SPOKANE, Wash. – The Gustavus Adolphus College football team traveled to Washington state to face the Whitworth University Pirates on Saturday in their season opener. The Gusties fell 23-10 to the Pirates.
Whitworth scored on their opening drive to take an early 7-0 lead. The Pirates worked their way to the Gustavus 30-yard line and then a 25-yard strike through the air set up two consecutive runs to breach the Gustie end zone. Later in the first quarter, Whitworth scored again on a 64-yard touchdown pass to put the Pirates up 14-0.
In the opening minutes of the second quarter, Whitworth made a field goal to go up 17-0. On the next drive by the Pirates, the Gusties started to turn the tide as
Cody Bartnes picked off a pass at the Gustavus three-yard line. On the next play,
Jacob Ginskey ran for 52 yards to bring the Gustie offense to the Whitworth 45. On a fourth-and-one later in the series, Ginskey used his legs again for a 22-yard gain.
Jack Sieben put Gustavus on the board with a 36-yard field goal with 1:45 remaining in the first half, which ended with Whitworth leading 17-3.
The Pirates made a 28-yard field goal midway through the third quarter to go up 20-3. On the ensuing Gustavus possession, Ginskey launched a deep ball to
Brayden Sturm for a 63-yard completion to set the Gusties up at the Whitworth five-yard line. Three rushes later, Ginskey reached the end zone to score the first Gustavus touchdown of the season.
Trailing 20-10 in the opening minute of the fourth quarter, the Gusties aimed to make it a one-score game with a field goal attempt from Whitworth's eight-yard line. The Pirates, however, blocked the kick to narrowly preserve their two-score lead. Whitworth added another field goal with 5:21 remaining to go up by 13 and their defense held off the Gusties' comeback attempt as Gustavus fell 23-10.
Ginskey accounted for 268 total yards in the game, passing for 158 and rushing for another 110.
Walker Britz had seven receptions for 50 yards. On defense,
Bode Hogan had a team-high 11 total tackles, half a sack, and forced a fumble.
Chance Swansson and
Zach Boutwell each had two pass breakups.
Up next for the Gusties is a bye week before hosting their home opener against the No. 12 Bethel University Royals on Saturday, September 20 at 1:00 p.m.
