SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus football team travels to Moorhead, Minn. on Saturday with snow in the forecast to square off against Concordia in a 1 p.m. contest. Gustavus enters the contest 2-2 and 0-2 in the MIAC while the Cobbers are 2-3 overall and 2-1 in the conference.
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The Series: Saturday’s game marks the 88th all-time meeting between the Gusties and Cobbers with Gustavus currently holding a 46-39-2 edge. The two teams met last season as the Gusties hosted Concordia for Homecoming/Hall of Fame Day on Oct. 6 and took a 27-14 victory.
Scouting the Gusties: Gustavus comes into the contest off their bye week, with their most recent game being a 35-33 loss to Bethel on Sept. 28. The two teams battled to the last play, with the Gusties failing to execute a two-point conversion with 17 seconds left that would have likely sent the game to overtime. Gustavus had 25 first downs in the contest compared to 17 for Bethel, however the Royals out-gained the Gusties 357-321.
Through four games the Gusties average 36.2 points and 387.2 yards of total offense per game. They have successfully converted on 54 percent of third downs, which ranks first in the MIAC and they have also been the most effective conference team in the red zone this season, scoring touchdowns on 17-of-20 possessions. Defensively, the Gusties have recovered four fumbles as well as hauled in five interceptions, both marks which rank fourth in the MIAC.
Michael Veldman (Sr., Becker) ranks atop the MIAC leaderboard in many categories this season including completions (91) and yards (1266), while his 13 touchdowns rank second. He has looked to the duo of Brice Panning (Sr., Hamburg) and Josh Kirk (Sr., Garvin, Minn.) often as the pair is in the MIAC’s top six in receptions and yards this year. Panning leads the conference in touchdowns with eight, while his 29 receptions and 451 yards both rank third. David Peal (So., Worchester, Mass.) leads the rushing attack as he is currently tied for fourth in the conference with four touchdown scores.
Zach Jakes (So., Mankato) has been a force on the defensive front this year, notching 23 tackles with two tackles for loss and a sack, while Jake Boykin (Sr., Las Cruces, N.M.) leads the team with 25 total tackles. Kaleb Scott (Jr., Gardena, Calif.) is currently tied for fourth in the conference with two interceptions.
Scouting the Cobbers: Concordia is most recently coming off a 51-6 loss to St. Thomas Saturday. The two teams played even the first frame before the Tommies put up 23 points in the second and 21 in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.
Through five contests the Cobbers average 25.8 points and 317.6 total yards of offense per game. Defensively, they allow 18.4 points and 315.4 yards per contest, both marks which rank fourth in the conference. The Cobbers, who run the ball the most in the conference, have also fumbled a MIAC-most 15 times this season, losing 10 of them.
Blake Kragnes, the team’s signal caller is a dual threat quarterback who is 27-for-66 (40.9) for 415 yards and and four touchdowns this season, while he has also ran 65 times for 224 yards and four touchdowns. Logan Hatfield has rushed for a team-high 295 yards to go along with two touchdowns while Andy Gravdahl has been the team’s top target with 14 catches for 243 yards and three touchdowns.
Defensively, Alex Berg has been a menace for the Cobbers, recording a team-high 40 tackles to go along with a MIAC best 4.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss. Sam Michel has also been a force on defense, notching 34 tackles, while Ethan Eagerton has been solid in the secondary with a MIAC-high nine pass break ups.