DUBUQUE, Iowa (Oct. 18, 2025) - The Buena Vista football team jumped out to the early lead on the road at the University of Dubuque on Saturday afternoon but the Spartans took their first lead just before halftime and then added 26 third quarter points to break the game open en route to a 47-20 victory.

Buena Vista generated 342 total yards of offense in the game and held the ball for 11 minutes longer than the Spartans but were held to only seven points until scoring a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns with the game out of reach.

Junior Adriel Fussell got the majority of his nine touches in the fourth quarter and chalked up 104 yards, including a 61-yard burst, to lead the ground attack. Senior Meven Obregon followed with 57 yards on 16 carries. Overall, the Beavers had 162 yards on the ground. Through the air, junior quarterback Zy Gravitt completed 17-of-24 attempts for 137 yards and two touchdowns but was also intercepted twice. Sophomore Johnny Messerly had a team-high 79 yards on five catches while Aedan Hayes also had five receptions for 43 yards.

Gavin Honkomp made the most of his only catch of the day, hauling in a 19-yard touchdown reception on BVU's opening drive of the game that gave the Beavers a 7-0 lead with 9:28 remaining in the opening quarter. Cashtin Craycraft and Colton Brandt each added short fourth quarter touchdown grabs and combined for three catches overall.

Dubuque responded right back after BVU grabbed the early lead and got an 18-yard touchdown pass three minutes later that tie the game at 7-7. Both defense stood tall until the Spartans took their first lead at 14-7 with only 49 seconds left in the half on a one-yard plunge by quarterback Joey Rhomberg. The Beaver defense nearly forced a pivotal turnover as Dubuque fumbled at the one-yard line on a long pass play, but the Spartans were able to recover.

Rhomberg added his second one-yard TD run early in the second half to extend the lead to 20-7, and the Spartans later added three quick touchdowns over a four-minute span, including a 30-yard punt return, to break the game open at 40-7 with 2:05 remaining in the third.

Craycraft hauled in his touchdown grab with under 30 seconds left in the third while Brandt's one-yard grab came with under 40 seconds to play in the game.

Dubuque (3-4, 3-2 A-R-C) finished with 422 yards of total offense and was 7-of-12 on third downs. Rhomberg passed for 270 yards a pair of scores while rushing for a team-high 61 yards on 10 carries.

Buena Vista was led defensively by Wyatt Hatcher's 12 total tackles while Charlie Brasel followed with a career-high of nine, including three for a loss.

The Beavers are now 2-4 overall (1-3 A-R-C) and will return home on Oct. 25 to host Loras College with kickoff set for 1 p.m.