St. Bonifacius, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus football team started the 2015 season Saturday on a positive note with a convincing 56-13 victory at Crown College in non-conference action.
The Gusties accumulated 683 yards of total offense, breaking the program record for most total yards of offense in a game, which previously stood at 650 yards in a 49-17 victory over Concordia in 1998.
“Solid first game for our team,” Head Coach Peter Haugen said. “Great energy early. We need to clean up penalties and learn from our mistakes.”
Most of the yards Saturday came in the first half as Gustavus jumped out to a 28-0 lead after the first quarter and entered the locker room at halftime with a comfortable 49-6 advantage.
Leeland Lauti (So., Ewa, Hawaii) got the game going with an 11-yard touchdown run at the 8:42 mark in the first quarter. The touchdown run capped an 11-play, 91-yard drive.
The Gustie defense forced a three-and-out on the next possession, which was highlighted by a sack by Tyler Jakes (Jr., North Mankato, Minn.) for a 10-yard loss. The Black and Gold then started at its own 32 and drove the field in five plays, ending with a four-yard touchdown from Mitch Hendricks (Sr., Bemidji, Minn.) to Gabe Boyce (Sr., Excelsior, Minn.) to take a 14-0 lead after the Brendan Boche (So., Lakeville, Minn.) extra point.
Another three-and-out by the Gustie defense put the ball back into the offense’s hands at its own 28. After a false start put the Gusties back five yards, Hendricks then fired a strike to Matt Boyce (Sr., Excelsior, Minn.) for a 77-yard touchdown with 4:58 left in the first quarter.
Crown got its first first down on the ensuing possession, but on the seventh play of the drive, the Storm were forced to punt. Gustavus started at its own 34 and after five plays and a first down, Hendricks connected with George Buchner (Jr., Excelsior, Minn.) for a 52-yard touchdown to take a 27-0 lead. The Boche extra point made it 28-0.
On the ensuing kickoff, Sergio De Pablos Velez (Jr., Cancun, Mexico) forced a fumble that was recovered by Nathan Hajder (So., Rogers, Minn.) at the Crown 30. The offense gained two first downs on its next two plays and the whistle blew to end the first quarter with the Gusties leading 28-0 and the ball on the Crown four-yard line.
DaiVon Poole (So., San Angelo, Texas) then started the second quarter with a four-yard touchdown to make it 35-0 after the Boche extra point.
Crown finally got on the scoreboard after a 10-play, 75-yard drive, ending with a two-yard touchdown pass. The extra point failed and the score read 35-6 Gustavus with 9:49 left in the second quarter.
The Gusties started the next drive at their own 18 and drove the field in 10 plays, finishing with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Hendricks to Matt Boyce. Another Boche extra point made it 42-6 Gustavus.
Another three-and-out by the Gustie defense gave the ball back to the offense at its own 34. On the fourth play of the drive, Hendricks was intercepted, but the Crown offense was unable to capitalize and its drive faltered after five plays. The Storm’s punt was downed at the Gustavus two-yard line with 3:12 left in the half.
Starting in the shadow of its own goal post, the Gustie offense used two big passing plays to drive the field for a touchdown in nine plays. The first big-yardage play was a 27-yard Hendricks-to-Matt Boyce connection on a third and 10 from the two-yard line. And the next was a 46-yard touchdown pass once again from Hendricks to Matt Boyce. The Boche extra point gave the Gusties a 49-6 advantage with 1:03 left in the half, and that score stood at half time.
After a frenzy of offense in the first two quarters, neither team was able to reach the end zone in the third. Crown fumbled the ball on its first drive of the quarter, which was recovered by Jakes at the Crown 45. The Gusties got down to the 11-yard line, but Boche missed a 28-yard field goal wide left.
Crown’s ensuing drive went 14 plays and 58 yards, but ended on another fumble on a fourth down attempt.
Gustavus followed with a three-and-out on the next possession and the Storm started their next drive at their own 35. After three plays and a first down, the whistle blew and the third quarter ended with the Gusties leading 49-6.
Crown continued its drive in the fourth quarter and found the end zone after seven plays, finishing on a four-yard rushing touchdown.
Gustavus couldn’t get much going on its next drive and went three-and-out.
The Storm responded with a 10-play drive, but Josh Curtis (Fy., Houston, Texas) recorded his first collegiate interception and gave the Gusties the ball at their own 35.
With Sam Lundberg (Sr., Ellendale, Minn.) in at quarterback in place of Hendricks, Lundberg directed a 13-play, 65-yard drive that ended on a one-yard quarterback keeper for a touchdown with 2:06 remaining in the game. The Boche extra point made it 56-13 and the score stood for a final.
Gustavus compiled 263 yards rushing and 420 passing for its record-setting 683 yards of total offense. The offense tallied 73 plays and average 9.4 yards per play.
Hendricks completed 25-of-32 passes for 385 yards and four touchdowns. He also had two interceptions.
Gabe Boyce was Hendricks’ favorite target, hauling in nine receptions for 71 yards and a touchdown.
Matt Boyce led the receiving corps with 217 yards on eight catches and two touchdowns. Boyce’s 217 yards receiving is third most in a single game in program history.
Lauti led the ground attack, rushing 10 times for 101 yards and a touchdown.
Jakes, Kysten Zierke (So., Blue Earth, Minn.) and Anders Raarup (Eagan, Minn.) paced the defensive front with six tackles each.
Gustavus starts the season 1-0 overall and returns to St. Peter Saturday for its home opener against Lake Forest College. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m.