DICK BLAIR (Tight Ends) A 1975 Augustana graduate, Dick Blair will be in his 11th year as an assistant coach at his alma mater. A native of Savanna, Illinois, his coaching career spans 28 years, starting in Newton, Iowa in 1975. For 10 years (1989 to 1999) he was the head coach at Riverdale High School in Port Byron, Illinois. He was a volunteer coach at St. Ambrose during the 2000 season before joining the Augustana staff in 2001 as the linebacker coach. He has since moved to the defensive backfield and this year will be working with the tight ends. He was a three year letter winner for the Vikings from 1972-74. DAN MURRAY (Assistant Offensive Line) Dan Murray joins Augustana’s coaching staff after playing the last four years at Loras College. Murray spent this past summer working as a tight ends coach and offensive intern assistant at Lake Forrest College. He was the starting left tackle for the Duhawks in 2012 and 2013. In his senior season, he was an honorable mention member of the All-IIAC and was also a team captain for Loras. Murray also particpated in the USA Football Bowl in Hoover, Alabama after his senior year. 4 - AUGUSTANA VIKINGS FOOTBALL
<strong>2014</strong><strong>FB</strong> PROSPECTUS Vikings looking forward to first full season at Lindberg Stadium A year ago there was a lot of excitement surrounding the move into Lindberg Stadium in the Knowlton Outdoor Athletic Complex. Heading into the <strong>2014</strong> season the Augustana football has the move to the new stadium in its rear view mirror and it is time to concentrate solely on the task of the campaign ahead. Rob Cushman begins his fourth season at the helm of the Vikings and he is anxious to get going. “At this point in the season there is always optimism with every team,” said Cushman who has led Augustana to back-to-back 5-5 seasons. “We think we have a chance to be better than we were a year ago. We have definitely improved ourselves in some places. Obviously there are always areas we can work on but we like the pieces we have in place.” Cushman can count on 29 letter winners returning from a year ago with a total of 11 starters, six on offense and five on defense, back in the fold. The Vikings will once again operate out of their spread-option attack on offense and Cushman knows that the play of the offensive line will be critical. He believes that this is an area where his team has made great strides over the past couple of years. “I think our offensive line will be much better and with the fact that we want to run the ball that will make things so much better for us,” said Cushman. “We think this will be an exciting group with depth that we haven’t had recently.” A year ago Augustana averaged 233.7 yards per game rushing and 129.1 through the air for a total offense figure of 362.8 per game. Two seniors, guard Anthony Roome (Geneseo HS, Geneseo, Ill.) and tackle Jon Losen (Morton HS, Morton, Ill.) return as starters and senior tackle Nick Stone (Lyons Township HS, Lyons, Ill.) has gained valuable experience. Five sophomores will fill in at the other positions depending on how the pre-season plays itself out. Matt Zimmerman (Mercer County HS, New Boston, Ill.) and Tommy Wilson (St. Charles East HS, St. Charles, Ill.) are both guards while Ryan McCarthy (Wheaton-Warrenville South HS, Wheaton, Ill.) could be used at guard, tackle or center. Frank Johnson (Arbor View HS, Las Vegas, Nev.) and Josh Fowler (Wilmington HS, Coal City, Ill.) will be battling for the center position which was manned last year by Academic All-American and all-conference selection Eric Dratnol. Junior Sam Frasco (Prospect HS, Mount Prospect, Ill.) had a tremendousseason at quarterback as a sophomore until it was shortened by an injury in the eighth week during a 28-0 victory at Carthage. Frasco was the second leading rusher on the team with 740 yards on 111 carries with five touchdowns and a 6.7 per carry average. He also threw for 919 yards with 88 completions in 152 attempts with seven touchdowns. He averaged over 150 yards of total offense per game. Junior Chris Salazar (Providence Catholic HS, Plainfield, Ill.) stepped in and finished the Carthage game and started the last two games of the year after Frasco was injured. He rushed for 114 yards with three touchdowns and passed for 372 yards on 25 of 47 with three touchdowns. Sophomore Tyson Powers (Amboy HS, Amboy, Ill.) handled the junior-varsity duties a year ago. Leading rusher Eric Chandler graduated after piling up 757 yards on 135 attempts with a team leading seven touchdowns. Sophomore Brandon Price (Providence Catholic HS, Plainfield, Ill.) figures to take over the bulk of Chandler’s carries. He was the team’s third leading rusher last year with 228 yards on 52 attempts with a pair of touchdowns. Senior Benjamin Hodges (St. Charles North HS, St. Charles, Ill.) has been a solid contributor throughout his career and he gained 146 yards on 43 attempts in 2013 with two touchdowns. Several talented freshmen will be in line for playing time as well. In the slot receiver position junior Sean Fitzgerald (Providence Catholic HS, Manhattan, Ill.) returns after catching 14 passes for 191 yards and one touchdown. A boost could come from the return of senior Antonio Owens (Naperville North HS, Bolingbrook, Ill.) who was a two year starter before missing last season. He caught 19 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns in 2012. At the wide receiver position seniors Kyle Frake (Clifton Central HS, Clifton, Ill.), Eric Josupait (Waubonsie Valley HS, Aurora, Ill.) and Marty Riva (LaSalle-Peru HS, Oglesby, Ill.) will battle with sophomore Danny Lattner (Fenwick HS, Riverside, Ill.). Frake caught 15 passes last year for 118 yards with two touchdowns and Josupait had four receptions for 51 yards. The defense will have a little different look this year under the direction of first year coordinator Zach Shay but Cushman thinks this unit could be pretty good. “Our secondary will be better and that is a plus with the way teams throw the ball,” said Cushman. “I like our defensive line and our linebacking corps will be young, but talented.” Senior Sean McIntyre (Genoa-Kingston HS, Genoa, Ill.) was a second team all-conference selection last year and he finished the year with 14 total tackles (eight solo and six assists) with one sack and 3.5 tackles for loss. He will move out to an end position this year. The other end will probably be junior Brandon Stiers (Deer Creek-Mackinaw HS, Mackinaw, Ill.), who had 19 tackles (15 solo and four assists) with four tackles for loss and one sack. In the interior of the defensive line senior Greg Ferguson (Plainfield South HS, Plainfield, Ill.) and sophomore Jonas Robbins (Rock Falls HS, Rock Falls, Ill.) will be battling for the nose tackle position. At linebacker there will be a huge hole left by the graduated Erik Westerberg, who was a two-time All-American and three-time Academic All-American as well as both an NCAA and a National Football Foundation Postgraduate Scholar. He was also the CCIW “Defensive Player of the Year” in 2012. One senior and six sophomores are battling for the four linebacker positions. Sophomores Michael Daniels (Geneseo HS, Geneseo, Ill.) and Jack Asquini (Buffalo Grove HS, Arlington Heights, Ill.) are solid at the inside linebacker positions. Daniels was a season-long starter in 2013 and Asquini stepped in admirably when Westerberg missed a game. Daniels ended up as the team’s third leading tackler with 45 total tackles (19 solo and 26 assists) with one quarterback sack and two tackles for loss. Asquini had 15 total tackles (nine solos and six assists) with a tackle for loss and one interception. Senior Luke Kowalczyk (LaSalle-Peru HS, Peru, Ill.) and sophomore Erik Johnson (Warren Township HS, Gurnee, Ill.) will be on the outside. Other returnees who will be in the hunt for playing time at linebacker include sophomores Jesse Gruneisen (Westminster Christian Academy, St. Louis, Mo.), AJ Hollis (Williamsville HS, Williamsville, Ill.) and Lasalle Smith (Plainfield East HS, Bolingbrook, Ill.). The secondary has three seniors in prominent roles as Bo Goshorn (Romeoville HS, Romeoville, Ill.), Tim Maroder (Burlington Central HS, Elgin, Ill.) and Benjamin Fornek (Batavia HS, Batavia, Ill.) have all been consistent contributors throughout their careers. Last year Goshorn was the second leading tackler on the team with 45 (37 solo and eight assists) along with three tackles for loss, one quarterback sack and an interception. Maroder was the fourth leading tackler with 42 (30 solos and 12 assists) with a tackle for loss, two deflections and a fumble recovery. Fornek was fifth on the team in tackles with 37 (28 solos and nine assists) with a team-leading five interceptions and six pass deflections. Goshorn and Maroder are both safeties while Fornek is a cornerback. Sophomore John Bastian (V. Sue Cleveland HS, Rio Rancho, New Mexico) is also back at safety where he recorded seven tackles a year ago. Sophomore Daniel Watson (Peoria HS, Peoria, Ill.) will get a long look at one of the cornerback positions. Cushman is excited about his team’s defense. “I think we have a chance to be pretty good,” he said. “We have made things a little simpler and I think in the long run that will pay off for us.” Senior Conner Murray (Conifer HS, Morrison, Colo.) handled the place kicking and the punting last year. He was second on the team in scoring with 35 points and he averaged 38.1 yards per punt. He could get a challenge in the punting department from sophomore Robert Martin (Strake Jesuit College Preparatory HS, Houston, Texas). Martin had one punt last year for 53 yards in varsity action. Several talented freshmen could be in the mix for the place kicking duties as well. “As always the CCIW will be a tough league,” said Cushman, whose Vikings were picked to finish fourth in the pre-season vote by the coaches. “We also know that we will be challenged in our non-conference schedule so we need to concentrate on getting some work done in our pre-season practices.” 5 - <strong>2014</strong> SEASON
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