SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Minot State University's defense has been hampered by big plays in key situations sustaining opposition drive this season.

In Saturday's game at Augustana University, it wasn't a big penalty or big play, but a series of small ones.

The Vikings finished 7 for 11 on third downs, sustaining drives, to pull away from Minot State 41-17 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football at Kirkeby-Over Stadium.

"We were a little off balance throughout the day and had a hard time on third down. Augustana did a good job of mixing up play calls and keeping us guessing. You have to credit them," said MSU head coach Tyler Hughes. "I thought we prepared well and knew the situation on third down but we just didn't execute when we needed to."

That led to three long scoring drives by the Vikings (3-1 overall, 3-1 NSIC) spanning the entire first quarter and the first six minutes of the second quarter. Augie took a 7-0 lead on a pass from Trey Heid to CJ Ham that capped an 11-play, 71 yard drive taking 5 minutes and 20 seconds. Seven minutes later it was 14-0 on a pass from Heid to Matt Heller that finished an 11-play, 83-yard drive taking up 5:24. The Vikings made it 21-0 on a Ham 1 yard run with 8:31 to play in the second quarter, capping an eight-play, 80 yard drive in 2:35.

"We started a little sluggish – I think we were ready and were trying to stay calm instead of flying around and then losing that later in the game – but, yeah, we came out slow," Hughes said. "A lot of that has to do with what Augustana was doing. They executed well early and was 14-0 quickly.

"Their quarterback (Heid) did a good job of buying them time on plays. He was good today."

MSU (0-4, 0-4) cut the lead to 21-7 on a time-consuming drive of its own, going 75 yards on 13 plays in 6:33. Porter Sturm (Sr., WR, Roy, Mont.) caught the first of two TD passes from quarterback Lucas Romanski (Jr., Sam Ramon, Calif.) – who got the start after Isaiah Weed (Fr., QB, Bonney Lake, Wash.) was a late scratch due to an injury. The 3-yard TD catch got the Beavers back into the game late in the second quarter.

"Lucas did well in a bounce back game for him," Hughes said. "He managed things well for the most part and made some good throws, especially on the short routes. Overall, offensively, we need to find some chemistry."

The Vikings, however, got a key drive to end the half after MSU cut the lead, needing just 1:22 to take a 21-point lead into the locker room. Heid found Heller again to push it to 28-7 at the break.
Minot State had one more opportunity to make a game of it with a long pass from Romanski to Sturm early in the third quarter. The 86-yard TD was the longest score from scrimmage this season for the Beavers and the career long for both Romanski and Sturm. It got the Beavers to 28-14 with 11:40 to play.

"Porter is a program guy. He got after it today and wanted the ball," said Hughes. "We need to work things through him. He's a good wide out and makes plays. We want to continue to work things on offense through him."

But Augustana University pulled away from there as Justin Greenway scored two TDs, on in the middle of the third quarter and another early in the fourth to help the Vikings pull away. Greenway led the Vikings with 82 yards rushing and two scores and helped AU to a 181-73 advantage rushing the ball.

"I thought we played pretty well in spots today and I didn't look to the sideline and think we were frazzled or weren't focused," Hughes said. "I saw that last week even though it was a tight game and that made me frustrated. But prepared pretty well this week and the attitude was good. Augustana was just better than us today – all the way down the line from players to coaches. We just need to get better."

Heid finished with 329 yards passing on 23 of 36 attempts and three TDs. MSU did sack him five times in the game. Ham caught a team-high five passes for 65 yards and rushed for 81 more to pace AU.

Romanski was 21 of 34 in the game for 290 yards and two scores. He threw just one interception and was sacked just once. Sturm finished with six catches for a season-high 153 yards and the two scores. Jarvis Mustipher (Jr., RB, Melbourne, Fla.) led the Beavers with 45 yards rushing. JoseLuis Moreno (Fr., K, San Lorenzo, Calif.) kicked his second field goal of the season, hitting a 29-yarder late in the fourth quarter.

Three Beavers finished with double-figure tackles as Marcel Brinson (Sr., DB, Gilroy, Calif.) had 13, Trevin Swensen (Jr., LB, Shelley, Idaho) finished with 12 and Michael Jenkins (Jr., DB, Orlando, Fla.) added 11. Aaron James (Sr., LB, Oklahoma City, Okla.) and Maurice Talley (Sr., DB, Elk Grove, Calif.) had two sacks each.

MSU returns home to start its NSIC North Division schedule Saturday with its annual Hall of Fame game taking on Northern State at 6 p.m at Herb Parker Stadium.