is part of the College's annual homecoming festivities.
