Football Cruises Past St. Olaf 58-34, Hendricks Breaks Career Passing Touchdowns Record Posted on October 10th, 2015 by CJ Siewert

BOX SCORE

ST. PETER, Minn. – The No. 23-ranked Gustavus football team cruised to a 58-34 win over St. Olaf College on Saturday afternoon and in the process quarterback Mitch Hendricks (Sr., Laporte, Minn.) became the program’s all-time leader in passing touchdowns. Hendricks threw five touchdowns on the day to increase his career total to 67, passing the previous record of 65 set by Jordan Stolp (2004-07).

“Mitch has meant so much to this program ever since he came here as a transfer,” Head Coach Peter Haugen said. “He got acclimated and gained the trust of our players early on. He is an intense competitor, works really hard and has taken the role as a leader very seriously. We are excited for him and this accomplishment reflects well on the guys that work around him – from the scout team to the offense and the coaches, it’s a great achievement.”

Not to be overshadowed by Hendricks’ career day, Jake Douglas (Sr., Montevideo, Minn.) had the best performance by a Gustavus tight end dating back more than 35 years. Douglas led the Gusties in receiving with 172 yards on nine catches and three touchdowns – proving to be the highest marks by a Gustie tight end in decades.

“It was a big day for the tight ends and especially Jake,” Haugen said. “I think St. Olaf was keyed in on our receivers so that opened it up and we were able to get our tight ends loose.”

With the win, the Gusties improve to 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, while the Oles drop to 1-5 overall and 0-4 in the MIAC. The Gusties accumulated 575 total yards of offense and the Oles tallied 382 total yards.

For the first time this season, the Gusties played with a deficit as St. Olaf scored on its first possession of the game. The Oles drove 75 yards in 10 plays and finished the drive on a four-yard touchdown rush to take an early lead. Gustavus responded with its own scoring drive, going 65 yards in seven plays. DaiVon Poole (So., San Angelo, Texas) capped the drive with a four-yard touchdown run.

On the ensuing possession, the Gustie defense forced a three-and-out, giving the ball back to the Black and Gold at its own 41-yard line after the punt. The offense couldn’t capitalize, though, as a fumble gave the ball back to the Oles at the their own 22-yard line. The Oles took advantage of the turnover and drove the field in seven plays, finishing with a 26-yard touchdown run to take a 14-7 lead after the extra point.

“At the beginning of the game it was something we haven’t seen all year,” Haugen said. “They had two running backs in the game and one of them was out for several weeks, and he was their premier running back from last year. He got a start again today after not being in the lineup now for a while, so they put their two top running backs in there and gave us some zone and option reads, and that gave us a tough time, but we managed through that and the defense tightened up.”

Once again, Gustavus answered with a scoring drive, this time going 43 yards in eight plays. The Gusties started with good field position after a 24-yard return by Drew Fredericksen (So., Forsyth, Ill.) followed by a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty on the Oles. Karim Ortiz (So., Cancun, Mexico) scored the Gusties’ second rushing touchdown on a one-yard carry to tie the game after the Brendan Boche (So., Lakeville, Minn.) extra point and the score read 14-14 after the first quarter.

The second quarter was all Gustavus as it scored 23 points and surrendered zero. The Gusties took their first lead of the game at the 10:48 mark of the second quarter. Hunter Johnson (So., Cannon Falls, Minn.) capped a nine-play, 66-yard drive with a four-yard touchdown catch.

The Gustavus defense then forced a three-and-out and the special teams came up with its play of the game. The snap of the punt got past the St. Olaf punter as he then had to dive on the ball in the end zone with the Gusties closing in. The special teams forced a safety to take a 23-14 advantage.

Gustavus then started the following drive at midfield and found the end zone after five plays. A 32-yard strike from Hendricks to Matt Boyce (Sr., Excelsior, Minn.) got the Gusties down to the St. Olaf 11-yard line, and two plays later, Hendricks connected with Douglas for an 11-yard touchdown.

St. Olaf registered a pair of first downs on its next possession, but the Gustie defense once again forced the Oles to punt. The Ole punt was pinned perfectly down at the one-yard line, giving the Gusties 99 yards of field to work with. The Gustie offense is no stranger to starting at its own one-yard line as it has done so three times already this season. And on this particular drive, the offense didn’t disappoint as it recorded six first downs on a 14-play, 99-yard drive, capped by a seven-yard touchdown reception by Poole. After the extra point, Gustavus led 37-14 and took a 23-point lead into halftime.

The Gusties started with the ball in the second half and picked up right where they left off by driving 63 yards in nine plays. Poole recorded his third score of the game on a six-yard rush. The Gustavus defense then held its ground once again, forcing a St. Olaf punt after six plays. It didn’t take long for the Gusties to increase their lead as on the third play of the drive, Hendricks found Douglas wide open down the seam for a 54-yard touchdown pass, which marked his 66th career passing touchdown to break the Gustavus all-time record.

After going nearly 27 minutes without registering any points, St. Olaf found its way back to the end zone after an eight-play, 61-yard drive, finished on a 13-yard touchdown pass. But as was the case after the previous two touchdowns by the Oles, the Gusties were able to answer with a touchdown drive of their own. On the ninth play of the drive, Hendricks found Douglas open in the front right corner for his fifth passing touchdown of the game. Hendricks now has two games this season with five passing touchdowns and four games of five scores in his career.

St. Olaf scored 14 unanswered points to close out the game, but it was too little, too late as the Gusties claimed the decisive 24-point victory.

Hendricks finished the game going 23-of-35 for 383 yards and five touchdowns. Poole led the ground game with 19 carries for 111 yards and two touchdowns. He also added four catches for 36 yards and a score. Ortiz reached double figure carries as well, as he ran 12 times or 33 yards and a touchdown. Kyle Krzmarkzick (Sr., Sleepy Eye, Minn.) led the defense with 10 tackles, including one for a loss and a sack. The Gusties tallied four sacks on the day.

Gustavus has one more week before its bye and the upcoming competition is a formidable foe. The Gusties travel to Collegeville, Minn. next Saturday to take on Saint John’s (4-1, 2-1 MIAC) who had a bye today.

“I think this wasn’t our best week of practice to be honest with you,” Haugen said. “So we’ll have to be sharper this week and I know our guys will do that, but every week is important. We’ll prepare the same way, but we’ll need to be sharper in practice.”