The stakes were high going into Saturday’s game against Augustana University after the NCAA DII Regional Rankings came out last Monday. 

The regional rankings split Division II football into four regions and list 10 playoff contenders for each. Winona State falls in region four, which includes the NSIC, Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, and the Lone Star Conference for 34 teams overall.  

Six schools in the NSIC made the list, making for a competitive last three weeks of the season.  

That list includes Augustana, Bemidji, Minnesota State – Mankato, Sioux Falls, Wayne State and Winona State. 

Before this week, five of those teams sat 6-2 with the outlier being Sioux Falls 7-1.

For a team to make playoffs, they can have two losses but not three. It is extremely rare to see a team make playoffs with three losses, although it is possible.  

Augustana made playoffs last year before losing against Bemidji in the first round.  

The game on Saturday was strong from the start with two touchdowns in the first quarter, both touchdowns from Darryl Williams off a Trevor Paulsen throw.   

The first was a 30-yard passing strike, shortly followed by a 15-yard route. 

The Vikings turned the heat up a notch defensively to produce no points on either side in the second quarter for a score of 14-0 going into the locker room.  

“Just coming out with that mindset, it’s 0-0. It’s a whole new half of football,” Williams said about approaching the second half. “We gotta start fast and finish fast.” 

With high hopes and pressure, the crowd became nervous since the Warriors themselves have proved that going into halftime up by 14 means nothing.

The third quarter brought a punt exchange for a few minutes before Jacob Scott hit a 31-yard field goal to drive the score even further apart and a three-possession difference.  

“I’d say my individual goal is obviously not to miss another kick,” Scott said on Sept. 24.  

This game brought Scott’s perfect PAT streak to 28 straight, holding his goal true.  

The Vikings scored in the fourth to avoid a complete shutout when Jack Fisher caught a 33-yard pass from Casey Bauman. 

The last score of the game was from Ikenna Ujuagua, his first collegiate touchdown, after an interception.  

With a 24-7 victory, the game officially moves Winona State one step closer to playoffs and Augustana off the board.  

In another NSIC news, after the big win against Sioux Falls last weekend, the Cougars lost again this week against Minnesota State – Mankato to bring their season record to 7-2.  

Defensively there was several standouts on Saturday. Clay Schueffner had 11 tackles, followed by Mitch Snitker having seven along with an interception. The Warriors also saw four sacks from Carter Duxbury, Kyjuan Vengrowsky and Corrie King having two.

“Continue to ball out running the football, continuing to steal possessions for our offense,” King said about his goals for the defensive side for the rest of the season. “And then for the defensive line, just make offensive line and quarterbacks’ job hard, impossible, you know. Making him conscientious of us and making sure that we are constantly putting pressure on them.” 

Today also marked the last home game of the season, meaning Senior Day. 

The graduating seniors include Williams, Mike Young, Snitker, Ricky Smalling, Schleicher, Samuel Santiago-Lloyd, Anthony Quinn, David Munson, Ben McCabe, Sawyer Maly, Dominik London, Luc Leszczynski, Corrie King, Carter Duxbury, Payton Dachel, Brian Corbins Jr., Joe Carlson and Tyler Anderson. 

Williams is a wide receiver from Chetek, Wis. with 960 kick return yards, 333 punt return yards, and 682 receiving yards across 33 games. He also has scored seven touchdowns as a Warriors. 

Young is a wide receiver from Fort Dodge, Iowa who came from Iowa Central Community College. He has accomplished 294 receiving yards across 18 games played. He is also a Winona State Presidential Scholar.  

Snitker is a defensive back from Waukon, Iowa who was on the 2021 NSIC All-Conference Defense, Second Team as well as Myles Brand Award Recipient and on the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team. He also has served on Team Leadership Council since 2019. Snitker has had 159 total tackles across 32 games played. 

Smalling is a wide receiver from Chicago, Ill. who comes to Winona State after playing at University of Illinois in the 2017-2019 seasons. He has played in eight games for a total of 162 receiving yards. 

Schleicher is a tight end from Hammond, Ind. who earned NSIC All-Conference and D2CCA All-Region Super 4 Second Team in the 2021 season. He has played 39 games for 776 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.  

Santiago-Lloyd is a running back from Milwaukee, Wis. This year, he is a team captain and on the leadership council. In 2019, Santiago-Lloyd got named to the All-NSIC South First Team Offense and in 2018 was named to an All-NSIC Honorable Mention. He has played 42 games for 2160 rushing yards, 369 receiving yards, and 19 touchdowns.  

Quinn is a fullback from Oak Lawn, Ill. who is a presidential scholar and a college of science and engineering committee advisor. He’s played in 20 games for 19 total tackles. 

Munson is a defensive back from Chicago, Ill. who has played in 22 games for 41 total tackles.  

McCabe is a linebacker from Caledonia, Minn. He’s played in 43 games for 93 total tackles. McCabe also has a younger brother on the team who is a running back, Nick McCabe.  

Maly is a wide receiver from Waunakee, Wis. who is an NSIC All-Academic Team of Excellence and WSU Presidential Scholar. He’s played 28 games for 571 receiving yards and six touchdowns.   

London is a running back from Woodbury, Minn. He’s played 13 games for 523 rushing yards and 69 receiving yards, along with four touchdowns. 

Leszczynski is a defensive lineman from Muskego, Wis. He’s a captain this year, as well as a member of SAAC and Football Team Leadership Council. In 2021, he was a CoSIDA Academic All-American, in 2020 CoSIDA All-District First Team, and in 2019 NSIC All-Academic team. He’s racked a total of 72 tackles across 40 games.  

Dachel is an offensive lineman from Bloomer, Wis. He was named an NSIC preseason offensive player to watch this year, and NSIC All-Academic in 2021 and 2020.  

Corbins is a defensive back from Milwaukee, Wis. Last year, he played eight games for a total of three tackles.  

Carlson is an offensive lineman from Mukwonago, Wis. He’s a member of leadership council and was named to the NSIC All-Academic Team in 2019. He’s played in a total of 37 games.  

Anderson is a wide receiver from Forest City, Iowa and has been a team captain the past two years. Throughout 32 games, he has 856 receiving yards. 

King is a defensive lineman from Minnetonka, Minn. He’s on leadership council and has played in 27 games. He’s had a total of 53 tackles, including 15 this season so far.  

Duxbury is a linebacker from Chatfield, Minn. This year, he was named on Lindy’s Sports All America 1st Team. In 2021, he was an Associated Press All American, CoSIDA Academic All American, AFCA All American, CoSIDA All-District, as well as being named onto NSIC All-Academic every year that he’s been here. He is also on team leadership council and is a WSU Presidential Award Winner. Throughout 41 games, he’s had 155 tackles and one touchdown. 

Next week, the Warriors head to Fayette, Iowa to play Upper Iowa University, who’s record is 1-8 this season. With two games left in the season, it’s crucial that the Warriors win both if they want to secure a playoff spot.  

Stay tuned at www.winonan.org or tune in next Saturday at noon on KQAL 89.5.