SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus football team put together a strong all-around effort on Saturday to take down Hamline 69-21. The 69-point effort sets the Gustavus football program record for most points in a game. The Gusties scored 69 points against NPI in 1979, however, it went as an exhibition as NPI was not an NCAA institution. With the win the Gusties improve to 4-2 overall and 2-2 in the MIAC while the Pipers move to 1-6 overall and 0-5 in the conference.
“I couldn’t be happier with the start of the game today,” said Head Coach Peter Haugen. “Coming off a huge win last week our emphasis was that we had to come out and continue to grow and our guys were ready to play today. We had a ton of intensity, great spirit, we moved the ball well, and our defense was sharp.”
Gustavus forced a Hamline three-and-out to start the contest and its offense quickly found a stride. Starting in good field position, Michael Veldman (Sr., Becker) connected with Brice Panning (Sr., Hamburg) for 13 yards and then again for 37 yards, with the latter going for a touchdown to give the Gusties a 7-0 lead. A second consecutive Hamline three-and-out gave the ball back to Gustavus near midfield. A 30-yard completion from Veldman to Josh Kirk (Sr., Garvin) quickly moved the Gusties into the red zone and an unsportsmanlike conduct on the Pipers put Gustavus inside the five, where Veldman took it in himself to put the home team up 14-0.
Gustavus’s defense continued to step up to the plate, once again holding the Pipers without a first down as it forced a punt. Gustavus took over at its own 47-yard line, and used four plays, all 10-plus yards, with Panning catching his second touchdown of the game from 14 yards out to go up 21-0. Another defensive stop on Hamline’s ensuing possession gave the ball back to the Black and Gold and the offense continued to roll. Veldman completed two passes for a combined 50 yards, before David Peal (So., Worchester, Mass.) took one in from 10 yards for the score to put Gustavus up 27-0 after a missed extra point.
The Pipers offense found a little rhythm late in the first quarter and the beginning of the second, as it went 75 yards in five plays to notch its first score of the game and bring the score to 27-7. The offense of Gustavus though, continued to be too much for the Pipers, as it went on an eight-play, 75-yard drive capped off by Avery Bachman’s (Sr., Saint Peter) first career touchdown, as he rushed one in from two yards and put Gustavus up 34-7.
After a Hamline three-and-out and a shanked punt the Gusties took over at the Piper 35 yard line and used two plays before the Gusties employed their ‘heavy’ package on second and short, and Zach Jakes (So., Mankato) recorded his first collegiate touchdown with a 10-yard run and put Gustavus up 41-7. Hamline went on long drive but a penalty on fourth and manageable forced a punt and Gustavus took over from its own nine. With time in the first half winding down the Gusties marched on a seven-play, 93-yard drive, capped by Peal’s second touchdown of the day to bring the score to 48-7.
The Gusties came out of the halftime break just as strong as they entered it, marching down the field in four plays with Dalton Thelen (So., Cold Spring) toting an eight-yard carry for a score to extend Gustavus’s lead to 55-7. On their ensuing possession the Pipers went for it on fourth down in their own territory and were unsuccessful and the Gusties took over at Hamline’s 45. It took just two plays for the Black and Gold to score as Peal broke a handful of tackles for his third touchdown of the day on a 28-yard scamper.
Hamline was able to get going on its next possession, going on a 10-play drive, with a touchdown pass on fourth-and-goal to bring the score to 62-14. Gustavus answered on the following possession when Hunter O’Bert (Jr., Eden Prarie) ran it in from the one-yard line, after he had made a fantastic one-handed grab earlier in the drive, to put the Gusties up 69-14 late in the third quarter.
The Pipers were able to score on their first drive of the fourth quarter before the two teams played scoreless the rest of the fourth quarter and Gustavus took a 69-21 victory.
To go along with the school record of 69 points, the Gusties also tied the school record for touchdowns in a game with 10.
Veldman was solid through the air in the contest, playing just one half and completing 14-of-15 passes for 275 yards and two scores. Panning, who was the beneficiary of both scores had eight catches for 144 yards, while Kirk had five catches for 157 yards. Brett Hufendick (Jr., Edina) played the second half at quarterback, going 4-of-7 for 121 yards and an interception. Peal led the ground attack with eight carries for 67 yards and three touchdowns, while 13 other Gusties had at least one rushing attempt.
To go along with their rushing touchdowns, Bachman and Jakes shined for the defense. Bachman had a team-high seven tackles, while Jakes added five and also had 2.5 tackles for loss. Jake Boykin (Sr., Las Cruces, N.M.) added five tackles for Gustavus, while Graham Nistler (So., St. Cloud) added four to go along with an interception in the fourth quarter.
“There’s a lot of stuff that we can continue to clean up but the biggest thing today is we made better decisions with the ball and we look forward to a solid week of practice,” said Haugen.
The Gusties will be in action next Saturday when they travel to Augsburg for a 1 p.m. contest