The Gustavus football team will host Hamline University in its MIAC season opener on Saturday at 1:00 pm at Hollingsworth Field on the Gustavus campus. Gustavus enters with a record of 1-0-0 overall, while the Pipers enter with a mark of 1-0-0 overall. You can watch and listen to the game through the Gustavus Athletics website by clicking here. A new feature available during home contests this season is live stats, which will be available here.
Welcome
Gustavus welcomes Hamline University to Lloyd Hollingsworth Field today in the 2008 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener for both schools. The Gusties enter the contest with a 1-0 record following a 27-19 season-opening win at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa last Saturday. It marked the first time since 1990 that Gustavus beat an Iowa Conference team. Hamline comes in with a record of 1-0 overall after defeating Martin Luther 19-13 a week ago. The Pipers are playing in their second of three straight road games to open the 2008 campaign.
Both squads will be looking to improve on last year’s records in the MIAC. Gustavus finished 3-5 to tie Augsburg for fifth place, while Hamline finished tied for eighth in the MIAC at 1-7.
The Series
This will be the 76th meeting between Gustavus and Hamline today. The Gusties hold a 52-23-0 advantage in the all-time series. Coach Schoenebeck and the Gusties have won the last two meetings between these two long-time conference rivals including last year’s 57-21 win in St. Peter. Gustavus is 27-13 against the Pipers at home dating back to the 1920 season.
Meet the Head Coaches
Gustavus Head Coach Jay Schoenebeck (’80) is in his fifteenth season directing his alma mater with a career record of 69-72-0 overall, and 59-61 in the MIAC. Schoenebeck announced that 2008 would be his final season as head coach after leading the Gusties to top four finishes in the MIAC in seven of the last eleven years. Hamline Head Coach Jim Good is in his second season at the helm of the Pipers. Good, a 1994 graduate of Linfield College, posted a mark of 3-7 overall mark and 1-7 in the MIAC last season after spending the previous six seasons as an assistant coach at Texas Lutheran University.
A Glimpse of the Gusties
Coach Jay Schoenebeck and the Gusties opened their 2008 season with a 27-19 win over Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa last Saturday. Gustavus began the season with a strong defensive series immediately followed by an eight-play, 61-yard drive that resulted in a one-yard touchdown run by junior quarterback Jordan Becker. That was the start of a solid day for Becker in his first collegiate start as he completed 18-of-28 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions. Becker’s favorite target was senior wide receiver Chad Arlt as the tandem connected nine times for 101 yards including three clutch grabs late in the game to sustain drives. Arlt became the career receiving yards leader at Gustavus with 2,307 yards moving past Ryan Hoag’s previous mark of 2,232 yards. First-year Elliott Herdina also made an impressive debut in his first game as a Gustie with three rushes for 74 yards, including a 68-yard TD run, and three catches for 40 yards, including a nine-yard TD reception.
The Gustavus defensive unit allowed 450 yards of total offense, 386 yards of which came in the air, against the Kohawks. However, the Gusties did not allow an offensive touchdown and forced four interceptions in a new defensive scheme. Sophomore linebacker Paul Stommes tallied 15 tackles, including one tackle for a loss on a third-and-one play at the Gustavus 21-yard line. Stommes also grabbed an interception on Coe’s first drive of the second half. Junior safety Joe Welch made 14 tackles and intercepted a pass at the Gustavus two-yard line to stop another scoring drive by the Kohawks. The Gustie defense allowed some passing yards in the middle of the field, but got very stingy in the red zone, which forced Coe to settle for three points four times rather than get six in the end zone.
A View of the Pipers
Hamline opened its season last week with a 19-13 win at Martin Luther. It was the fifth consecutive year that the Pipers have won their season opener. The Pipers scored on two of their three possessions in the first half and led 13-7 at the intermission. In its second offensive series, Hamline took advantage of good field position after a 48-yard punt return from Alex House. Two plays later, quarterback James Leary connected with Brandon Johnson on a four-yard touchdown pass to bring the Pipers within one point of Martin Luther. On the next Hamline possession, running back Mitchell Schultz ran the ball 10 times for 45 yards, including a seven-yard touchdown run, to give the Pipers the lead at 13-7. Martin Luther tied the game in the later stages of the third quarter, but Hamline responded on the next drive when Leary completed a four-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Ingles to make the score 19-13. Schultz led the Piper running attack with 110 yards rushing, while Leary was 7-for-13 for 99 yards throwing the football with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Defensively, two Hamline players finished with double-digit tackles including Breck Raymond with 11 and Andrew Schlicting with 10.
Second-year head coach Jim Good returns 30 letterwinners, including 14 starters (eight on offense and six on defense). Senior quarterback James Leary, senior offensive lineman Albert Huff, and sophomore running back Mitchell Schultz will lead the Pipers offensively. Leary completed 54-of-110 passes for 489 yards and four touchdowns with seven interceptions in 10 games a year ago. On defense, the Pipers will be led by junior defensive back Brady Lorenzen, junior linebacker Brian Dorn, and sophomore defensive lineman Zach Wilson. Wilson recorded 40 tackles last season as a freshman.
Game Notes
Stommes Takes Defensive Stance
Sophomore linebacker Paul Stommes was named MIAC Defensive Player of the Week for his play against Coe College last Saturday. Stommes played a key role in the Gusties’ 27-19 win over the Kohawks in Cedar Rapids, Iowa as he tallied 15 tackles with seven solo stops and an interception. Early in the second quarter, Stommes made a pivotal tackle for a loss on a third-and-1 play as the Kohawks were driving deep into Gustavus territory. The stop forced Coe to attempt a field goal, which they missed. Stommes’ interception was also timely as it came on Coe’s first drive of the second half with the score tied 13-13.
King of the Hill
Senior Chad Arlt’s 40-yard catch in the first quarter against Coe College on Saturday moved him into first place on the Gustavus’ career receiving yards list, surpassing Ryan Hoag’s total of 2,232 yards. Arlt now holds every Gustavus receiving record with the exception of touchdowns in a game, a season and a career. Rich Ryan set the record for touchdowns in a game with four against Washington University in 1976, while Hoag holds the records for touchdown catches in a season and career at 14 and 29, respectively.
Follow the Gusties on KNUJ
KNUJ AM 860 Radio out of New Ulm, Minnesota will once again broadcast all ten of the Gustavus regular season football games. Tom Wheeler will handle the play-by-play for the third consecutive year. You can listen to the KNUJ broadcasts on the Internet at gustavus.edu/athletics/audio.cfm. In addition, Gustavus will video stream all home games for viewing on your computer. You can access the video stream on the Gustavus audio page at the address listed above. An additional feature available this season is live stats, which will be available at gustavus.edu/athletics/fb/LIVE/xlive.htm.
Home Grown
Of the 107 players on this year’s roster, 104 are from the state of Minnesota. The three on the roster who are not from Minnesota include senior Ted Aleckson from Weston, Wisconsin, junior Kevin Geurink from Rothschild, Wisconsin, and freshman David Johnson from Libertyville, Illinois.
2008 Home Schedule
Today’s contest is the first of four home games at Hollingsworth Field in 2008. Each of the next three games will celebrate a specific event. On October 4, the Gusties will face the University of St. Thomas for Homecoming, and then on October 25th game Gustavus will face Augsburg on Hall of Fame Day, and finally on November 15, the Gusties will battle Concordia on Senior Day.
449 and Counting
Saturday’s win over Coe gave the Golden Gusties their 449th win in program history. A win over Hamline this Saturday would make Gustavus the fifth program in the MIAC with 450 wins joining the company of Saint John’s (549 wins), St. Thomas (507), Hamline (481), and Concordia (460). The Gusties’ overall record is 449-304-21.