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2013 FOOTBALL REVIEW<br />
Augustana opens Knowlton Outdoor Athletics Complex; Vikings finish the season with a 5-5<br />
record and tie fourth place in the CCIW; Erik Westerberg named first team All-America, winner<br />
of NFF postgraduate scholarship and finalist for Gagliardi Trophy<br />
The 2013 football season opened with the much-anticipated dedication of the Austin<br />
E. Knowlton Outdoor Athletics Complex. The Vikings posted a 5-5 record and finished<br />
the year in a fourth-place tie in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin<br />
with a 3-4 mark. Senior middle linebacker Erik Westerberg (York HS, Elmhurst, Ill.)<br />
wrapped up an outstanding career with D3football.com first team All-America honors,<br />
first team Capital One Academic All-America recognition and a National Football<br />
Foundation postgraduate scholarship. He was also named one of 10 finalists for the<br />
Gagliardi Trophy – the most prestigious individual award in Division III football.<br />
On Saturday, August 7, Augustana and the College of Mount St. Joseph faced off in<br />
the inaugural Knowlton Kickoff Classic. The evening marked the official opening of<br />
the Knowlton Complex, including the Ken Anderson Academic All-America Club. The<br />
Vikings made the event a success with a 20-10 win over the Lions. Senior running<br />
back Eric Chandler (Cary-Grove HS, Cary, Ill.) rushed for 167 yards in barely more<br />
than a half of action and senior corner Sean Walker (Annawan HS, Annawan, Ill.) had<br />
a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and two pass breakups to earn CCIW Defensive<br />
Player of the Week honors. Central visited the Knowlton Complex in week two and<br />
defeated Augustana 38-13.<br />
Coach Rob Cushman’s crew hit the road for the first time on September 21 and<br />
jumped out to a 28-3 halftime lead on its way to a 35-10 win at Loras. Chandler and<br />
freshman Brandon Price (Providence Catholic HS, Plainfield, Ill.) each scored a pair<br />
of first-half touchdowns. Half of Westerberg’s eight tackles took place behind the line<br />
of scrimmage and he was rewarded with conference Defensive Player of the Week<br />
recognition.<br />
The Vikings dropped their CCIW opener 24-15 at 15th-ranked Wheaton in a contest<br />
that was delayed more than 90 minutes by lightning, but rebounded with a 28-17<br />
Homecoming win over Elmhurst. Sophomore quarterback Sam Frasco (Prospect<br />
HS, Mt. Prospect, Ill.) rushed for 172 yards and two touchdowns against the Bluejays<br />
and freshman Jack Asquini (Buffalo Grove HS, Arlington Heights, Ill.), filling in for an<br />
injured Westerberg, had 10 tackles and an interception.<br />
Frasco earned CCIW Offensive Player of the Week honors after rushing for 203 yards<br />
and passing for another 149 in a 47-19 win at Millikin. Chandler rambled for 108 yards<br />
as well, with Augustana posting season highs of 397 rushing and 557 total yards.<br />
After a 45-35 home loss to North Park, the Vikings traveled to Kenosha, Wisconsin<br />
and defeated Carthage 28-0 to improve to 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the conference.<br />
Frasco rushed for 71 yards on five carries before being lost for the year with a shoulder<br />
injury. Sophomore Chris Salazar (Providence Catholic HS, Plainfield, Ill.) filled in<br />
nicely, completing 10 of 13 pass attempts for 207 yards and two touchdowns.<br />
Losses to 17th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan (24-10) at home and fourth-ranked North<br />
Central (53-14) on the road ended the Vikings’ season.<br />
Senior center Eric Dratnol (Kaneland HS, Montgomery, Ill.), who helped pave the<br />
way for the CCIW’s second-best rushing attack, joined Westerberg as a first team<br />
Academic All-America selection. The pair was joined on the Academic All-District first<br />
team by Chandler. Those three all earned second team all-conference honors along<br />
with Walker and junior defensive end Sean McIntyre (Genoa-Kingston HS, Genoa, Ill.).<br />
Senior wide receiver Nick Krantz (Moline HS, Moline, Ill.) was selected to play in the<br />
Tazón de Estrellas (Bowl of the Stars) at the 36,000-seat Estadio de Tecnológico in<br />
Monterrey, Mexico on December 21. Krantz finished his career sixth on Augustana’s<br />
all-time receptions list with 85.<br />
Despite missing two games, Chandler led Augustana in rushing with 757 yards and<br />
seven touchdowns, averaging 5.6 yards per carry. Frasco missed the season’s final<br />
two games, but finished as the Vikings’ second leading rusher with 740 yards and<br />
five touchdowns on 111 carries (6.7 yards per attempt). Price, son of Augustana<br />
Hall-of-Famer Brad Price, rushed for 228 yards and two touchdowns on 52 carries<br />
and also reached the end zone on three of his four pass receptions to finish tied with<br />
Frasco as Augustana’s third-leading scorer this year.<br />
Frasco completed 88 of 152 passes (57.9 percent) for 919 yards and seven touchdowns<br />
with five interceptions. The Viking receiving corps was led by Krantz, who<br />
had 34 receptions (tied for 10th in school history) for 409 yards and two touchdowns.<br />
Senior Kyle Snow (Wheaton-Warrenville South HS, Wheaton, Ill.), juniors Torre<br />
Harrell (Bloomington HS, Bloomington, Ill.) and Kyle Frake (Central HS, Clifton, Ill.)<br />
and sophomore Sean Fitzgerald (Providence Catholic HS, Manhattan, Ill.) all had<br />
between 19 and 14 receptions.<br />
Overall, the Viking offense produced averages of 24.5 points, 233.7 rushing yards,<br />
129.1 passing yards and 362.8 total yards per game this season. Meanwhile, the<br />
defense allowed averages of 24.0 points, 156.7 rushing yards, 182.6 passing yards<br />
and 339.3 total yards per contest.<br />
Individually, Westerberg led the way on the defensive side of the ball. Despite sitting<br />
out the Elmhurst game, he recorded 61 solo tackles (tied for 18th in the nation at<br />
6.78 per game), 78 total stops and 10½ tackles for loss. Freshman linebacker Michael<br />
Daniels (Geneseo HS, Geneseo, Ill.) and junior safety Bo Goshorn (Romeoville<br />
HS, Romeoville, Ill.) tied for second on the team with 45 total stops. Daniels’ 26<br />
assisted tackles led the team.<br />
Other statistical leaders on defense included Walker, who was tops with seven pass<br />
34 - AUGUSTANA VIKINGS FOOTBALL<br />
breakups and two fumble recoveries, junior corner Ben Fornek (Batavia HS, Batavia,<br />
Ill.), with five interceptions (tied for 21st in the nation) and senior defensive end Sean<br />
Mulholland (Clinton HS, Clinton, Iowa), with five sacks.<br />
Junior Conner Murray (Conifer HS, Morrison, Colo.) handled both the punting and<br />
placekicking chores this season. He averaged 38.1 yards on 52 punts with a long<br />
of 70 yards, helping the Vikings finish second in the CCIW in net punting. Murray<br />
converted 26 of 29 point after attempts and three of eight field goal tries with a long<br />
of 23 yards.<br />
2013 CCIW STANDINGS<br />
School CCIW Overall<br />
North Central 7-0 13-1<br />
Illinois Wesleyan 6-1 9-2<br />
Wheaton 5-2 8-2<br />
AUGUSTANA 3-4 5-5<br />
Elmhurst 3-4 4-6<br />
North Park 3-4 3-7<br />
Millikin 1-6 2-8<br />
Carthage 0-7 1-9<br />
2013 AUGUSTANA FOOTBALL SUPERLATIVES<br />
INDIVIDUAL AWARD WINNERS<br />
D3FOOTBALL.COM ALL-AMERICAN – First team: Erik Westerberg, LB<br />
D3FOOTBALL.COM ALL-NORTH REGION – First team: Erik Westerberg, LB<br />
GAGLIARDI TROPHY FINALIST – Erik Westerberg, LB<br />
CCIW ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS –Second team: Erik Westerberg, LB;<br />
Sean Walker, CB; Sean McIntyre, DE; Eric Chandler, RB; Eric Dratnol, C.<br />
CCIW PLAYERS OF THE WEEK – 09/09/12 – Sean Walker, DB (Defensive);<br />
09/23/13 – Erik Westerberg, LB (Defensive); 10/21 – Sam Frasco, QB (Offensive).<br />
NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION POSTGRADUATE SCHOLAR –<br />
Erik Westerberg, LB<br />
CoSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA – Erik Westerberg, LB, first team; Eric Dratnol,<br />
C, first team.<br />
CoSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT – Erik Westerberg, LB, first team; Eric Dratnol,<br />
C, first team; Eric Chandler, RB, first team.<br />
CCIW ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE – John Bastian, Eric Chandler, Michael<br />
Daniels, Eric Dratnol, Thomas Enke, Sean Fitzgerald, Ben Fornek, Steven Frobel,<br />
Carl Hartweg, Ben Hodges, Eric Link, Sam Mago, Caleb Nickels, Ryan Plunkett,<br />
Jacob Smith, Kyle Snow, James Stratton, Erik Westerberg.<br />
TAZÓN DE ESTRELLAS – Nick Krantz<br />
ADDITIONS TO AUGUSTANA’S TOP TEN LISTS<br />
SINGLE SEASON PASS RECEPTIONS – 34 (Nick Krantz – T-10th place)<br />
CAREER PASS RECEPTIONS – 85 (Nick Krantz – 6th place)<br />
NCAA STATISTICAL RANKINGS TEAM – TOP 25<br />
INTERCEPTIONS – Ben Fornek, T-22nd @ 0.50 per game<br />
SOLO TACKLES – Erik Westerberg, T-18th @ 6.78 per game<br />
CCIW STATISTICAL LEADERS – TEAM<br />
ON-SIDE KICK SUCCESS – 100.0 (2 of 2)<br />
CCIW STATISTICAL TOP FIVE – INDIVIDUAL<br />
RUSHING – Eric Chandler, 4th @ 93.3 yards per game<br />
PUNTING – Conner Murray, 4th @ 38.5 yards per punt<br />
PAT KICKING – Conner Murray, 5th @ 85.7%<br />
TACKLES – Erik Westerberg, 3rd @ 8.5 per game<br />
PASSES DEFENDED – Ben Fornek, T-4th @ 1.00 per game<br />
TEAM AWARDS<br />
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Erick Chandler<br />
MOST VALUABLE OFFENSIVE PLAYER – Sam Frasco<br />
MOST VALUABLE DEFENSIVE PLAYER – Erik Westerberg<br />
MOST VALUABLE SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER – Shane Powe<br />
JERRY FRECK AWARD – Will Hass<br />
SCOUT TEAM OFFENSIVE MVP – Paris Edwards<br />
SCOUT TEAM DEFENSIVE MVP – Josh Symbal
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