Courtney Van Haaften | Assistant Sports Editor
On Saturday, Nov. 3, the Buena Vista University (BVU) football team held on for an exciting 29-27 victory over conference opponent, the Simpson Storm. It was the last home game for the Beavers this season as well as it being Senior Day.
The Beavers were trailing 21-13 about halfway through the third quarter but then made a 30-yard field goal. Senior Logan Lehrkamp scored partway through the fourth quarter to give them a 22-21 lead. The Storm failed to score on their next possession, and sophomore Dylan Barrett ran for an 80-yard touchdown which was bolstered by a field goal from Bryce Bintner, putting the Beavers up 29-21. The Storm scored on their next possession but didn’t connect on their two-point conversion attempt to move the score to 29-27. To make the game even more intense, the Storm returned an onside kick and moved the ball down field and attempted a 35-yard field goal. Missing wide left and with seconds ticking off the clock, junior quarterback Bobby Brown was able to kneel and finish this exciting game for the Beavers.
With this 29-27 win, the Beavers landed a second place spot in the conference with a record of 4-2. The four game winning streak matches their best streak since the 2008 season. They are also guaranteed to finish the season with a winning record in the Iowa Conference.
The twelve seniors on the roster were recognized for their hard work throughout their careers. The seniors on the team this year included: Bo Darrow, John Hill, Tyler Kibbee, Logan Lehrkamp, Josh Long, Collin Mann, Nick Pleuger, Adam Schlichte, Leroy Schulte, Travis Westhoff, Michael Wiegmann, and Gunnar Wyatt. These seniors have worked extremely hard throughout their careers, and it has really been paying off. They gave it their all in their last home game of their careers with their cheer-worthy victory over the Storm.
John Hill, who ran for 131 yards in the game and surpassed the 2000-yard mark for his career, said his four years as a Beaver have been very enjoyable.
“I’ve made so many friends since my freshman year till this year and have developed wonderful relationships with our coaching staff, and for these reasons, all the practices and lifts that we’ve endured have been well worth it. I wouldn’t trade these four years for anything,” Hill said.
“I was able to learn a lot of life lessons from our coaching staff, especially working through adversity,” fellow senior Bo Darrow said about his career.
The team’s current success can be accredited to many things. Overall, it comes down to more experience playing together and the cohesiveness of the team.
“We’ve come together as one cohesive unit, and everyone now knows their specific role in regards to this team and is executing that role much better than earlier in the year. Everyone’s playing within themselves and not trying to do too much, and because of this we’ve had significantly less turnovers, which has helped lead to this nice streak,” Hill commented about their last few games.
“I think the biggest factors in our recent success have been that everyone is playing with a lot more confidence and perseverance. Early in the season people were still trying to figure some things out, and we were a little timid. But after we got rolling, everyone has been playing relentlessly. Also, we’ve developed the mindset that we’re never out of a game. It’s helped us finish drives and put games away late,” Darrow added.
The Beavers close out their 2012 season this Saturday, Nov. 10, when they take on the Spartans at Dubuque with a 12 p.m. kick-off.
Photo courtesy of Adam Schlichte
