The Gustavus Adolphus College football team and first year head coach Peter Haugen will open their 2009 season at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12 against Coe College at Hollingsworth Field.
The Gusties will begin a new era on Saturday as Haugen takes the field as the 17th head coach in the history of the Gustavus football program. Haugen, who spent 15 successful years as the head coach at Washburn High School in Minneapolis, will build his squad around 34 letterwinners (19 on defense and 15 on offense) return- ing from a team that finished 6-4 overall and placed fifth in the MIAC with a league mark of 4-4.
The Gustavus defense returns seven starters, including its entire linebacking corps. Senior linebacker Tony Palma returns after a season where he recorded 83 tackles and was a First-Team All-MIAC selection. Junior linebackers Zach Lundquist, Paul Stommes and Dustin Kammerer will look to build upon successful sophomore seasons where the three combined for 171 tackles.
The Gustavus secondary returns safety Joe Welch, who was named to Lindy’s Magazine Preseason All-America First Team and D3football.com Preseason All-America Second Team. Playing next to Welch will be Dan Opitz, Brad Kruckeberg, and Mike Mohs. The defensive line will look to returning starter Christian Vanek to help ease the loss of All-Conference defensive lineman Brian Berglund and starter Ted Aleckson. Expected to step in next to Vanek will be Scott Wilkie, Tom Einberger, and Todd Kremmin.
The Gustavus offense also returns seven starters including quarterback Jordan Becker. Becker enters the season as the top returning quarterback statistically in the MIAC after finishing third in the league in passing yards per game with 187.2 and fourth overall in total offense with 202.9 yards per game.
The backfield will be filled with fresh faces. First in line will be Division II transfer Mike Wubbena. Wubbena transferred from Augustana College in South Dakota a season ago, but suffered a season-ending knee injury before the season began.
The receiving corps, will be led by Elliot Herdina, Cody Sukalski, and Cameron Maurer. In the trenches, the Gusties return three starters including center Kevin Geurink, right guard Mike May, and right tackle Chris Martinez.
Coe opened its season at home last week with a thrilling 9-7 win over Augustana College of Illinois. The Kohawks helped foil an Augustana 23-yard field goal attempt with :06 left on the clock that would have allowed the Vikings to escape with a 10-9 win.
The Coe defensive unit, which is expected to be very good this season, was the story for the Kohawks, limiting Augustana to 235 yards of total offense including just 100 yards through the air. Freshman end Frank Weymiller led the way with 12 tackles.
The Coe offense compiled 275 yards in the contest including 207 yards in the air, and 68 on the ground. Sophomore quarterback Brad Boyle completed 25-of-32 passes for 207 yards and one touchdown, while senior running back Sam Hammes carried 10 times for 39 yards.
For more on Saturday’s game, go to the Gustavus Athletics website.
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