Tanner Hoops | Staff Writer
Football season is just around the corner at Buena Vista University (BVU) and 10th year Head Coach Jay Anderson would like nothing more than to keep the optimism of September extending well into November. Anderson’s Beavers opened the season with a road game against national powerhouse Wisconsin-Platteville on Sept 5th losing 49-13.
The Beavers play their home opener against Waldorf on Sept 26th, before beginning conference play the following week.
“We are excited for a great opportunity,” Anderson said of his team’s challenging non-conference schedule, “It’s time to play a game and see what we are doing well at this point and what we need to improve before conference play.”
The Beavers return seven starters on offense, including the entire offensive line, from a team that went 5-5 overall and 4-3 in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) for a 3rd place finish last season. The Beavers look to fill the void left by the graduation of four All-IIAC players at the skilled positions.
Senior Travis Munn, a four-year starter and an All-IIAC selection a year ago, and junior Tanner Heckt return at the offensive tackle positions, while senior Logan Sallee brings experience as the team’s center. Junior guard Michael Davidson is back after suffering a season-ending injury early last season. Senior Cam Knobbe will return at the guard positions, with sophomore Joe Thraen looking to provide depth as well.
Senior wide receiver Ben Seitz will look to build off of a strong 2014 season in which he hauled in 65 receptions for 828 yards and eight touchdowns, good enough to earn him All-IIAC honorable mention accolades. Classmate Jalen Henningsen is back after suffering a season-ending ACL tear in the preseason a year ago. Sophomore Kolten Bader will likely see plenty of action at the receiver position, coming off a freshman year in which he was primarily the team’s kick returner.
“We are an incredibly close knit team, we are a big family. Everyone knows their responsibilities and knows what is expected of one another each play,” Munn said, who will also serve as one of the team captains this year. “We have a lot of good leadership from all of the older guys with a lot of younger guys hungry to learn and get some playing time.”
The defense will be rich in experience as well as the Beavers return eight starters on the other side of the ball. In the secondary, the Beavers three of the four defensive backs who started at the end of last season and will be led by senior safety Kyle Arnold. Arnold, a four-year starter, totaled 52 tackles a season ago, including 36 solo stops. Arnold had two fumble recoveries and had three games with at least eight tackles. Cornerbacks Justin Kahl and Nick Amundson are back for their junior and sophomore years respectively. Junior Connor Downs, who finished second on the team in tackles last season with 73, returns along with defensive linemen Mason Frost and Beau Van Wechel.
“In order for us to have a successful season, I think it really comes down to letting our defense do what they do, stopping runs upfront and batting down passes,” Munn said.
Anderson feels that the defensive line is where the Beavers are the most deep.
“I think our defensive line depth and experience could be a strength for us. We have our entire offensive line back from a year ago, we need them to be a strength for us as well,” Anderson said.
Junior Tyler Stolen is back to handle punting and place kicking duties after earning All-IIAC honors in each of his first two seasons with the team. Stolen has hit 20 of 29 field goals in his career, his longest being a 46-yard strike in 2013.
There are nearly 90 players on this year’s roster and about 40 of them did not wear a Buena Vista uniform last season.
“I think all of our returners have done a good job helping out the new players,” Anderson said. “It’s a group effort in football, you need to have leaders at every position group. I think we have a handful of new guys that will show up as the season plays out. I do think our freshman class has a lot of talent across the board.”
The IIAC is known for its competitiveness and Coach Anderson believes that this year will be no different.
“I expect a very competitive conference race, Wartburg is the favorite but it’s a long season and things happen. In the IIAC, if you play poorly on any Saturday, you can get beat. Our expectation is to see improvement week to week, make plays as we have the opportunity, if we do those things we will be in a good spot,” Anderson said.
The Beavers next match is against St. John’s (Minnesota) on Sept. 12th starting at 1pm.
