ST. PETER, Minn. – The St. Olaf College football team was defeated 37-3 by Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play on Saturday afternoon at Hollingsworth Field.
Walker Hennen rushed for 139 yards and three touchdowns to lead Gustavus (3-2, 2-2 MIAC) past St. Olaf (1-4, 1-3 MIAC), which was held to an average of 2.8 yards per play in the loss. The Oles' lone points came on a 45-yard field goal by sophomore
Patrick Gardner early in the third quarter that made it a 13-3 game.
Hennen broke loose for a 60-yard touchdown on Gustavus' first play from scrimmage and later scored on runs of two and 16 yards while averaging over nine yards per carry on his 15 carries. The Gusties recorded 194 passing yards and 187 rushing yards and were 3-for-4 on fourth down in the win.
Senior
Bryon Sauvy ran 18 times for 49 yards for St. Olaf, while first year
Jason Blackburn had 31 yards on four rushing attempts. Sophomore Taevin Pribly led the Oles with four receptions for 36 yards. Junior
Logan Bosch paced St. Olaf's defense with 11 total tackles, including 2.0 tackles for a loss, while senior
Nick Rollinger had five tackles, one interception, and one pass breakup.
St. Olaf moved the ball to near midfield on the opening possession of the game, but a short punt set up Gustavus at its own 40-yard line before Hennen broke free for his 60-yard touchdown. The score remained 7-0 until Hennen scored from two yards out with 1:18 remaining in the half, resulting in a 13-0 halftime score after the extra point failed.
Rollinger recorded his second interception of the season three plays into the second half, eventually leading to the 45-yard field goal by Gardner that got the Oles on the board. Gardner's 45-yarder was the longest made field goal by an Ole since 2013.
Starting later in the third quarter, Gustavus scored on 4-of-5 possessions to run away with the win. Liam Frommelt hauled in a 34-yard touchdown from Jacob Ginskey with 4:42 left in the third to make it a 20-3 game and finished with seven receptions for 106 yards and a touchdown.
St. Olaf will be back at Klein Field at Manitou for a 1 p.m. kickoff against nationally-ranked Bethel University on Saturday, Oct. 17.
