Kraft’s Career Night Spoiled By Augie’s Theft on Halloween

Posted on November 1, 2026 by - Sports

Aberdeen, SD (NSUWolves.com) – A pair of receiving votes AFCA teams matched up from Dacotah Bank Stadium on Saturday evening, with the Northern State University Wolves falling to Augustana in a back and forth, blow for blow battle. The two teams traded scores and leads throughout; however, the Vikings broke through with seven unanswered points in the fourth. Each team tallied over 500 yards of total offense in the game with Northern leading the charge with 528.

THE QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: NSU 24, AU 31
Records: NSU 6-3 (5-3 NSIC), AU 7-2 (6-2 NSIC)
Attendance: 5,587

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • The Vikings scored on the opening drive of the contest on a 4-play, 79-yard drive capped off by a 29-yard rushing score at 13:39
  • Northern went 3-and-out on the following drive and Augustana made their way to the NSU26 and threatened a score as Kegan Mountain pulled down the interception at the NSU 2-yard line
  • Hank Kraft capitalized on the turnover for the Wolves in school record fashion, notching a 96-yard touchdown run with 7:55 on the clock
  • The Wolves gained the lead with under three minutes remaining in the second as Joey Dube-Garrett connected with DJ Smith for a 22-yard touchdown in the back corner of the endzone
  • Augustana rallied quickly and scored in the final minute of the first half on a 2-yard rush and the teams entered the locker room knotted up at 14
  • Kraft opened the second half for NSU with his second 50-plus yard run of the evening, running 80-yards to the endzone for the 21-14 Northern State lead
  • Augie tied things up on the following drive, however the Wolves were not done in the third
  • On his second field goal attempt of the day, Jeremy Caruso sent a 25-yarder through the uprights, giving NSU the 24-21 lead
  • The Vikings responded with a 30-yard field goal of their own at 1:04 in the third and the two teams traded drives
  • Augustana scored their final touchdown of the contest at 3:26 in the fourth and held the Wolves at bay forcing an interception with under a minute to play
  • Northern led the contest with 528 yards of total offense, including 333 yards rushing
  • The defense notched one sack, one interception, and held the Vikings to just 1-of-8 on third down and 0-of-1 on fourth down
  • Not only did Kraft tie the school record for longest scoring run, but he also rushed for a career high 329 yards in the game, surpassing the previous single game rushing yard total by 51-yards
  • Kraft averaged 13.7 yards per carry in the win with a 96-yard, 80-yard, and 33-yard attempt
  • Dube-Garrett made his second start of the year, throwing for 195 total yards with one touchdown, completing 15-of-27 attempts
  • DJ Smith racked up a career high 115 yards receiving with one touchdown, averaging 23-yards per reception with a 46-yard long, while Cooper Eisenbeisz followed with 69 yards receiving and a 40-yard long
  • Jake Adams led the defense with nine tackles, while the Wolves secondary tallied ten pass break-ups in the contest led by Darion Nundley with three
  • Joshua Brown and Cooper Logan followed with seven and six tackles respectively, while Brown recorded two pass break-ups
  • Gabe Gutierrez added to his season sack total with one for a loss of two yards and recorded a 5-yard tackle for a loss
  • In the kicking game, Keaton Docken averaged 42.8 yards per punt with a 53-yard long and Caruso went 2-for-2 in PATs, 1-for-2 in field goals, and averaged 55.2 yards per kickoff
  • Smith added 52 kick return yards, followed by Eisenbeisz with 24

NORTHERN STATE STATISTICAL STANDOUTS

  • Hank Kraft: 329 yards rushing, 2 touchdowns, 13.7 yards per rush
  • Joey Dube-Garrett: 195 yards passing, 1 touchdown, 55.6 pass completion%
  • DJ Smith: 115 yards receiving, 1 touchdown, 23.0 yards per catch, 52 kick return yards
  • Jake Adams: 9 tackles, 6 solo tackles

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

  • Kraft knocked down two single game records in the win, tying Wyatt Block for the longest scoring run on his 96-yard opening touchdown and surpassing Tyrone Morgan for rushing yards gained
  • Morgan previously held the top-3 spots for single  game rushing yards with 278, 272, and 266 between the 1998 and 1999 seasons

UP NEXT
The Wolves hit the road next Saturday, November 7 traveling to Minot State. Kick-off is set for 1 p.m. versus the Beavers. David Tukesbrey will provide the play-by-play from “The Magic City” on Fox Sports Aberdeen 1420 & 98.5 + audio on the Hub City Radio app. Pregame coverage begins at 12p & kickoff at 1p.

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