STORM LAKE, Iowa (Aug. 29, 2022) - Coming off arguably its best overall season since 2014, the Buena Vista football team and sixth-year head coach Grant Mollring know it will have some big holes to fill, but the Beavers head into the 2022 campaign with a great deal of confidence.

BVU put together one of the top offenses in the American Rivers Conference a year ago, but will now look to replace the likes of stand-out wide receiver, Eric Pacheco, while also having a new face under center.  BVU threw for nearly 250 yards per contest a year ago while averaging 175.5 more on the ground.  The team's average of 422.4 yards of total offense per game last season was second-highest in the A-R-C. Sophomore transfer Zach Herrera, along with freshman Seth Gallardo, expect to compete for the starting nod at quarterback.

Seniors Dylan Laughlin and Isaia Morones are the top-two pass catchers returning from 2021.  Laughlin hauled in 15 catches for 227 yards and two scores while Morones caught 12 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown.  Keaton Huebner is the team's top returning ground man after rushing for 525 yards and a team-high eight touchdowns on 109 attempts.  Mollring feels his rushing attack is one of the team's strong points heading into the season.

"Our running backs, along with our defensive line, I feel are among our strong points right now," he says. "Those two groups have a lot of experience back and some really good leadership."

Among those returning to help anchor the defensive line are senior defensive ends Landon Weber and R.J. Rojas.  The two combined for nearly 60 total tackles in 2021 with Rojas posting four sacks and eight tackles for a loss.  Sophomore Brandon Lance, who picked-off a team-leading four passes as a freshman last season, returns in the secondary, along with Nico Flores, who had one interception and 21 tackles.  As a unit in 2021, the Beavers ranked third in the A-R-C in stopping the run and seventh against the pass.

Mollring is also excited about his kicking game, led by senior Ramon Garcia, who made 11-of-15 field goal attempts a year ago, while also setting a new school single-season record with 39 made PAT's.

"Our kicking game is showing continued improvement," says Mollring. "I'm excited about having some weapons in that area."

As the Beavers wrap up fall camp and now turn their focus to Gustavus Adolphus – the week one opponent – Mollring is pleased with how the first few weeks of practice have been.

"We still are a very young team with a large number of freshmen," he says. "We have endured a few growing pains with some of those newcomers having to contribute.  It's a big adjustment to college football for some of them, but they are all showing promise."

BVU kicked-off the season a year ago at home under the lights against the Gusties in a high-scoring affair with Gustavus Adolphus scoring a pair of late touchdowns to hold off the Beavers, 80-58.  The Gusties, who finished 8-2 last season and are receiving votes in this year's D3football.com Preseason Poll, will be a good test for the Beavers. Mollring is expecting his team to be ready for the challenge.

"We'll need to practice at a higher tempo and have the ability to adjust to different things on the fly," he states. "Gustavus is an extremely talented, veteran team and they are set up to make some serious noise in Division III this year. We will need to play fast on both sides of the ball from the first whistle."

BVU finished its A-R-C schedule at 4-4 a season ago and are picked to finish fifth this season.  Mollring is hoping to use the early non-conference schedule to build a deeper team that can set the Beavers up for another high conference finish.

"We need to learn and adapt as we face different challenges in the early part of the season," he says. "We need to develop some depth early on so that we can handle the rigors of the A-R-C. We want to be in the mix for the conference title, but know a big step needs to be taken this year. If we remain healthy and continue to improve, that goal may be in sight. We will definitely find out early on in our year."

After its season opener with the Gusties, BVU will head to Lakeland University (Wis.) for its first road test of the year before coming back to Storm Lake a week later to begin its A-R-C campaign under the lights against Coe College.  The Beavers will also host the University of Dubuque for Homecoming on October 1, Central College (October 15) and Wartburg College (October 29).  The regular season finale is at Simpson on November 12.

All BVU football games can be watched online at https://team1sports.com/buenavista/.  A local radio broadcast can also be found each week at 97.5FM KBVU.