Gustavus at St. Thomas
Date: Saturday, Nov. 4
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: St. Paul, Minn. | O’Shaughnessy Stadium
Live Coverage: Live Stats | Video | Audio (KNUJ)
ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus football team is set for a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup at the No. 4-ranked University of St. Thomas Saturday afternoon in St. Paul, Minn. The Gusties (4-4, 3-3 MIAC), who recently snapped a three-game losing skid last week, look forward to a tough task ahead versus the Tommies (7-1, 6-0 MIAC), the top team in the conference.
MEET THE HEAD COACHES
Head Coach Peter Haugen is in his ninth season at the helm of the Gustavus football program. Haugen, the 2015 MIAC Co-Coach-of-the-Year, has a combined record of 41-47 and is 31-40 in the MIAC. In the past four seasons, Haugen directed the Gusties to an overall record of 24-16. A graduate of Bethel University, Haugen was the head coach at Washburn High School in Minneapolis prior to coming to Gustavus.
St. Thomas Head Coach Glen Caruso is in his 10th season leading the Tommies on the gridiron. Caruso has a combined record of 106-16 as head coach and is a three-time Liberty Mutual Division III National Coach of the Year award winner and led the Tommies to two NCAA championship games over the last six years.
THE SERIES
Saturday’s game marks the 85th all-time meeting between the Gustavus and St. Thomas football programs. The Tommies lead the all-time series with a record of 47-36-2. Last season, St. Thomas posted its eighth consecutive victory over the Gusties with a 40-6 win at Hollingsworth Field.
LAST SEASON VS. THE TOMMIES
The Gusties were downed by the No. 4-ranked Tommies last season on senior day at Hollingsworth Field, falling by a score of 40-6. The Tommies outgained the Gusties 458-128 in total yards and limited the home team to two field goals. Gustavus had a significant advantage in time of possession at 35:46-24:14, but was unable to finish drives in the endzone.
KICKING CONSISTENCY
Senior kicker Brendan Boche (Sr., Lakeville, Minn.) has been a constant source of points from the Gustavus special teams unit. Boche leads the conference with seven field goals made. He has made at least one field goal in all but two games this season. Boche also ranks second in the MIAC with 47 points, having made 26-of- 29 extra point attempts for a 90 percent completion rate. In his third season as the starting placekicker for the Gusties, Boche broke the all-time extra points made record with his 99th career PAT in the homecoming victory over Hamline on Sept. 23 to pass Hall of Famer Ryan Boutwell (1995-98). Boche holds nearly every extra point record, including career extra points made (112), most extra points made in a season (55), most extra points made in a game (9), most attempted in a career (119), most attempted in a season (58), highest career PAT percentage (94.1), and most consecutive extra points made (49).
TOUGH ON THIRD DOWN
The Gustie defense has proven to be one of the best in the MIAC to get off the field after third down. The Gusties have limited their opponents to a 29 percent (30-104) conversion rate on third down this season, which is the fourth best season average in the conference. On the offensive side of the ball, the Gusties have converted on 47- of-124 (38%) third downs, which is fifth best in the league.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
On Nov. 4, 2006, Gustavus defeated Concordia College 7-0 in Moorhead, Minn. The Gusties jumped out to a first quarter lead with a Jordan Stolp to Chad Arlt 22-yard touchdown pass and held on for the rest of the way, despite the Cobbers outgaining the Gusties 177-175.
ORTIZ RUNS INTO TOP-20
Senior runningback Karim Ortiz (Cancun, Mexico) came into last Saturday’s game versus St. Olaf with 1,261 career rushing yards and accumulated a career-high 200 rushing yards to help lead the Gusties to victory and jump into the top-20 leading rushers in Gustie football history. Ortiz now ranks 17th all-time with 1,461 career rushing yards.
SCOUTING THE GUSTIES
Gustavus most recently snapped a three-game losing skid with a 41-13 victory over St. Olaf last Saturday at Hollingsworth Field. After totaling just two touchdowns in the past two games, the Gustie offense got back on track, led by a 27-point second half surge against the Oles. Karim Ortiz led the ground game with a career-high 200 rushing yards, while the Gustie defense also got into the scoring column with an interception return for a touchdown. In his third game at the starting quarterback position, Hunter Johnson (Sr., Cannon Falls, Minn.) seemed to find his game as the leader of the Gustie offense.
Through eight games this season, Ortiz leads the Gusties on the ground with 96 carries for 442 yards and four touchdowns. In three games at the starting quarterback role, Johnson has completed 33 of 67 passes for 400 yards and two touchdowns. Josh Kirk (So., Garvin, Minn.) leads the aerial attack with 34 receptions for 509 yards and five touchdowns, while Brice Panning (So., Hamburg, Minn.) has proved to be a red-zone threat with six touchdown receptions.
As the MIAC enters Week 10 of the season, Gustavus sits in fifth place in the league standings. The Gusties have the third-best offense in the league, averaging 385.3 yards per game. The passing offense is third best in the league with 258.3 yards per game, while the rushing offense is No. 4 in the conference with 127.0 yards per game.
On the defensive side of the ball, Gustavus ranks fourth in the MIAC, allowing 312.8 yards of total offense per game – 190.6 yards through the air and 122.1 yards on the ground. After tallying three sacks against the Oles, the Gusties now have 21 on the season, which is tied for the most in the conference. Matt Berkner (Jr., Sleepy Eye, Minn.) paces the team with 54 tackles, while Casey Decker (Sr., Mapleton, Minn.) has five sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss.
SCOUTING THE TOMMIES
The No. 4-ranked University of St. Thomas footbal team is atop of the MIAC standings with a 7-1 overall record and a perfect 6-0 mark in the league. The Tommies are coming off a 58-13 victory over Bethel University last week. Junior quarterback Jacques Perra passed for 286 yards with three touchdown passes while five different Tommies got into the end zone.
Along with sitting at the top of the MIAC standings, the Tommies also rank No. 1 in the conference in multiple statistical categories. St. Thomas has the league’s top offense with an average of 464.4 yards of total offense per game, with 1644 through the ground and 2071 through the air. The 46.5 points per game, 30 rushing touchdowns, and 189 first downs also rank first.
Perra ranks among the top quarterbacks in the MIAC, with an average of 226 passing yards per game (3rd/MIAC) and 14 passing touchdowns (4th/MIAC). Junior runningback Tucker Trettel leads the Tommie rushing game with 71.9 yards per game (5th/MIAC) and eight touchdowns (2nd/ MIAC).
Defensively, St. Thomas has limited its opponents to an average of 174.9 yards of total offense per game, allowing an average of 145.6 passing yards and just 29.3 rushing yards. Senior linebacker Dylan Andrew leads the team with 27.5 tackles and nine tackles for loss, while senior defensive lineman Austin Jochum also guides the defensive unit with 10 tackles for loss and four sacks.