WELCOME
Gustavus welcomes Coe College of Cedar Rapids, Iowa to Lloyd Hollingsworth Field
today. The Gusties will be playing their first game of the 2009 season, while Coe opened
with an exciting 9-7 win over Augustana College of Illinois last Saturday. Gustavus,
which finished 6-4 overall and 4-4 in the MIAC last season, has been tabbed to finish
sixth this year by the league’s coaches, while Coe, which finished 4-6 overall and 4-4 in the
IIAC last season, has been picked to finish seventh this year by the league’s coaches.
THE SERIES
This will be the second meeting between Gustavus and Coe on the football field. The
Gusties claimed a 27-19 victory in the first ever meeting last season in Cedar Rapids.
Elliot Herdina made his first game as a Gustavus football player one to remember as
he rushed three times for 74 yards, including a 68-yard TD scamper, and caught three
passes for 40 yards including a nine-yard TD re- ception. The Gusties are 5-4 all-time against teams from the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC).
THE HEAD COACHES
Gustavus Head Coach Peter Haugen is in his first season directing the Golden Gustie foot-
ball program. Haugen will walk on to Lloyd Hollingsworth Field as a collegiate head coach
for the first time today. He is no stranger to the collegiate game, however having played
and coached at Bethel University in Arden Hills, Minnesota in the late ’80s and early
’90s. Coe Head Coach Steve Staker is in his second season directing the Kohawk football
program. He was the defensive coordinator for Coe just prior to being named the head coach, however he has been coaching football his entire life and served as the head coach at Fredericksburg High School in Iowa for 35 years before coming to Coe.
A GLIMPSE OF THE GUSTIES
The Gustavus football program begins a new era today as Peter Haugen takes the field as the 17th head coach in the history of the Gustavus football program. Haugen, who spent 15 successful years as the head coach at Washburn High School in Minneapolis, will build his squad around 34 letterwinners (19 on defense and 15 on offense) return- ing from a team that finished 6-4 overall and placed fifth in the MIAC with a league mark of 4-4.
The Gustavus defense returns seven starters, including its entire linebacking corps. Senior linebacker Tony Palma returns after a season where he recorded 83 tackles and was a First-Team All-MIAC selection. Junior linebackers Zach Lundquist, Paul Stommes and Dustin Kammerer will look to build upon successful sophomore seasons where the three combined for 171 tackles. The Gustavus secondary returns safety Joe Welch, who was named to Lindy’s Magazine Preseason All-America First Team and D3football.com Preseason All-America Second Team. Playing next to Welch will be Dan Opitz, Brad Kruckeberg, and Mike Mohs. The defensive line will look to returning starter Christian Vanek to help ease the loss of All-Conference defensive lineman Brian Berglund and starter Ted Aleckson. Expected to step in next to Vanek will be Scott Wilkie, Tom Einberger, and Todd Kremmin.
The Gustavus offense also returns seven starters including quarterback Jordan Becker. Becker enters the season as the top returning quarterback statistically in the MIAC after finishing third in the league in passing yards per game with 187.2 and fourth overall in total offense with 202.9 yards per game. The backfield will be filled with fresh faces. First in line will be Division II transfer Mike Wubbena. Wubbena transferred from Augustana College in South Dakota a season ago, but suffered a season-ending knee injury before the season began. The receiving corps, will be led by Elliot Herdina, Cody Sukalski, and Cameron Maurer. In the trenches, the Gusties return three starters including center Kevin Geurink, right guard Mike May, and right tackle Chris Martinez.
A VIEW OF THE KOHAWKS
Coe opened its season at home last week with a thrilling 9-7 win over Augustana College of Illinois. The Kohawks helped foil an Augustana 23-yard field goal attempt with :06 left on the clock that would have allowed the Vikings to escape with a 10-9 win.
The Coe defensive unit, which is expected to be very good this season, was the story for the
Kohawks, limiting Augustana to 235 yards of total offense including just 100 yards through the air. Freshman end Frank Weymiller led the way with 12 tackles. The Coe offense compiled 275 yards in the contest including 207 yards in the air, and 68 on the ground. Sophomore quarterback Brad Boyle completed 25-of-32 passes for 207 yards and one touchdown, while senior running back Sam Hammes carried 10 times for 39 yards.
After a disappointing 4-6 season in 2008, the Coe College Kohawks look to rebound during the 2009 campaign. Despite the losing record, Coe went 4-0 on the road in the tough Iowa Conference. The Kohawks will once again be anchored by the team’s defense, which will be led by a talented senior linebacking crew including Tate Harrison, Calvin Thomas and Ross Yeast. Harrison and Thomas, who both registered 120 tackles in 2008, were D3football.com All-Region selections. Offensively, Coe will look to senior running back Sam Hammes, and wide receivers Nick Ratchford, and Robert Welborn. Coach Steve Staker will need to replace five offensive linemen and decide on a starting quarterback as returners Brad Boyle and Patrick Wallace each started two games last season. The Kohawks do return junior kicker Elliot Rausa, who is a candidate for the Fred Mitchell Award, given to the top place kicker in NCAA Divisions II and III.
GUSTIE GAME NOTES
Gusties Take the Field for Their 93rd Season
The Gustavus football team will kick-off its 93rd football season today at Lloyd Hollingsworth Field. The Gusties have compiled an all-time record of 56-32-4 in home openers including a 2-0 mark since moving to the new stadium in 2007. Gustavus claimed an 11-6 win over Mankato Normal in its first-ever home game in 1902. That game was played on what is now the Nicollet County Fairgrounds on the north end of St. Peter.
Welch Recognized as One of the Best
Senior safety Joe Welch has been getting a lot of attention from those that follow Division III football lately as he was named to two 2009 Preseason All-America squads. Welch, who was a Third Team D3football.com All-America selection at the end of last season, has been named to the First Team of the Lindy’s Magazine Preseason All-America squad and to the Second Team of the D3football.com Preseason All-America unit. A three-year regular, and two-time captain for the Gusties, Welch led the team defensively a year ago with 98 tackles, five interceptions, and one fumble recovery.
Follow the Gusties on KNUJ
KNUJ AM 860 Radio out of New Ulm, Minnesota will once again broadcast all ten of the Gustavus regular season football games. Tom Wheeler will handle the play-by-play for the fourth consecutive year. You can listen to the KNUJ broadcasts on the internet at gustavus.edu/athletics/audio.cfm. In addition, Gustavus will video stream all home games for viewing on your computer. You can access the video stream on the Gustavus audio page at the address listed above. An additional feature this season is live stats, which will be available at gustavus.edu/athletics/fb/live/xlive.htm.
2009 Home Schedule
Today’s contest is the first of six home games at Hollingsworth Field in 2009. On October 10, the Gusties will face Pacific Lutheran University for Homecoming, then on October 17th, Gustavus will face Carleton on Hall of Fame Day, and finally on November 7, the Gusties will battle St. Olaf on Senior Day.
Hoag Playing in the UFL
Former Gustavus standout wide receiver Ryan Hoag, who graduated in 2003, and has played professionally with the Oakland Raiders, the New York Giants, the Minnesota Vikings, the Washington Redskins, and the Jacksonville Jaguars has signed a contract to play with the New York Sentinels of the fledgling United Football League, which will begin play on Oct. 10. Hoag starts training camp tomorrow in Orlando, Florida. You will be able to watch UFL games on the Versus network and you can follow Ryan’s progress through his blog on the Gustavus football web page. The link to the blog will go live some time in the next week. Be sure to check the link at http://gustavus.edu/athletics/fb.
STARTING LINEUPS
Gustavus Adolphus College
OFFENSE
7 Jordan Becker…………………….QB
3 Mike Wubbena……………………RB
49 Brandon Jonker…………………..FB
1 Cody Sukalski…………………….WR
79 Jack Breckner…………………….LT
78 Barry Koppen……………………..LG
68 Kevin Geurink……………………..C
51 Mike May………………………….RG
65 Chris Martinez…………………….RT
85 Cameron Maurer………………….TE
8 Elliot Herdina…………………….WR
DEFENSE
98 Christian Vanek……………………E
60 Tom Einberger…………………….N
93 Todd Kremmin…………………….T
53 Paul Stommes……………………OLB
25 Dustin Kammerer………………..OLB
52 Zach Lundquist………………….MLB
45 Tony Palma……………………….MLB
28 Dan Opitz………………………….CB
6 Brad Kruckeberg………………….CB
34 Mike Mohs…………………………FS
21 Joe Welch…………………………SS
SPECIAL TEAMS
18 Tom Huepenbecker………………PK
12 Matt Knutson……………………..P
4 Logan Becker……………………..H
21 Joe Welch…………………………LS
1 Cody Sukalski……………………..KR
8 Elliot Herdina…………………….KR
8 Elliot Herdina…………………….PR
Coe College
OFFENSE
14 Brad Boyle………………………..QB
3 Sam Hammes……………………..RB
24 Michael Rozum……………………H
80 Nick Ratchford……………………WR
63 Joel Brockmeyer………………….LT
66 Sam Wright……………………….LG
65 Logan Weber………………………C
61 Charlie Goetzinger……………….RG
73 Carrington Daniel………………..RT
8 Robert Welborn…………………..WR
7 Tyler Takes………………………..WR
DEFENSE
99 Frank Weymiller………………….DE
98 Tyler Henry………………………..DT
58 Elias Randel……………………….DT
92 Nate Clear…………………………DE
46 Ross Yeast………………………..SLB
34 Tate Harrison…………………….MLB
33 Calvin Thomas…………………..WLB
9 Kyle Polich………………………..CB
29 Joe Giachino………………………FS
25 Seth Johnson……………………..SS
18 Jake Breitbach……………………CB
SPECIAL TEAMS
20 Elliot Rause……………………….PK
85 Chase Cooling……………………..P
80 Nick Ratchford…………………….H
7 Tyler Takes………………………..PR
7 Tyler Takes………………………..KR