Welcome
Gustavus welcomes the University of St. Thomas to Lloyd Hollingsworth Field Saturday in the 2006 MIAC opener for both schools. The Gusties enter the game with a 1-0 record following a 35-7 season-opening win at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon last Saturday. St. Thomas is 1-1 on the season after hosting back-to-back games against opponents from the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference to open the year. The Tommies fell to Central 17-7 two weeks ago at O’Shaughnessy Stadium and followed that up with a 19-7 victory over visiting Loras.
Both teams will be looking to improve on last year’s records in the MIAC. St. Thomas finished 4-4 to tie Bethel for fourth place in 2005, while Gustavus won three of its last five games to finish sixth in the MIAC at 3-5.
The Series
Gustavus and St. Thomas will be facing each other for the 75th time today. St. Thomas holds a 37-35-2 advantage in the all-time series. The Tommies have taken the lead in the series only recently, winning seven of the last ten meetings between the schools dating back to the 1996 season. St. Thomas downed Gustavus 35-14 last year in St. Paul. The last time Gustavus registered a victory in the series was 2003 when Coach Jay Schonebeck’s Gusties recorded a 21-0 shutout in St. Peter.
Meet the Head Coaches
Gustavus Head Coach Jay Schoenebeck (’80) is in his thirteenth season directing his alma mater. Schoenebeck has compiled a record of 58-63 overall, and 52-52 in the MIAC. Schoenebeck’s squads have placed in the top four in the MIAC in six of the past eight seasons. Don Roney begins his ninth season at the helm of the St. Thomas program. Roney, a 1984 graduate of St. Thomas, has posted a mark of 47-31 overall and 45-23 in the MIAC.
A LOOK AT TODAY’S GAME
A Glimpse of the Gusties
Coach Jay Schoenebeck and the Gusties opened their 2006 season with a 35-7 win over Willamette University in Salem, Oregon last Saturday. Gustavus capitalized on an early Willamette miscue as sophomore wide receiver Chad Arlt recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff and two plays later sophomore running back Adam Lukes scored from 15 yards out. That was only the beginning of a big day for both Arlt and Lukes as the pair accounted for all five Gustavus touchdowns. Junior quarterback Jordan Stolp connected with Arlt eight times for 188 yards and two touchdowns, scoring from 44 and 3 yards out. Lukes carried the ball nine times for 43 yards and three touchdowns (15, 1, 3). Junior running back Mitch Anderson provided some spark in the fourth quarter as he carried the ball four times for 53 yards, including a long rush of 33 yards. Anderson finished as Gustavus leading rusher with 66 yards on 11 carries.
The Gustavus defensive unit, playing its first game under the direction of new defensive coordinator Brian Bergstrom, held the Bearcats to 251 yards of total offense — 80 of which came on the Willamette’s final drive — and forced three turnovers. Senior safety Kevin Hegland led the Gusties with eight tackles (five solo), while senior linebacker Taylor Beahrs and sophomore defensive lineman Ted Aleckson each had five tackles and combined for three sacks. Aleckson picked up his two sacks on one drive in the third quarter, including one on fourth down that gave possession of the ball back to Gustavus.
Gustavus got the offense rolling early in the game last Saturday and the Gusties got the big play when they needed it. Stolp and Arlt hooked up three times for completions of 44+ yards (44, 46, 47) and added another completion over the middle for 21 yards in addition to Anderson’s 33-yard run. There were clear signs that talented young players on both sides of the ball from last year have matured into veterans.
A View of the Tommies
St. Thomas has faced stiff tests in each of its first two games this season from teams that have been picked to finish at opposite ends of the Iowa Conference ladder in 2006. Last Saturday, the Tommies jumped out to a 12-0 halftime lead over Loras at O’Shaughnessy Stadium in St. Paul on a pair of Ryan Jansen touchdown passes, only to see the Duhawks answer with a touchdown pass of their own on their first drive of the third quarter to cut the lead to 12-7 St. Thomas. Sophomore running back Jake Casey put the game out of reach in the game’s final two minutes with a 67-yard touchdown run.
The St. Thomas offense, which is averaging 328.5 yards per game, lists only four seniors in the starting lineup, but two of them are playmakers. Quarterback Ryan Jansen has thrown for 426 yards and three touchdowns this season, hooking up with wide receiver P.J. Theisen 12 times for 186 yards and a pair of scores. Another senior wideout, Ian Lewis has six catches for 84 yards and the other Tommy receiving touchdown. Jake Casey leads the team with 205 rushing yards on 32 carries with one touchdown.
Defensively, the Tommies are led by senior defensive end Luke Rezac, who has a team-high 12 tackles and two sacks. Freshman middle linebacker Adam Johannsen is second with 11 tackles, while freshman cornerback Jeff Hilliard is third with 10. St. Thomas is allowing an average of 324.5 yards of total offense per game.
The Tommy football program will be looking for its 500th win in its 102-year varsity history. The Tommies (499-320-34 all-time) are looking to join the University of Minnesota (624 wins in 123 seasons) and Saint John’s (530 in 96 seasons) in the 500-win club.
Game Notes
Stolp Moves Up Career Lists — With 239 passing yards at Willamette, junior quarterback Jordan Stolp moved into sixth place on the Gustavus career passing yardage chart with 4,126 yards, passing Eric Lande (1982-84; 3,962 yards). Stolp could make another leap this week as he needs only 63 yards to pass Sean Smith (4,188 yards) for fifth place and 125 yards to pass Dean Kraus (4,250 yards) for fourth place.
Sieling Closing in on 200 — Junior linebacker Jared Sieling needs only three tackles today to become just the 13th Gustavus player to record 200 career tackles. Jared’s older brother Isaac (266 tackles; 2000-04) and current Gustie defensive coordinator Brian Bergstrom (406 tackles; 1998-2001) are also members of the select group.
Flying the Friendly Skies With Chad Arlt — The 188 receiving yards posted by sophomore wide receiver Chad Arlt last weekend ranks as the second-best single-game effort in Golden Gustie history. Arlt’s total trails only Rich Ryan’s 228-yard effort against Washington (Mo.) University in 1976. Arlt also had three catches of 44+ yards against Willamette (44, 46, 47). For his career, Arlt has 13 grabs for 335 yards, an average of 25.8 yards per catch.
Home Cooking — The Gustavus football team will be playing its 311th home game today (dating back to 1929). The Gusties have posted a record of 205-97-8 mark during that time for a .674 winning percentage. Gustavus has won three in a row at Hollingsworth Field and is 7-5 in home openers during Jay Schoenebeck’s tenure.
Gopher Grown — Of the 98 players on this year’s roster, 93 are from the state of Minnesota. The five on the roster who are not from Minnesota include junior Chris Kappler from Ann Arbor, Michigan, sophomore Ben Maisenbach from Spencer, Iowa, sophomore Ted Aleckson from Weston, Wisconsin, freshman Kevin Guerink from Rothschild, Wisconsin, and freshman Anthony Asp from Foster City, California.
Coming to a Computer Near You — Today marks the first time a Gustavus home athletics event will be video streamed over the Internet. Along with football, men’s and women’s soccer will be video streamed this fall in addition to the existing audio streaming schedule. To access either the audio or video streaming, go to www.gustavus.edu/athletics and click on the “Live Broadcasts” link in the left sidebar.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Gustavus Adolphus College
Offense
11 Jordan Stolp