It was a dreary day in Storm Lake, Iowa, but that didn’t stop the Buena Vista University football team from putting together a well-deserved overtime win at J. Leslie Rollins Stadium.

The BVU victory was the first over Central since 2012 and just the third since 1980. This is the Beavers’ first 2-0 start to a season since 2003.

In the first quarter of the game, the Beavers and Dutch went neck-and-neck with a score of 7-7. Junior quarterback Cole Miller threw a 67-yard touchdown pass to freshman receiver Jeremiah Rice.

Until late in the second quarter, the score remained tied at 7. After a 21-yard field goal, the Dutch took the lead 10-7. The Beavers would then take the lead for the first time in the game, with a one-yard touchdown pass by Cole Miller to senior Tyler Oberreuter.  The scoreboard read 14-10 with 32 seconds left in the half.

Central managed to take the lead by a point before halftime. After the kickoff, Central quarterback Kohle Helle ran 50 yards down the field. The ball was fumbled, and recovered by him on the Beavers’ 21-yard line. The Dutch then made a 38-yard field goal, and the time expired making the score 14-13 at halftime.

Early in the second half, freshman running back Tariq Thomas gave the Beavers a 21-13 lead with a short touchdown run. However, the Dutch fought back with a touchdown and two-point conversion, to tie the game up at 21 apiece with 5:17 left in the third. Before time expired, Cole Miller took it in himself from a yard out to give the Beavers the lead at 28-21.

Three minutes into the fourth quarter, Helle had a one-yard touchdown leap to tie the game at 28-28. With 2:46 left in the fourth quarter, Central made a 20-yard field to take the lead 31-28.

The next possession the Beavers would get the ball on their own 20 yard line. Miller threw consecutive completions for 11 yards to sophomore receiver Ross Adamson. Miller then threw a 23-yard pass to Tariq Thomas, getting the ball to the Dutch’s 34. After a Beaver timeout, Cole Miller threw a 16-yard dart on the far sideline to Eric Pacheco who was able to keep it inbounds.

The Beavers got inside the five yard-line, but the Dutch managed to keep the Beavers out of the end-zone. Freshman kicker Chris Miller made a 20-yard field goal to tie things up with only 26 seconds left in regulation.

With a big run by Helle, Central managed to get into BVU territory. Senior corner back, Nick Amundson almost ended the game in a dramatic fashion as he intercepted Helle’s pass at the BVU 30-yard line. Amundson raced up the far sideline as time expired. He then cut back across the middle of the field where he was tripped up at the 10-yard line, sending the game into overtime.

The Dutch started in overtime with the ball and got a two-yard touchdown and a PAT to give them a 38-31 lead. BVU would now have their chance at scoring. Miller’s first pass attempt was incomplete, but he then completed an 11-yard pass to Tariq Thomas. Miller then threw a fade in the right corner of the end-zone to junior receiver Jordan Travis. The Beavers were within 1, and head coach Grant Molring called a timeout. Coach sent the group back out there and the Beavers ran a reverse to senior receiver, TJ Lint coming toward the near side of the field before cutting it back up into the defense and tumbling over the goal-line and securing an exciting Beaver win, 39-38.

Cole Miller completed 26-of-42 attempts and finished the game with a career-high 358 yards. Miller is now tied with Mike Wilson for sixth most in a single-game in school history. Miller now has five passing touchdowns on the year with only one interception.

TJ Lint was on the receiving end to seven of Miller’s completions for 108 yards. He also had a pair of rushing attempts for 17 yards, including the final two yards he gained to lead the Beavers to victory on the two-point conversion. The Tack spoke with a confident TJ Lint after the game who said “It’s a good win” and his thoughts going into overtime were that “we had it won”.

Ross Adamson had a game-high eight catches for 78 yards, and Tariq Thomas caught five passes for 47 yards.

“It was a tough game,” Thomas said. “We knew it was going to be a tough game from the start. We just wanted to come out and win.”

Thomas’ thoughts going into overtime were similar to his teammate TJ Lint’s.

“We were going to win,” Lint said he was thinking.

Junior defensive back, Zach Anderson had 11 tackles for the Beavers, including two forced fumbles. Sophomore defensive lineman Gary Weaver had nine tackles and junior linebacker Tyler Prescott brought in nine tackles, as well. Freshman linebacker Reed Kruse had six tackles and a late interception in the third quarter, setting up a go-ahead touchdown for the Beavers.

The Beavers will take their first road trip of the season on Saturday, September 23, to play Loras College (1-2, 0-1 IIAC) at 1:00 pm, and will look for their first 3-0 start to a season since 1988.