Lauti, Gabriel Boyce Propel Football Past St. Olaf 37-29

Northfield, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus football team was able to hold off St. Olaf College in a 37-29 victory on Saturday afternoon at Manitou Field. Gustavus improves to 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the MIAC, while St. Olaf drops to 0-6 overall and 0-4 in the MIAC. The Gusties are now 6-0 for the first time since 1987.

Clinging to a 37-29 lead with less than five minutes remaining in the game, Gustavus was able to shut down St. Olaf’s potentially game-tying drive and seal the victory with an interception by Xavier Fust (Sr., Columbia Heights, Minn.) with less than one minute on the clock.

Although Gustavus led 37-22 by the 8:41 in the fourth quarter, the Oles refused to go down quietly. Penz completed an 11-yard touchdown pass to Joel Reinhardt at the 4:08 mark to bring the game within one score down 37-29. St. Olaf recovered an onside kick and then drove the ball to the Gustavus 17-yard-line before being stopped thanks to Fust’s interception.

After St. Olaf took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, Gustavus responded with a touchdown on its following offensive possession. Running back Leeland Lauti (Fr., Ewa Beach, Hawaii) ran in the first of his two touchdowns from two yards out to tie the game at 7-7 at the 1:41 mark.

Lauti added his second touchdown on a one-yard plunge at the 7:16 mark of the second quarter to give Gustavus its first lead up 14-7. The rookie tailback totaled a season-best 123 yards on 21 carries in the game.

The back-and-forth continued throughout the second quarter. St. Olaf tied the game at 14-14 with a JJ Strnad touchdown run with 4:26 left in the half, and Gustavus answered with a seven-yard touchdown pass from Mitch Hendricks (Jr., Bemidji, Minn.) to Gabriel Boyce (Jr., Excelsior, Minn.) with 1:26 on the clock. Gustavus’s extra point try was blocked and taken into the end zone, bringing the score to 20-14.

The Gusties forced a three-and-out and went to the air with under 1:30 to go in the half. Hendricks connected with Gabriel Boyce on a 25-yard strike to bring the score to 27-16 after Thomas Schleusener’s (Sr., Rapid City, S.D.) extra point.

After forcing a punt on the first drive of the third quarter, Gustavus took over and put together an 11-play, 88-yard touchdown scoring drive. Once again, Hendricks went to Gabriel Boyce who brought in an 11-yard grab to give the Gusties their largest lead of the afternoon up 34-16 after Schleusener’s kick.

St. Olaf cut the lead to 34-22 at the 2:23 mark of the third quarter, and Gustavus added a 21-yard field goal by Schleusener at the 8:41 mark to bring the score to 37-22.

Gabriel Boyce Gustavus’s receiving corps with 125 yards on nine catches to go along with three touchdowns. George Buchner (So., Excelsior, Minn.) finished next in line with 75 yards on eight catches.

Mitch Hendricks was 26-for-37 for 282 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. He connected with seven different receivers and added 37 yards rushing on eight carries.

Gustavus tallied 171 yards rushing and 282 yards passing for a total of 453 yards. St. Olaf totaled 440 yards on 144 yards rushing and 296 yards passing.

The Gusties will be back in action on Saturday, Oct. 11 when they play host to Saint John’s University at 1:00 p.m. on Hollingsworth Field.

Box Score