NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus College football team traveled to Northfield on Saturday for a conference road game at the Carleton College Knights. The Gusties navigated the windy conditions and dominated the Knights with a 56-7 victory. With the win, Gustavus moves to 2-2 overall on the season.
The Gusties jumped out to an early 7-0 lead on their second possession of the game. On 3
rd and 2 deep in their own territory,
Jacob Ginskey hit
Jordan Wold for a 69-yard touchdown pass to five the Gusties an early lead.
On the ensuing Carleton drive, the Knights marched down the field to reach the Gustavus goal line. On 3
rd and Goal at the Gusties' one-yard line,
Brady Liston made the tackle for a one-yard loss to stuff the Knights and force a 4
th and Goal from the two. Carleton tried to go for it and dropped back, but the pass was off target as
Charles Goodland hurried the Knights' quarterback to force the off-target throw.
The next Gustavus drive was a short three-and-out, but the following Carleton possession was even shorter as
Cody Bartness picked off the Knights on their first play of the drive. Starting from their own nine-yard line, the Gusties proceeded to put together an 11-play, 91-yard touchdown drive. A fake punt on a 4
th and 8 from their own 31-yard line resulted in a 13-yard first down run to keep the drive alive early, and later a 39-yard connection from Ginskey to
Liam Frommelt through the air set Gustavus up in the red zone.
Walker Hennen capped off the drive with a six-yard touchdown run to put the Gusties up 14-0 early in the second quarter.
The Knights next drive was a three-and-out, but the Gustavus offense had to wait a bit longer to get back on the field as
Ben O'Neil blocked the punt, recovered the loose ball himself, and ran it in the remaining six yards for a touchdown to give the Gusties a 21-0 lead.
The Gustavus defense was just getting started making life a nightmare for Carleton. On the very first play of the following Carleton drive,
Drew Kretlow picked off the Knights brought the ball all the way back to the Carleton nine-yard line. Back-to-back rushes from Ginskey brought the Gusties into the end zone again to take a 28-0 lead with 10:40 still to go before halftime.
On their next possession, the Gustavus defense forced another Knight three-and-out. Carlton got the punt off this time, but the Gusties still gained possession at midfield on their 49-yard line. Gustavus worked their way down the field on a 9-play, 51-yard drive that ended when Ginksey found
Brayden Sturm in the end zone to put the Gusties up 35-0.
Again, the Gustavus defense forced another three-and-out on the ensuing Carleton drive, and again the Gusties offense marched down the field to score another touchdown right afterwards. The six-play, 37-yard scoring drive was capped off by a four-yard run by Ginskey for his third total touchdown of the opening half as the Gustavus took a 42-0 lead into halftime.
The Knights got the ball to start the second half, but that didn't last long as
Ronnie Brown intercepted Carleton's third play of the drive to set the Gusties' up deep in enemy territory at the 20 yard line. The offense capitalized on the opportunity given to them as, on the fourth play of the drive, Hennen ran 10 yards up the middle to score his second rushing touchdown of the game, giving Gustavus a 49-0 lead less than four minutes into the third quarter.
The Gusties defense kept up the pressure, forcing yet another three-and-out for the Knights after the kickoff. Starting from their own 35-yard line this time, Gustavus proceeded to put together an 11-play, 65-yard scoring drive. Ginskey found Sturm in the endzone for the second time that day to give the Gusties a 56-0 lead with 2:53 still to go in the third quarter.
The big lead did nothing to slow down the Gustavus defense as they forced the eight three-and-out of the game for Carleton on their next possession. Carleton's defense got a stop to give them the ball back, but that offensive drive was short lived as well as
Ethan Soto picked off the Knights on their third play to get the ball back for the Gusties.
Carleton later put together an eight-play, 75-yard scoring drive to avoid the shutout, but Gustavus went on to complete the 56-7 victory.
Ginskey had five total touchdowns and 272 total yards of offense in the win, going 15-for 21 for 243 yards and three touchdowns through the air in addition to running seven times for 29 yards and two more touchdowns. Hennen led the way on the ground, carrying 13 times for 51 yards and two touchdowns. Frommelt had a team-high six receptions for 81 yards.
Up next for Gustavus is a return home to Saint Peter for their Homecoming game against St. Olaf on Saturday, October 10 at 1:00 p.m.
