Mitch Hendricks Named MIAC Football Offensive Player Of The Week

Bloomington, Minn. – For his standout performance on Saturday in the Gustavus football team’s season-opening 44-17 win over Crown College at Hollingsworth Field, junior quarterback Mitch Hendricks (Laporte, Minn.) has been honored by the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference as the Offensive Player-of-the-Week.

“Mitch had a tremendous day and it’s great to see him honored for such a great performance in the opening game of the season,” said Head Coach Peter Haugen. “The offense functioned extremely well, particularly in the passing game. Mitch had time to throw – which was great to see with our young offensive line – and was efficient and accurate throughout the day. We’re happy for him and the offense as a whole and we hope that we can keep it rolling into next weekend.”

Now in his second full-time season at the helm of Gustavus’s offense, Mitch Hendricks was deliberate, efficient, and on the mark against Crown. Through the first quarter, Hendricks was 8-for-8 for 106 yards with two passing touchdowns, which included a 12-yard touchdown pass to Harrison Feldkamp (Jr., Sibley, Iowa) and 28-yard strike to Matt Boyce (Jr., Excelsior, Minn.). Matt Boyce was Hendricks’s top target of the afternoon, finishing the game with three touchdown receptions and nine catches for 151 yards.

By halftime, the Bemidji High School product had thrown for 215 yard and two more touchdowns. In the second quarter he connected with Matt Boyce twice for touchdowns – the first from 37 yards out and the second from 18 yards.

Mitch finished the day with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Gabriel Boyce (Jr., Excelsior, Minn.) on the opening drive of the third quarter and an eight-yard touchdown run less then one minute into the fourth.

With the time to sit in the pocket thanks to an offensive line that allowed little to no backfield pressure, Hendricks completed 23 of his 28 passes for a total of 281 yards to go along with five touchdowns. His 23 completions, 82.1-percent completion percentage, 281 yards, and five throwing touchdowns were the top marks within their respective statistical categories amongst MIAC quarterbacks in the opening weekend of the 2014 season.

His five touchdown passes rank second in school history and are the most since Jordan Becker ’10 threw for five touchdowns against Pacific Lutheran on Oct. 2009. Jordan Stolp ’08 also threw for five touchdowns against Augsburg on Oct. 8, 2005, while Bob Southworth ’99 holds the school-record with six against Hamline on Oct. 31, 1998. With his added rushing touchdown, Hendricks is the first Gustavus player to account for six touchdowns in a game since Southworth’s aerial display against the Pipers in 1998.

Mitch Hendricks is the first Gustavus quarterback to earn MIAC Athlete-of-the-Week honors since Oct. 12, 2009 when Jordan Becker won the award.

Hendricks and the rest of the Gustavus offense will look to build on the momentum as the Gusties head on the road for the squad’s final non-conference test of the season. Gustavus will travel to Lake Forest, Illinois to take on the Forresters of Lake Forest College on Saturday, Sept. 13. Kick off is set for 1:00 p.m.

MIAC Release