DUBUQUE, Iowa (November 9, 2019) - Adrian Griffin and Bryland Menicucci each had rushing touchdowns to give the Beavers a 12-6 lead after the first quarter, but the University of Dubuque would score 20 unanswered points en route to a 26-12 victory in what was the season finale for BVU on Saturday afternoon.

Griffin scored the game's first points when he capped an 11-play, 80-yard drive with a three-yard TD run, but the PAT was no good and BVU led 6-0 with 4:14 left in the opening frame.  The Spartans came right back with a score just over a minute later but also missed their PAT.  Late in the quarter, Cory Kitt blocked a punt attempt by Dubuque deep in Spartan terririty which set up Menicucci's one-yard TD plunge with four seconds left in the opening frame.  He nearly had a score on the play before when he found a seam up the far sideline for a 26-yard gain.

Dubuque took its first lead of the game at 13-12 with just under a minute left in the first half with a 12-yard touchdown pass.

The Beaver defense again came up big to begin the second half when Mason Wickett intercepted a Dubuque pass on the opening drive and returned it six yards back to the Spartan 33 yard-line.  Pacheco hauled in a catch for 13 yards down to the 20 and the Beavers were in business, but the offense stalled there with three straight incomplete passes and a two-yard rush.

The Spartans extended their lead to 20-6 on the ensuing drive, going 80 yards in nearly five minutes and later added another score just minutes into the fourth quarter on a 15-yard TD pass.

Pacheco, who was chasing the program's single-season receiving yardage mark, hauled in four passes for a combined 24 yards on the team's ensuing possession which helped it get deep down into Dubuque territory to the six, but the Beavers couldn't punch it in from there and turned it over on downs.

Pacheco finished the game with eight catches and 84 yards, moving him into a tie for the program's single-season record of 1,101.  He finishes with 77 receptions on the year which is also second-most all-time and was just six shy of matching the single-season mark.

"We battled like crazy today," said BVU head coach Grant Mollring.  "Injuries had really gotten up to us, and we and had three starters that didn't practice all week, give it their best shot today. The two things that held us back from winning the game were missed tackles and not converting twice in the red zone." 

Dubuque (6-3, 5-2 A-R-C) did most of its damage on the ground, rushing for 259 yards compared to BVU's 82.  The Beavers out-gained them in the air (199-168).  Reyes Lara III was 10-of-21 for 127 yards.  Menicucci did have another solid day with 66 rushing yards on just 10 carries.

"I felt like we made enough plays on defense to give us a chance, but we just couldn't sustain our early momentum on offense," Mollring added.  

Michael Herwig led team with 12 tackles, including a career-high 4.5 for a loss.  He also forced on fumble and had one quarterback hurry.  Wickett finsihed with five tackles, the interception, and also blocked a kick.

Buena Vista closes out the season at 3-7 overall (1-7 A-R-C).  Dubuque wraps up its season next Saturday at Nebraska Wesleyan University.

"This group was extremely resilient all year, and I think we have shown that this program has made strides and that we have a good nucleus to really turn the corner in the near future," said Mollring.  "We held leads or were within a score in all but one game in the fourth quarter, and we need to use that as motivation to carry us through the offseason.   A special thanks to all of our staff, student coaches, volunteers and those associated with our program for their work this season that often times go unnoticed."