WELCOME
The Gustavus Adolphus College football team enters Week 7 of the season after enjoying its bye last Saturday. The Gusties come into Saturday’s Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup at Bethel University with a 3-2 overall record and a 1-2 mark in the league, while the Royals are 2-4 overall and 2-2 in the conference after a convincing 56-8 victory at Carleton College last Saturday.
LIVE ACTION
KNUJ AM 860 out of New Ulm, Minn. is broadcasting every Gustavus regular season game. The voice of the Golden Gusties, Tom Wheeler, handles the play-by-play duties for the 11th consecutive season. Fans can listen to the KNUJ broadcasts on the Internet through the Gustavus Athletics website.
Live coverage of Saturday’s game begins at 1 p.m.
LIVE STATS/WATCH LIVE | GUSTAVUS GAME NOTES | BETHEL GAME NOTES
SCOUTING THE GUSTIES
Playing from behind the entire game, the Gustavus football team kept the score close through three quarters on Oct. 1 at Hollingsworth Field, but Concordia widened the gap in the fourth quarter with three unanswered touchdowns to secure a 46-21 victory on Gustavus’s Homecoming. The Gustie defense faced a completely different style of offense from the opponent than it saw the previous week when Hamline amassed nearly 500 yards through the air. Against the Cobbers, it was the ground game of Concordia that carried the load, totaling 400 rushing yards. The Cobbers ran the ball 57 times compared to just nine passing attempts for 18 yards. Chad Johnson paced the Cobber rushing attack with 21 carries for 190 yards and four touchdowns. Christian Haffner (Fy., Lebanon, Tenn.) completed 19-of-29 passes for 234 yards and three touchdowns, including an interception. Jamison Beulke (So., Montgomery, Minn.) had the most catches with four for 33 yards and a touchdown, while Josh Kirk (Fy., Garvin, Minn.) added three receptions for 96 yards and a score. Karim Ortiz (Jr., Cancun, Mexico) led the ground game with 18 carries for 45 yards. Leeland Lauti (Jr., Ewa Beach, Hawaii) paced the defense with 11 tackles.
Head Coach Peter Haugen and the Gusties will look to right the ship Saturday against the No. 1 offense in the league. Haugen is also looking for his first victory against his alma mater. Early season injuries forced to Gusties to dig deep into their depth chart and coming off the bye week, the extra time to work on their craft has the Gustie optimistic about Saturday’s matchup. Haffner will start his third game of the season after beginning the year as the No. 3 quarterback on the depth chart. Running back Luke Martinez is back in the fold after recovering from an injury that occurred in Week 2. Martinez is hoping he can pick up where he left off, having rushed 21 times for 129 yards and three touchdowns in the season opening win at Westminster.
The Gustie defense faces a tough task in Bethel’s No. 1 offense in the MIAC. The Gusties are hoping to slow down the Royals after allowing 400 rushing yards in their last game and nearly 500 passing yards in the game prior. Despite those number, Gustavus’s defense ranks No. 4 in the league, allowing 356.8 yards per game. The Gusties allow an average of 25.6 points per game and have six interceptions, three fumble recoveries, and seven sacks.
GUSTAVUS ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS
SCOUTING THE ROYALS
Notes courtesy of Bethel Sports Information
The Royals come into Saturday’s contest with a 2-4 record (2-2 MIAC) after a convincing 56-8 victory over Carleton last Saturday. Bethel was able to mount 533 yards of total offense that equated to eight touchdowns in their win over the Knights. The Royals defense held the Knights to 52 yards rushing, while intercepting Carleton QB Ethan Trujillo three times. Sophomore running back Gunnar Bloom had a career day last Saturday, as the Otsego, Minn., native carried the ball 17 times for 112 yards and four touchdowns. Bloom, who was averaging 5.05 yards per carry going into the game, finished the day averaging 6.6 yards per carry. Blom’s longest run resulted in a 27-yard touchdown.
Head coach Steve Johnson is sitting on a milestone, as the 28-year staple is one victory shy of 200. Johnson, who has amassed a 199-92-1 record at BU, ranks No. 3 among active Division III head coaches in all-time wins. Currently, there are 11 active coaches among all divisions with 200+ wins and 76 coaches all-time to reach this plateau.
Bryce Marquardt continues to be the go-to target for Bethel quarterbacks and as a result is No. 1 atop the MIAC for yards (660) and yards/game (132.0). Marquardt has recorded four 100-yard games this season and seven throughout his career. Already ranked No. 6 in BU’s history for receiving yards, Marquardt needs to average 80.3 yards/game to break the record. In hopes of exploiting the defense and capitalizing on individual strengths, Bethel has purposefully played two quarterbacks or more in every game this season. Getting time under center in every game is Trey Anderson, who is 15-of-25 (60.0%) for 210 yards and two touchdowns, while recent starter Jake Marsh is 40-65 (61.5%) for 641 yards and three TDs.
Bethel’s special teams unit is in elite company this year, as the Royals rank No. 1 nationwide in blocked punts with a total of three and No. 2 nationally in blocked kicks with a total of five. BU’s Dawson Brown blocked his third punt of the season last week against Carleton, which puts him No. 2 among all Division III football players nationwide.
Bethel’s offensive numbers continue to lead the league, as the Royals rank No. 1 across the MIAC in total yards (2,857), yards per game (476.2), passing yards (1,715), and completions (135). Additionally, BU ranks No. 1 in rushing TDs (21), first downs (150) and first downs per game (25.0). Bethel recorded its third 530+ performance of the year last week. Bethel’s offensive line has been sensational—statistically speaking—in 2016. The Royals are ranked No. 3 among all Division III teams (244) in sacks allowed with an average of 0.3 per game and No. 15 nationally in tackles for loss allowed with an average of 3.83. Moreover, Bethel’s moving company ranks No. 1 among all MIAC opponents in both categories.
BETHEL ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS