The Buena Vista football team put up 476 yards of total offense and used a big 27-point second quarter to help lift it to a key 48-24 victory over visiting Luther College on Saturday for Homecoming inside of J. Leslie Rollins Stadium.

Sophomore quarterback Cole Miller made his second straight start and had another solid day under center as BVU threw for 238 yards while rushing for 238 more.

Miller completed 11-of-20 pass attempts for 229 yards and three touchdowns and now has seven touchdowns over his first two career starts.  He also rushed five times for 40 yards and one score.

Junior Cody Mowery surpassed 1,500 career rushing yards in the contest and had a monster day on the ground for BVU with a season-high 154 yards on 22 carries, including one score.  Cody Morris also found the endzone once with his legs while finishing with 49 yards on 11 carries.

"It all started with our ability to run the football early and stay ahead of the chains," said BVU head coach Jay Anderson. 

Senior Jalen Henningsen caught a team-high four passes for 113 yards, including a 57-yard touchdown catch late in the first half which put the Beavers ontop, 27-10.

Charlie Flickinger was next with three catches, including a 15-yard catch with just three seconds left in the opening half which gave BVU a 41-10 halftime lead.

TJ Lint, along with Mowery, caught two passes and added 57 yards and one touchdown.

The Norse came in leading the league in rushing at nearly 300 yards per contest, but the Beaver defense held the triple-option attack in check for most of the way, until a pair of late fourth quarter touchdown drives helped push their total to 254.

"I was very pleased with our defense in stopping Luther's rush attack, specifically with the fullback," Anderson added. 

Mowery's ground game on the opening drive helped set the tone for BVU as he gained 55 yards on the drive before Miller capped it with a five-yard blast giving the Beavers an early 7-0 lead.

Luther responded right back and got deep into BVU territory before having to settle for a 26-yard field goal.

BVU, which scored on its first seven possessions, including five touchdowns, then got a five-yard touchdown run from Mowery to make it 14-3 late in the first quarter.

Tyler Stolen sandwiched a pair of field goals, including a 42-yard boot, around a one-yard touchdown run by the Norse, making it a 20-10 BVU lead.

The Beavers then rolled off three touchdowns in the final 1:56 of the first half, starting with Henningsen's 57-yarder. 

BVU forced the Norse to punt with 1:27 left in the half, and Cody Wirth shanked the punt for just five yards, giving the Blue and Gold possession in Norse territory.  The Beavers then wasted no time from there as Miller hooked up with TJ Lint on the very next play from 42 yards over the middle of the field to extend the lead to 34-10. 

Luther then called a timeout after just one play on its ensuing possession, and on the very next play, fumbled the ball back to BVU which lead the Flickinger's catch just before the break.

Morris' 27-yard scamper with 0:26 left in the third was the only scoring in the period before Luther added touchdown runs of seven and eight yards in the fourth.

Nick Amundson and Zach Mueggenberg tallied eight tackles each to help lead a strong defensive effort.  Gary Weaver had five stops, including two for a loss.  Nick Novotny and Justin Kahl each intercepted a pass for BVU, which moves back to .500 in conference play.

Luther falls to 1-3 in conference play and 2-4 overall.  The Beavers, now 2-4 (2-2 IIAC) will look to make it three straight when they host the University of Dubuque (6-1, 4-1 IIAC).  The Spartans suffered their first loss of the year on Saturday at home by Coe College.

"We have momentum, but Dubuque will be a big challenge for us," said Anderson.  "They are very well coached and have very good skill players on both sides.  We will simply go out and focus on what we can control."

Kick-off next Saturday in Storm Lake is set for 1:00pm.