SAINT PETER, Minn. - On a day where it seemed everything was coming up Gusties, Gustavus football was able to grab their first win of the season over Central, 29-3. Whether it was the 276 yard passing for
Dylan Blount or the suffocating defense all around, the Gusties put together a comprehensive win to open the 2026 season.
Offensive coordinator
Charlie Cosgrove's homecoming was a sweet one after a two year stint at Division II Winona State, helping the Gusties (1-0, 0-0 MIAC) find 337 yards of total offense in the win over Central (0-1, 0-0 ARC). Junior quarterback
Dylan Blount (St. Clair, Minn.) was 21-for-29 passing throughout the game, throwing for 276 yards through the air and two touchdowns. Classmate
Alex Gross (Lake Elmo, Minn.) found the other two touchdowns, running for 25 total yards but finding the black turf at Hollingsworth Field nonetheless.
Defensively, senior
Drew Kretlow (Owatonna, Minn.) made the most of his first start at middle linebacker, bringing down the Dutch 12 times, which included two solo tackles for loss. Fellow Owatonna native,
Torrin Smith (Jr.) resulted in 19 negative yards for Central bringing down the Dutch quarterback 2.5 times for sacks. Senior
Max Olson (Trimont, Minn.) also provided ample pressure to force the Central passing game into a 13-for-25 performance with four quarterback hurries and half a sack.
After each team punted the ball away twice to open the game, a Central punt put the Gusties in a positive field zone, taking over on the Dutch 46 yard line. A 21-yard pass to junior
Liam Frommelt (Woodbury, Minn.) ignited the offense and moved the ball to the 25-yard line immediately. Just two plays later, Blount found his former dual-quarterback brother, junior
Jacob Ginskey (Owatonna, Minn.), who has moved to wide receiver, for a 17 yard completion to move the ball to the 10-yard line. After the ball was moved to the three-yard line, senior
Jordan Wold (Eagan, Minn.) made himself available in the end zone, where Blount was able to drop it in his hands for the first touchdown of the season.
After the first quarter, the Gustie defense had held Central to just one first down and 10 total yards of offense, whereas Gustavus had six first downs and 101 total yards.
Defensive Coordinator
Landon Rauen's squad forced another punt without a first down for the Dutch after the Gustie touchdown and Frommelt, also returning punts, broke one free. Frommelt caught the ball on the 22-yard line after a 50-yard punt and returned it 31 yards himself to the Central 47-yard line for much better field position. On 3rd and 2, junior running back
Walker Hennen (Alexandria, Minn.) took a handoff from Blount and got around the edge, rushing for 15 yards and pushing the Gustie offense down the the Central 24-yard line. A set of three chunk plays, capped by a 10-yard screen yard pass to the three-yard line set up Gross for his first touchdown of the day and season, getting around the edge to the left pylon.
Frommelt continued his magic on the ensuing extra point, when he made the decision that junior
Jack Sieben (Hastings, Minn.) would not be able to accurately kick the hold he had set. Frommelt got off the ground from his holding position and ran right, when his dive towards the pylon was successful and gave Gustavus a 15-0 lead with 10:08 remaining in the half.
The Gustavus defense bent but did not break on the next drive, forcing a turnover on downs on their own 28 yard line after a 12-play, 38-yard possession from the Dutch, which was their first sign of offensive success. A short punt by Sieben on the next drive gave Central a short field, on their own 45-yard line. A 39-yard pass on the first play of the drive put the Dutch on the 16 yard line and after maneuvering down to the six-yard line, but after senior
Chance Swansson (Rosemount, Minn.) broke up a pass over a receiver a full foot taller than him, Central was forced to settle for a 23-yard field goal.
The second half opened with another turnover on downs for the Dutch, when sophomore
Brett DeRoo (Belgrade, Minn.) thwarted a scramble attempt with an ankle-biting tackle to give the Gusties the ball back. The halftime break did not halt the Gustavus offense, who scored on their first time of asking in the second half.
Gross found his second touchdown of the day with a two-yard run up the middle, but the way the team marched down the field was much more unorthodox. A roughing the passer penalty, a 14 yard pass to Ginskey, an eight-yard run himself, and a seven yard rush for Wold put the ball on the Central 40-yard line. After a fumble lost 22 yards, Gustavus saw a 2nd-and-32 in their face, but used three passes of 16, 23, and 14 yards to get down to the position where Gross could power himself in. Sieben made the ensuing extra point and gave Gustavus a 22-3 lead.
Yet again, Rauen and the Gustie defense forced a desperation turnover on downs with the Dutch down 19 points and when the Gustavus offense stepped on the field, the envelope was signed, sealed, and delivered in just two plays. After a rush for no gain, Blount found Ginskey over the middle for a 26-yard touchdown pass, bringing the score to 29 and sending a message not only to the Dutch, but to the country after a dominant win against a team who was receiving votes in both the AFCA and D3football.com polls.
As a team, the Gusties led with 22 first downs compared to Central's 14. Time of possession was nearing dead-even, with Gustavus leading by just 34 seconds at 29:53. The home team never needed a fourth-down conversion, whereas Central was 2-for-8 in the same situation and only 3-for-15 on third down. Central found 268 total yards across the 60 minutes, but a major deterrent in the Dutch effort was the contribution of five sacks from the Gustavus defense.
After a bye week, the Gusties (1-0, 0-0 MIAC) will open their MIAC slate under the lights against No. 2 Bethel (0-1, 0-0 MIAC) at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 19th.
