Welcome
Gustavus welcomes Carleton College to Lloyd Hollingsworth Field today for a late-season MIAC match-up between two teams who are looking to get back on the winning track after disappointing losses last Saturday. The Gusties enter the game with a record of 1-7 overall, and 1-5 in the MIAC, while Carleton enters with a mark of 3-5 overall and 1-5 in the MIAC.
Today is Youth Football Day at Gustavus as the Gustavus Athletic Department and the football program welcome the players and parents of the St. Peter Youth Football Program to Lloyd Hollingsworth Field. The Gustavus football program has been associated with the St. Peter Youth Football Program for over 30 years. On eight Monday nights each fall, the Gustavus players coach lead over 200 fourth through sixth grade youth through practices and games. Gustavus is proud of its long affiliation with the St. Peter Youth Football Program and welcomes the 2005 fall participants to today’s game.
The Series
Gustavus will be facing Carleton for the 31st time today. Carleton holds a slim 14-13-3 advantage in the all-time series. Gustavus has had the upper hand in the series lately winning eight consecutive games dating back to the 1996 season. Gustavus claimed a 40-27 win over the Knights in Northfield last year. Head Coach Jay Schoenebeck has directed his squads to a mark of 9-2 against Carleton since taking charge of the Gustie football program in 1994.
Meet the Head Coaches
Gustavus Head Coach Jay Schoenebeck (’80) is in his twelfth season directing his alma mater. Schoenebeck has compiled a record of 54-61 overall, and 49-51 in the MIAC. Schoenebeck’s squads have placed in the top four in the MIAC in six of the past seven seasons. Chris Brann is in his fifth season as the head coach at Carleton. Brann led the Knights to their best record in seven years in 2003 as the Knights won their final three games of the season to post a record of 3-7. Prior to coming to Carleton, Brann was the defensive coordinator and assistant head coach at the University of Chicago. He is a 1991 graduate of West Virginia Wesleyan College.
A Look at Today’s Game
A Glimpse of the Gusties
The Gustavus football team will look to continue to improve this week against Carleton after losing to St. Thomas 35-14 in St. Paul last Saturday. This young Gustie team has struggled to perform consistently for 60 minutes and the inexperience and youth surfaced once again last Saturday. The Gusties performed well through the first half and the score was tied 7-7 at the intermission. The offense put together an impressive nine-play, 55-yard scoring drive just before halftime as Mitch Anderson scored on a 20-yard run, while the defense limited the Tommies to just 120 yards of offense and one touchdown.
Gustavus opened the second half with a solid nine-play, 58-yard drive that ended with Mitch Anderson running into the end zone from eight yards out to give the Gusties their first lead of the game at 14-7. The Tommies would counter with a touchdown on their next drive to tie the score at 14-14. Unfortunately, Gustavus would commit three turnovers in the next five minutes, two of which St. Thomas would convert into touchdowns giving the Tommies a 28-14 lead that they would not relinquish.
The good news was that the Gusties ran for a season high 140 yards and two touchdowns and the team will look to continue that trend this week against Carleton. The bad news is that the team continued to struggle in the second half. The Gusties have scored 71 points in the first half this season, while their opponents have scored 77, however in the second half, Gustavus has scored 38 points compared to 130 for its opponents. The Tommies outscored the Gusties 28-7 in the second half last Saturday.
The running back duo of Mitch Anderson and Drew Stifter turned in their finest performance of the season combining to rush for 146 yards on 30 carries. Anderson carried 20 times for 80 yards and two touchdowns, while Stifter carried 10 times for 66 yards. Defensively, Jared Sieling, Adam Miron, and Kevin Hegland each recorded eight tackles. Linebacker Justin Redfield recorded six tackles and intercepted a pass for the Gusties.
A View of the Knights
The Knights suffered a disappointing 41-0 loss to Bethel in Arden Hills last Saturday. The setback was the worst of the season for Carleton, which has been steadily improving since Chris Brann became the head coach five years ago. The Knights have already posted three wins this season and nearly knocked off Concordia losing 38-31 in Norhfield in late September.
Last Saturday, however, Carleton never got on track against Bethel. The Royals led 15-0 after the first quarter and 27-0 at the intermission. Bethel added two more touchdowns in the third quarter and went on to post the 41-0 victory. The Royals had a big offensive day against the Knights rolling up 623 yards of offense including 343 yards rushing. Carleton, which is averaging 138.1 yards rushing per game this season, could manage only 50 yards on the ground on 28 carries against the Royals. In addition, the Knights threw four interceptions in the game. Carleton could only manage to get the ball into Bethel territory four times in the game on 16 possessions. Senior running back R.J. Jackson, who is averaging 76.9 yards rushing a game this season, compiled 13 yards on nine carries on Saturday. Carleton used three quarterbacks in the game including starter Darren Caspers, John Hollowed, and Shane Henfling. The trio combined to complete 13-of-33 passes for 102 yards. Linebackers Randy Foss and Jerad Phelps led the Knights in tackles. Foss tallied 13 tackles, while Phelps posted 12 tackles and forced a fumble.
Through six games, Carleton ranks eighth in the league in total offense with an average of 247.0 yards per game. That includes 103.7 rushing and 143.3 passing. R.J. Jackson ranks eighth in the league in rushing per game with an average of 56.0 yards per game. The Knights rank ninth in the league in total defense allowing an average of 444.8 yards per game. That total includes 208.7 yards rushing and 236.2 passing. Linebacker Jerad Phelps ranks eighth in tackles with an average of 8.8 per game, while Foss is right behind him in ninth with an average of 8.5 per game.
STARTING LINEUPS
Gustavus Adolphus College
OFFENSE
11 Jordan Stolp QB
05 Drew Stifter RB
03 Clint Riegelman WR
72 Michael Klayum LT
79 Mark Iverson LG
68 Dan Tiegen C
73 Jared Thelemann RG
63 Ian Ruppel RT
85 Jamie Germscheid TE
17 Kerry Zajicek WR
18 Tom Johnson WR
DEFENSE
31 Blake Theisen LE
66 Andy Klaers LT
53 Nick David RT
91 Chris Cornwell RE
04 Jared Sieling OLB
52 Adam Miron MLB
47 Jon Horbacz OLB
21 Brian Evans CB
12 Wade Wietgrefe SS
16 Kevin Hegland FS
32 Wade Vrieze CB
SPECIAL TEAMS
16 Kevin Hegland LS
32 Wade Vrieze KR
04 Isaac Perry PR
11 Jordan Stolp K
22 Mike Leonard P
17 Kraig Olson H
STARTING LINEUPS
Carleton College
OFFENSE
12 Darren Caspers QB
25 R.J. Jackson RB
20 Wade Thompson RB
84 Alex Marston TE
66 Paul Klick LT
74 Sam Larsen LG
52 Bobby McMillan C
55 Doug Lind RG
64 Aaron Fanta RT
04 Mike Kootsikas WR
81 Matt Frank WR
DEFENSE
40 James Clark DE
98 Pat Frett DT
73 Kaizen Yang DT
91 Adam Witt DE
21 James Colbenson LB
58 Randy Foss LB
57 Jared Phelps LB
38 Nick Brokke CB
15 Luke Muellerleile SS
29 Drew Ziller FS
10 Matt Bond CB
SPECIAL TEAMS
16 Andrew Saalfield LS
20 Wade Thompson KR/PR
25 R.J. Jackson KR/PR
10 Matt Bond K
15 Luke Muellerleile P
05 Ben Cooprider H