The Gustavus Football team opened camp Aug. 21, 2010. The team has been building to improve upon a 2009 season that yielded a 4-6 record and a tie for fourth place in the MIAC Conference. They have not placed higher than fourth in the conference in the last seven years, posting an overall record of 30-40 in that span.

Hopefully, a new decade will offer a fresh start for a program that has not experienced much winning in the recent past.

“I think you make changes when changes are needed,” Head Coach Peter Haugen said. If the last 20 years are any indication, the Gustavus Football team is in dire need to contend for the MIAC Championship, having not won a MIAC title since 1987.

Change was expected to have happened last year, but Haugen asserts that the key to a solid football program is the building process.

“You [must] build every single year. You can’t put everything in [place] in one year and expect everything to change,” Haugen said.

Haugen is now in his second year of coaching and the pressure to succeed will increase, but the team has done plenty in camp to prepare and has high expectations of its own.

One of the most important adjustments will be made on offense, which turned the ball over 11 more times than its opponents last season.

“Our philosophy offensively this year is to protect. You’ve got to protect your teammates, and you’ve got to protect the ball,” Haugen said.

The first player the Gusties will have to protect is Junior Logan Becker, who will step in as the starting quarterback. Becker spent last season as a backup, allowing him a full year to familiarize himself with Haugen’s offensive playbook and get accustomed to his role as a facilitator.

“You’ve got to get the athletes the ball,” Haugen said. “We’ve got some dynamic receivers.”

Two of these receivers are Senior Cody Sukalski and Junior Elliot Herdina, both captains and catalysts for the passing offense. Herdina led the team in nearly every receiving category, which includes 46 receptions, 555 yards and seven touchdowns. It will be Becker’s job to get the ball to these two offensive playmakers, or Gustavus’s offensive woes will continue into this year.

“You’ve got to trust the guy next to you, that he’s [going to] do his job, and then everything takes care of itself,” Sukalski said.

The main jobs for the defense will be to provide solidarity and leadership, having only graduated one senior a year ago. The Gusties plan to put a lot of pressure on opposing quarterbacks, which will lead to more sacks, a weak point for the defense in 2009.

A change in the defensive scheme will result in more sacks as well as more interceptions.

“We’ll be dropping back into man [defensive strategy] instead of the zone, so its [going to] help the coverage and make the [opposing] quarterback spend more time on his reads,” Senior football captain and linebacker Zach Lundquist said.

The Gustavus Football team will open its regular season at home Saturday, Sept. 11 at Hollingsworth Field against Wartburg College. Wartburg is ranked 22nd in the nation and is coming off a win in the season opener, beating 19th-ranked Monmouth College (Ill.) 27-7.

Despite the difficult matchup, it will be a good test to see if Gustavus can play with the elite teams in the MIAC Conference later in the season.

“Having those kinds of contests early I think are critical because they give you an idea of where you are at,” Haugen said.

Senior Captain Brandon Jonker expressed his eagerness for Saturday’s game by making a bold prediction. “It’s [going to] be a real exciting game,” Jonker said. “I think we have a good chance of beating them … I think we’re [going to] beat [them].”

The Gusties will look to get things started off on the right foot this Saturday at Hollingsworth Field.