ST. PETER, Minn. – There was no shortage of offense in Saturday’s Gustavus football Homecoming game against Augsburg, as the Gusties won the shootout 59-42. The 101 combined points between the two teams marks the most points scored in a single game in the 99-season history of Gustavus football. With the win, Gustavus improves to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
“We did a couple things defensively that were so important to get us that gap in the lead,” Head Coach Peter Haugen said. “And then offensively we continued to execute and make plays.”
A number of key turnovers propelled the Gusties to victory. Leading 14-7 nearing the end of the first quarter, the Gustavus defense came up big as Iker Ortiz (Jr., Cancun, Mexico) sacked Augsburg quarterback Ayrton Scott for a loss of eight yards. As Scott was taken down, he fumbled the ball and Isaac Kotila (Jr., Buffalo, Minn.) recovered it at the Gustavus 48-yard line. Five plays later, which was the first play of the second quarter, Mitch Hendricks (Sr., Laporte, Minn.) found Matt Boyce (Sr., Excelsior, Minn.) for a 29-yard touchdown connection to give the Gusties a two-possession lead.
Augsburg responded with an eight-play, 68-yard drive to get down to the Gustavus one-yard line, but on third-and-goal, Adam Neubarth (Sr., Cologne, Minn.) recovered another Augsburg fumble to put the ball back in the hands of the offense. The Gusties were forced to punt on the following drive, though, and the Auggies hit pay dirt with a 46-yard touchdown pass to make it a 21-14 game.
Gustavus answered with a six-play, 70-yard drive, capped by a 30-yard touchdown run by Karim Ortiz (So., Cancun, Mexico).
Looking to get back to a one-possession game, the Auggies were driving into Gustavus territory, but Nick Frandsen (Sr., North Oaks, Minn.) had a different idea as he intercepted a pass at the Gustavus 31 and ran it back 69 yards for a touchdown and a 21-point lead.
On the ensuing drive, the Auggies threatened again with the ball in Gustavus territory, but the Gustie defense stopped the drive on a fourth down attempt and the score remained 35-14 at halftime.
The Black and Gold started the third quarter with the ball and wasted little time expanding its lead. On the sixth play of the drive, Hendricks found Matt Boyce for a four-yard touchdown, giving the Gusties a 42-14 lead after the Brendan Boche (So., Lakeville, Minn.) extra point.
Augsburg quickly answered with a three-play, 81-yard drive, highlighted by a 54-yard touchdown pass.
Starting the following drive at its own 27, Gustavus put together a 12-play drive that included four first downs and finished on a six-yard touchdown pass from Hendricks to Hunter Johnson (So., Cannon Falls, Minn.). But once again, Augsburg would not lay down and responded with a quick four-play, 58-yard drive, scoring a touchdown on a 10-yard rush to make it a 49-27 game after the extra point attempt failed.
On their third possession of the third quarter, the Gusties finished their drive with yet another touchdown, this time on a four-yard quarterback keeper by Hendricks. The drive lasted eight plays and went 51 yards. After three quarters of play, Gustavus led 56-27.
Augsburg scored on the opening drive of the fourth quarter on a four-yard touchdown pass. Gustavus then started its drive at the Augsburg 48 and ran the ball nine times in an effort to run time off the clock. The drive stalled at the Augsburg 10 and Boche came in for a 26-yard field goal, which he booted through the uprights giving the Gusties a 59-35 advantage.
Augsburg scored a touchdown on the next possession, but the Gusties were able to run out the clock for the 17-point victory.
Gustavus finished the game by scoring eight touchdowns on a total of 12 drives, while Augsburg scored six touchdowns on 11 possessions. The Gusties compiled 517 yards of total offense on 72 plays and the Auggies put up 561 yards on 61 plays.
Karim Ortiz – Gustavus’ fourth-string running back – led all rushers with 28 carries for 178 yards and two touchdowns.
Hendricks led the passing game, completing 26-of-32 passes for 311 yards and four touchdowns. The Bemidji High School product also ran for a score and was sacked once, which was the first sack allowed by the Gusties all season.
Matt Boyce was the main target through the air as he hauled in eight catches for 106 yards and three touchdowns.
On the defensive side of the ball, Frandsen and Anders Raarup (So., Eagan, Minn.) led Gustavus with 10 tackles apiece. Frandsen added the 69-yard interception return and two pass breakups, while Raarup contributed 1.5 tackles for loss.
“We just believe in our players,” Haugen said. “Karim is our number four running back, but we are confident in him and he’s confident in the guys blocking in front of him. The offensive line did an awfully good job today. We’ve given up only one sack in four weeks, so we have to give them a lot of credit, too. It was a big day by our big-time players.”
Gustavus continues MIAC play at 1 p.m., Oct. 3 at Carleton College.