WAVERLY, Iowa -- The No. 11/16-ranked Wartburg College football team rolled to a 72-14 victory over Buena Vista University on Saturday at Walston-Hoover Stadium, extending its American Rivers Conference winning streak to 36 games in front of the Homecoming crowd.
The Knights (3-2, 2-0 A-R-C) answered from an early 7-0 deficit with 72 unanswered points across 11 scoring drives to pull away from the Beavers (1-4, 0-2 A-R-C).Â
Wartburg dominated the trenches with over 750 total yards, including 501 yards on the ground, while allowing the Beavers 187 total yards. Wartburg finished 53-yards shy of the program record for rushing yards in a game (551 vs WillIam Penn, 1991). However, the Knights' 752 yards gained set a new program record, surpassing the 721-yard mark against Simpson in 2015.Â
Quarterback
Josh Papesh completed 11 of 15 passes for 208 yards and four touchdowns and added 19 rushing yards. Running back
Dawson Rud eclipsed the century-mark in rushing yards once again, totaling 124 yards on 11 carries, and caught two passes for 41 yards and a touchdown.
Korben Michels scored twice on four carries and finished with 70 rushing yards.
Dylan Swanstrom scored on his lone carry and lone reception, totaling 32 rushing yards, 20 receiving yards and 45 punt return yards.
Buena Vista struck on its opening drive, converting fourth-and-3 when Brett Garcia hit Johnny Messerly for a 49-yard touchdown at 13:53, and the extra point made it 7-0. Wartburg answered with a 65-yard drive, with Rud's 30-yard run moving the ball to the Buena Vista 25 before Papesh connected with
Caleb Egesdal for a 25-yard touchdown at 12:08 and
Jackson Othmer's kick tied it at 7-7. Buena Vista moved into Wartburg territory again, but
Topher Bigalk intercepted Garcia at the Wartburg 8 after a
Jake Walker hurry at 7:23. Wartburg then went 92 yards, getting first-down throws to Egesdal and
Taylen Curry before
Marcus Beatty's 20-yard touchdown run at 4:41 helped send the Knights to the end of the first quarter ahead 14-7.
After Buena Vista punted on the opening series of the second quarter, Wartburg drove from its own 45 and Swanstrom finished the possession with a 32-yard touchdown run at 11:05, with Othmer's extra point making it 21-7. Wartburg forced another punt, and Rud's runs of 13 and 29 yards set up Papesh's 31-yard touchdown pass to
Simon Ott at 6:30 for a 28-7 lead. After the teams traded punts, Swanstrom's 39-yard return gave Wartburg the ball at the Buena Vista 36, and Papesh hit Rud for a one-play touchdown at 2:08 to make it 35-7.
David Borchers' sack helped set up
Rayce Heitman's blocked punt for a safety at 1:42, and Wartburg added one more score when Papesh connected with Swanstrom for a 20-yard touchdown with 39 seconds left before the Knights carried a 44-7 lead into halftime.
Wartburg opened the third quarter with a 64-yard scoring drive, using a 37-yard Beatty run to reach the Buena Vista 8 before
Grant Hocker found
Ty Gardner for a 12-yard touchdown at 12:02, and Othmer's kick made it 51-7. Buena Vista moved from its 25 to the Wartburg 41 and converted one fourth down, but
Conner McDonald and Walker combined for a third-down stop before a fourth-and-11 completion came up short at the Wartburg 34. Wartburg answered with another long drive, overcoming holding penalties with a 26-yard
Carson Bruns run, a 10-yard Hocker completion to
Drew Hobart and Michels' 17-yard touchdown run at 1:52 to make it 58-7 after Othmer's kick.
Owen Rosenberg recovered a muffed kickoff at the Buena Vista 23, and
Aidan Skoda followed with runs of 20 and 3 yards for another touchdown before
Keegan Weber's extra point closed the quarter scoring at 65-7.
Buena Vista opened the fourth quarter by moving near midfield, but
Seth Madden stopped Adriel Fussell for a loss and Garcia was dropped for a 7-yard loss on fourth down to give Wartburg the ball at the Buena Vista 46. Michels kept Wartburg's next possession moving after his fumble was recovered by Hobart, then ran 39 yards for a touchdown at 12:05 before Weber's extra point made it 72-7. After Buena Vista punted on its next series, Wartburg drove from its own 40 to the Buena Vista 6 before Noah Hansen recovered a
Tyler Shaner fumble and returned it 84 yards to the Wartburg 8. Trayton Cink scored on an 8-yard run at 4:58 and Aaron Christian added the extra point, and Wartburg used a late drive that included
Ramero Trevino's 28-yard run to the Buena Vista 10 before kneeling out the win.
UP NEXT
Wartburg travels to Dubuque, Iowa, to face Loras College at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, at Rock Bowl.
