SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus football team extended their win streak to four as they took down Carleton 55-28 on Saturday at Hollingsworth Field. With the win the Gusties move to 6-2 overall and 4-2 in the MIAC while the Knights fall to 4-5 overall and 2-5 in the conference.
“Our offense has been really efficient and functioning at a high level,” said Head Coach Peter Haugen. “They’ve been spreading the ball around and that makes it tough on the defense. We’ve got guys that make plays, we’ve got the running game going lately, and Michael [Veldman] (Sr., Becker) has been making good decisions. I can’t say enough about our defense either, because Carleton’s offense has proven tough to defend. They were able to get off the field early in the game and gave our offense opportunities and we just took it at them.”
After the Gustavus defense got a stop on Carleton’s opening possession, the offense went to work for the Gusties. Veldman led the offense down the field on an eight eight, 78 yard scoring drive, the defense got a stop again, and the Gustavus offense went on another eight play scoring drive. Both scoring drives for Gustavus were capped off with Veldman touchdown passes to Brice Panning (Sr., Hamburg) to give Panning his 14th and 15th touchdown receptions of the season.
On their next possession, the Carleton punter then pinned Gustavus at the one-yard line on the ensuing Knights possession, but Veldman and company continued to roll. They started the drive late in the first quarter and were able to go on a 13-play, 99 yard drive, with Veldman finding Josh Kirk (Sr., Garvin) on a deep post for a 45 yard touchdown early in the second frame.
The Knights were able to scratch out their first touchdown of the contest in the second quarter with 10 play drive to bring the score to 21-7, but Gustavus’s offense continued to be too much for the Knight defense. Veldman completed two passes for 18 yards, and David Peal (So., Worchester, Mass.) carried one for six yards before Peal broke one to the outside from 35 yards out and scampered into the end zone to put Gustavus up 27-7 after a missed extra point. The Gusties weren’t done scoring in the first half though as they had one more long scoring drive with Veldman running one in from two yards out with eight seconds left in the half but put Gustavus up 34-7 headed into the break.
After the half, Gustavus got the ball and put up a quick score, as Peal broke a 53-yard rush breaking a few tackles in the process, on the teams third play of the drive to put Gustavus up 41-7. Carleton was forced to punt on the ensuing possession and on Gustavus’s first play from scrimmage Dalton Thelen (So., Cold Spring) broke one for 88 yards but was called for unsportsmanlike conduct at the four yard line, moving the ball back to the Carleton 19. On their next play, the Gusties tossed one back to Brady Essig (So., Dodge Center), who found Ethan Sindelir (So., Wells) open in the end zone for to put Gustavus up 48-7.
After another stop, the Gusties employed a run-happy attack and grinded out another scoring drive, with Dalton Hermes (Fy., Oregon, Ill.) getting a carry from the three yard line and shedding a handful of arm tackles on his way to the end zone to put the Black and Gold up 55-7. The Knights returned the ensuing kickoff past midfield and used a 36-yard completion to get into the red zone before they scored on third and goal from the two to bring the score to 55-14.
Carleton was able to notch two scores late in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 55-28, but Gustavus would run out the clock for the victory.
Veldman finished 19-of-23 in the contest for 281 yards and three touchdowns, while his top target Panning had 10 catches for 164 yards and a pair of scores. Peal led the ground attack with 15 carries for 145 yards while Thelen had seven for 122 yards. This was the first time since 2012 that Gustavus had two 100-plus yard rushers in the same contest.
On defense, Austin Fest (Jr., West Des Moines, Iowa) and Max Kahn (Jr., Medina) each had six tackles, with Fest also notching an interception. Matthew Montplaisir (Sr., Buffalo) added five tackles, while four other Gusties notched four.
The Gustavus offense continued to click Saturday, as they totaled 669 yards of total offense, to just 322 from Carleton.
Gustavus is back in action next Saturday when they travel to St. Thomas for a 1 p.m. contest.