Maggie Ramold | Assistant Sports Editor
The Buena Vista University (BVU) football team took the field on Saturday for their home opener against Concordia-Moorhead. The Beavers fell short dropping the contest 21-13.
Concordia scored first early in the first quarter, but the Beavers cut the deficit with junior Dylan Barrett scoring his first rushing touchdown of the season. The Cobbers answered in the second quarter to lead of 14-7.
BVU had the ball inside the Cobber 10-yard line after a 64-yard completion from senior quarterback Bobby Brown to junior Gunner Gilland. The Beavers were unable to score, giving up a fumble to Concordia.
Senior Mason Nielsen intercepted a pass in Beaver territory towards the end of the second quarter, leading to a 46-yard field goal from freshman Tyler Stolen to pull the Beavers within 14-10 at halftime.
“For the offense, we just have to score when we are close to the end zone. We had several chances to score which would have given us a big lead, but we had a lot of mistakes when we were close,” Senior quarterback Bobby Brown said.
The Cobbers came back from half time to build its biggest lead of 21-10. The Beavers answered with a 34 yard field goal from Stolen.
The Beaver defense then came up with a big stop three minutes left in the fourth quarter. BVU made their way down to the Concordia 38-yard line for 4th and 6. The Beavers couldn’t execute and gave the ball to the Cobbers on downs, giving Concordia the win.
Brown completed 20 of his 38 attempts for a total of 266 yards, tying his career-high. Sophomore Jalen Henningsen had six catches for 93 yards, and junior Adam Cave added five catches for 42 yards.
Barrett rushed for 93 yards in 22 carries, while Brown tailed 33 yards in 11 attempts.
As for the defense, senior Brady Randall led BVU with 9 tackles. Nielsen and junior Derek Schwartz each grabbed one interception to help the Beaver defense force four turnovers throughout the game.
“Defensively we took a large step in the right direction from week one to week two. Other than a few big plays, we played a pretty sound game defensively, and it showed us just how good we can be if we clean up a few things,” Schwartz said.
Both Brown and Schwartz are excited for conference play, and the team’s hard non-conference schedule is preparing them for Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) play.
“We have very hard non-conference schedules with all teams ranked in the top 25. We have a great team, and I believe we can win a conference championship if we learn from our mistakes and compete for the whole game,” Brown said.
Schwartz also was impressed with the support from the crowd.
“It was great to see a good sized student section at the game. Makes for a fun atmosphere to play in,” Schwartz said.
The Beavers play at home this Saturday, Sept. 21 at 1:00 p.m. as they take on eighth ranked Bethel University.
Photos by Tyson Domingo
