The Gustavus Football team opened their season at home against Buena Vista University, marking the third year in a row that the Gusties have squared off with BVU to start their season. Replicating their success from last year the Gusties started off their season with a dominating 51-7 victory over the Beavers.
With a high powered offense led by Junior starting Quarterback George Sandven, who had a brilliant performance under center throwing for 382 yards, often connecting with Senior Wide Receiver Jake Breitbach who finished the game with an outstanding 235 receiving yards. About the victory: “We had a solid fall camp which laid a great foundation going into week 1. Our coaching staff put together a great game plan and put us in a position to succeed,” Sandven said.
The Gusties started the game out strong with a quick 7-play 65-yard drive capped off by a 2-yard touchdown run from Senior Rohee Konde. The Gustavus defense then set the tone for what type of game it was going to be, forcing a 3 and out on Buena Vista’s first drive.
The avalanche of Gustavus scoring then continued with a punishing 14-play 55-yard drive which was completed with a 2-yard touchdown pass in which Sandven connected with Breitbach making the score 13-0. Breitbach and Sandven connected yet again in the 2nd quarter on a 28-yard touchdown pass, bringing the score to 20-0. With the half drawing to a close, Gustavus Cornerback Eric Lyons Jr. snagged an interception with 1:09 left to play in the half, which was too much time for Buena Vista to leave the Gustie offense, as Sandven drove the team 80 yards down the field in only 49 seconds ending with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Senior Matthew Carreon. That high octane offense paired with absolutely flawless play on the defensive end brought the first half to a close with the score Gustavus 27 Buena Vista 0.
Although the Gusties held a dominating lead, they came out firing in the second half with an explosive 53-yard touchdown where Sandven again hit Breitbach making that their third touchdown connection of the day. Sandven and Breitbach weren’t done however, only 3 minutes later they hooked up again on a 42-yard touchdown pass for now their fourth touchdown connection of the day! Safe to say that Breitbach and Sandven were certainly on the same page, and both played absolutely brilliantly in the home opener. “George and I spent time this summer hitting the field and preparing for the season, so, I would say we have built up a good connection already and will only improve throughout the season. George is a great QB, he has a strong arm and composure in the pocket,” Breitbach said of the chemistry between him and Sandven. Also when asked about his brilliant game, Breitbach credited the people around him who made it possible, stating “I would say the biggest thing for our success we all did well was just doing our job. The coaches and my teammates did a great job and gave George and I the opportunity to make some big plays.”
After their fourth touchdown connection, the score was brought to 41-0 with 10:32 left in the third quarter. It’s safe to say that the game plan worked perfectly, and 41-0 is a very comfortable lead for a team to sit on. However, Sandven and the offense still had a sense of urgency as he hit Matthew Carreon again for a 27-yard touchdown pass bringing the score to a whopping 48-0. Buena Vista finally got on the board early in the fourth quarter after a grueling 11-play, 72-yard drive to get the score to 48-7. These were the only points allowed by the Gustavus defense all day. They played well, shutting down the Buena Vista offensive attacks. The last points of the game were made by Kicker Andrew Abegglen who drilled a 35-yard field goal to put a stamp on the 51-7 Gustavus domination of Buena Vista.
Gustavus Football has some big dreams and ambitions this year with the ultimate goal of hoisting the National Championship at this years’ close. This performance against Buena Vista was an amazing display of the team’s prowess on both sides of the ball, and gives reason to be very optimistic about this team. “There are always areas that need improvement on a weekly basis. Good thing for us, we are entering a bye week which will give us extra time to make changes and fix mistakes,” Sandven stated. Following the bye week, the action picks back up on Sept. 16th at UW-Stout, where the Gusties will look to avenge their 2022 loss to the Blue Devils.