MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Gustavus football team made it three straight wins Saturday after defeating Augsburg 59-27. Michael Veldman (Sr., Becker) tied Mitch Hendricks school and MIAC record with seven touchdown passes in the contest, while Josh Kirk (Sr., Garvin) tied the program record with four touchdown grabs. Following the win, the Gusties move to 5-2 overall and 3-2 in the MIAC while the Auggies fall to 1-7 overall and 0-6 in the conference.
“Great win today for our team,” said Head Coach Peter Haugen. “We had some adversity in the first half defensively but battled and improved as the day went along. Offensively we were explosive and moved the ball well. Overall it was a great team win.”
Augsburg was able to score first in the contest to jump out to a 7-0 lead, but the Gustavus offense took the field in good position after an unsuccessful onside kick attempt from the Auggies. It took just one play for Veldman to connect with Kirk for a 44 yard score to even things up at seven.
Gustavus got a stop on fourth down on the ensuing possession and the offense went to work again. The Gusties went 61 yards in four plays with Kirk catching his second touchdown of the afternoon to put Gustavus up 14-7.
On the following possession, Augsburg was forced to punt and the Gusties took over near midfield. A few big rushes from David Peal (So., Worchester, Mass.) put the Gusties into the red zone, where Veldman connected with Brayton Finch (Sr., Mount Morris, Ill.) for a three-yard score to put the Black and Gold up 21-7.
Augsburg answered the Gustie score with a pair of big rushes, the second going for a touchdown to bring them back within a possession at 21-14.
Veldman and the Gustavus offense continued to thrive though. The Gusties went 53 yards in six plays, with Finch catching his second touchdown to put Gustavus up 28-14. Augsburg came right back, responding with an eight play, 71 yard drive to score and bring the Gustavus lead to 28-21.
The Gustie offense took the field again and drove down the field in six plays, going 61 yards, with Kirk capping it off with his third touchdown reception of the half to extend Gustavus’s lead to two possessions at 35-21.
On their ensuing possession Augsburg was faced with fourth and short and elected to go for it in their own territory. The Gustavus defense stuffed the rush attempt at the line of scrimmage and gave the Gustie offense good field position. Veldman and company made quick work of the short field, with Veldman connecting with Finch for 16 yards, before finding Brice Panning (Sr., Hamburg) on the left sideline for a 21 yard score to take a 42-21 lead.
Augsburg took over with four minutes remaining in the first half and were able to drive and break off a 30 yard rush to get inside the Gustavus 10 yard line. The defense of the Gusties once again held strong, stopping the Auggies on fourth and goal and taking over with just over a minute left in the half.
With time winding down, the Gusties were able to push the ball to near midfield, but Veldman was intercepted on a throw over the middle giving the Auggies the ball. Augsburg would run two plays but a sack would end the half and Gustavus would head to the break up 42-21.
The Gusties opened the second half with a big kick return from Avery Bachman (Sr., Saint Peter) to start near midfield. After three straight Peal rushes gave Gustavus a first down, Veldman threw his seventh touchdown of the contest, connecting with Kirk again for the wideout’s fourth touchdown of the day to give the Gusties a 49-21 lead.
Veldman’s seven touchdowns tie Mitch Hendricks MIAC record for most touchdowns in a game, while Kirk’s four touchdowns tie Rich Ryan’s mark set in 1976 against WashU.
Gustavus forced a three-and-out from the Augsburg offense but the Auggie defense took a stand on the ensuing possession. They were able to force a Gustavus punt, and a bad snap on the punt gave the Auggies the ball at the Gustavus nine. It took just one play as Augsburg ran one to the left edge for the score. An unsuccessful two-point conversion try left the Gustavus lead at 49-27.
Veldman connected with Panning for 31 yards to start the next possession and a defensive pass interference penalty put the ball at the Augsburg 16. Peal finally hit paydirt after his huge day, as he found the end zone for a 16 yard score to put Gustavus up 56-27.
The Gustavus defense held strong the last 25 minutes, allowing no Augsburg points, while Andrew Abegglen (Fy., Mound, Minn.) added a 24-yard field goal with just over four minutes to play, to give Gustavus the 59-27 victory.
The Gustavus offense once again produced in the contest amassing 500-plus yards of offense for the second straight week. Veldman was 19-of-23 in the contest for 317 yards and seven touchdowns. Kirk led the team with 169 receiving yards on six catches and four touchdowns, while Finch had seven catches for 62 yards and two scores. Peal had his strongest performance of the year, running for 171 yards on 21 carries and one touchdown.
On defense, Austin Fest (Jr., West Des Moines, Iowa) had a team high nine tackles, while Jake Boykin (Sr., Las Cruces, N.M.) added eight. Matthew Montplaisir (Sr., Buffalo) recorded 2.0 tackles for loss in the game, to go along with three pass break ups.
The Gusties are next in action Saturday when they host Carleton for a 1 p.m. contest.