WINONA, Minn. – Jake Balliu returned Thursday night's opening kickoff for a 90-yard touchdown as No. 17 Winona State University cruised to a 52-21 victory over Augustana University in the regular season finale at Altra Federal Credit Union Stadium.
The Warriors (10-1), who were picked to finish sixth in the NSIC preseason poll, secured their sixth 10-win season in program history and will received confirmation of their first NCAA postseason berth since 2007 on Sunday.
Balliu entered the frigid night as the hottest return man in the conference. The sophomore became Winona's single-season punt return leader last week and was ranked fifth in the country in combined return yards. Then in the blink of an eye, Balliu gave WSU a 6-0 lead with just 13 seconds run off the clock with his third total return touchdown on the year.
Augustana wasted little time responding with a four-play 67-yard drive to knot the score at 7-7. Viking quarterback Kyle Saddler tossed a perfect ball for a 45-yard pass on his first attempt which set up the scoring drive.
Saddler had two completions on the drive and proceeded to finish the first quarter with just two more completed passes while throwing two interceptions. The Warriors picked off Saddler four times in the first half of the landslide, increasing WSU's DII leading count to 24 interceptions this season.
Nick Pridgeon recorded his fourth interception of the year and returned it 78 yards to give Winona the lead for good and spark a run of 35-unanswered first half points.
Romario Gayle's first of two interceptions on the night set up a Devon Moore touchdown run, and Andrew Spencer's league-leading seventh pick preceded a Javian Roebuck touchdown scamper to give Winona a 28-7 lead after one quarter of action.
Pridgeon, who led WSU with six tackles, forced a Saddler fumble with the Vikings backed up to their goal line early in the second quarter, and Trey Telez scooped up the loose ball for another defensive touchdown. Telez had a pick-six for the Warriors last week.
Starting in his second straight contest under center, Owen Burke connected with Isaiah Frandsen for a 17-yard touchdown pass later in the quarter for the wideout's seventh score of the year.
Roebuck's second touchdown run of the night capped a string of 42 total unanswered points early in the third quarter. The sophomore rushed for 80 yards and concludes the regular season with seven rushing touchdowns.
Augustana crossed the goal line for a pair of scores in the fourth quarter before Winona nearly bookended the night with its second return touchdown. Isaiah Hall exploded for a career-long 74-yard kickoff return late in the fourth quarter, but was tripped up inside the red zone which would allow Carter McCauley to extend his conference and school-record with his 53rd career field goal.
Despite netting just 214 yards of total offense, Winona's 52 points were a season best as the Warriors continue to use every phase of the game to their advantage.
Augustana's season comes to an end with a record of 4-7.
Currently ranked No. 4 in this week's Super Region ranking, Winona is all but locked to host its first home NCAA playoff game since 2004. The Warriors will receive official word of their postseason pairing of a Saturday, November 18 game this Sunday during the NCAA DII selection show scheduled for 4 p.m.
