Lucas Armstrong powers through the Northwestern defense for five of his career-high 180 yards rushing.
The Gustavus offense amassed 434 yards of total offense, while the defense limited the Northwestern offense to 149 yards and the result was a 29-0 win by the Gusties over the Eagles at Hollingsworth Field on Saturday afternoon in St. Peter. Senior running back Lucas Armstrong sparked the Gustavus running game with a career-high 23 carries for 180 yards and one touchdown, while senior linebacker Jade Kotila anchored the defense with 10 assisted tackles and two interceptions. Gustavus, which improved to 1-1 overall, will host St. Olaf for Homecoming next Saturday at 1:30 pm. Northwestern, which fell to 0-3 overall, will host MacMurray College next Saturday at 1:00 pm.
Both teams moved the ball in the first quarter with the Gusties running 18 plays for 92 yards and the Eagles running 15 plays for 99 yards, but neither team could put any points on the scoreboard and the score was tied 0-0 after the first 15 minutes of play.
Early in the second quarter Gustavus Jade Kotila intercepted a Northwestern pass and returned it 10 yards to the Eagles 10-yard line. Two plays later, the Gusties scored on an eight-yard pass from Logan Becker to Muresuk Mena. The extra point was blocked and Gustavus led 6-0. The Gusties would pick up a 28-yard field goal by Tom Huepenbecker later in the quarter giving Gustavus a 9-0 lead at halftime. The Gustie defense shut the Northwestern offense down in the second quarter allowing the Eagles eight yards on 12 plays.
Gustavus would take control of the game in the second half as the offense ran 34 plays for 254 yards, while chewing up nearly 19 minutes on the clock (18:47) and scoring three touchdowns. The defense was just as impressive limiting Northwestern’s offense to eight yards of total offense on 20 plays and never allowing the Eagles past the 50-yard line.
The Gusties three second half touchdowns were scored on a four-yard run by Logan Becker in the third quarter, a four-yard run by Lucas Armstrong early in the fourth quarter and a 35-yard run by Jeffrey Dubose late in the fourth quarter. Armstrong was the workhorse offensively for the Gusties in the second half as he carried 15 times for 128 yards and a touchdown. He finished the game with 23 carries for 180 yards, which is the 16th highest single game rushing total in the program’s history. Quarterback Logan Beck turned in a solid all-around performance as he rushed nine times for 20 yards and one touchdown, while also completing 19-of-28 passes for 156 yards and one touchdown with one interception.
Defensively, the Gusties were led by linebacker Jade Kotila who registered 10 assisted tackles and recorded two interceptions one which led to a touchdown the other led to a field goal.
Gustavus will play its third consecutive home game next Saturday when it hosts St. Olaf for Homecoming. The Oles, who are 2-1 overall and 0-1 in the MIAC, suffered a 49-14 loss to St. Thomas in Northfield on Saturday.