SAINT PETER, Minn. — For the third season in a row, the Gustavus football team opened its season against the Buena Vista Beavers, and once again delivered a dominant offensive performance. The Gusties controlled both ends of the field in a convincing 51-7 victory.
Quarterback
George Sandven (Edina, Minn.) connected with six different receivers for 382 yards as
Jake Breitbach (Golden Valley, Minn.) had a career performance to begin his senior season, finishing the game with 235 receiving yards, 17 short of the program record for receiving yards in a game set in 2007 by Chad Arlt. Breitbach scored four touchdowns to tie the single game program record, while his 13 receptions were three short of the program record.
Not to be overshadowed by the high powered offensive display, the Gustie held the Beavers to 129 total yards while collecting one interception and three sacks. The 129 total yards allowed is the fewest since the Gusties' 42-0 victory over Augsburg in 2018 (98 yards).
The Gustie rout started early, as
Rohee Konde (Hopkins, Minn.) scored on a two-yard touchdown rush to open the scoring on the team's first possession. Sandven found Breitbach for the first of his four touchdowns on the day, converting on a two-yard pass to make the score 13-0 to end the first quarter.
Breitbach started the second quarter by hauling in a 28-yard pass from Sandven to make the score 20-0.
Eric Lyons Jr. (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) intercepted a Beaver pass in the end zone, setting up a scoring drive that ended in a seven-yard touchdown pass to
Matthew Carreon (Houston, Texas) to end the second quarter with a 27-0 Gustie lead.
The halftime break only reinvigorated the Gusties, who added 21 points in the third quarter.
Breitbach went 53 yards on a quick pass on the first Gustie offensive play of the third to increase the lead 34-0. Breitbach added another long haul with a 42-yard touchdown to make the score 41-0 with 10:32 left in the frame.
Buena Vista broke the shutout to start the fourth quarter. The Beavers rushed in a touchdown from two yards out to make the score 48-7.
Andrew Abegglen (Mound, Minn.) had the final word, making a 42-yard field goal to finalize the score at 51-7. Abegglen's field goal tied his personal record long of 42 yards.
Sandven finished the day 22-of-29 for 357 yards and six touchdowns. Konde led the ground attack with 16 carries for 90 yards and a touchdown.
Jack Klug (Maple Lake, Minn.) led a balanced defense with seven tackles, while
Carson DeKam (Owatonna, Minn.) added six stops and a sack.
"It was a nice win for our team today. We were inconsistent at times, particularly offensively, but we were able to make key plays at key times to keep some drives alive," said head coach
Peter Haugen on the team's season opener. "I'm proud of the way our guys played offensively and defensively - our defense was lights out today. We were able to get a lot of guys in the game, and we're just thankful for all the support staff here today that helped us execute this game.
"We're thankful to be healthy coming out of today and ready to get going for the rest of the season. We'll have a great practice session this week as our direction and our eyes turn towards Wisconsin-Stout. I'm proud of our seniors and our leaders that did a terrific job of keeping our guys composed today."
Gustavus will enjoy a bye next week and then will head to UW-Stout on Sept. 16 in Menomonie, Wis.
