STORM LAKE, Iowa (Oct. 2, 2025) - The Buena Vista football team looks to bounce back from a tough home loss last week to begin American Rivers Conference play when it travels to Coe College (2-2, 1-1 A-R-C) this Saturday afternoon for a 1 p.m. kickoff on Clark Field.

GAME NOTES

INSIDE THE SERIES:
This marks the 27th meeting against the Kohawks all-time…the two teams met on the gridiron for the first time in 1998…Coe has won 12 straight in the series, including a 35-13 victory last season in Cedar Rapids…BVU's last win was a 19-10 triumph in Cedar Rapids.

LAST TIME OUT:
Buena Vista: The Beavers began American Rivers Conference play last Saturday with a Homecoming game against visiting Simpson College. BVU was plagued by the turnovers all afternoon which included six fumbles (three lost) and back-to-back pick-sixes in the second quarter that put the team in a 20-0 deficit at the half. On the ground, the Beavers rushed for a season-high 116 yards, including a season-best 77 yards from senior tailback Meven Obregon. The defense held Simpson to a pair of first-half field goals and didn't allow its first touchdown until midway through the third quarter. Junior Brody Boeckman registered a career-high 10 total stops to help lead the way. Three others followed with five stops, including Wyatt Hatcher who also had one tackle for a loss to go along with a pass breakup.

Coe: The Kohawks were on the road to play at No. 7 Wartburg College and held tough against the top-10 foe despite a 17-7 loss. The Knights broke a scoreless game with 19 seconds left in the opening quarter with a one-yard touchdown run, and that held up as the only score of the opening half. Wartburg recovered a fumble in the endzone midway through the third quarter for a touchdown that made it 14-0 and then tacked on a 35-yard field goal with under five minutes left in the game to push the lead to 17-0. The Kohawks avoided the shutout with a 3-yard touchdown plunge with under one minute to go from running back Brady Kelly. Coe was outgained 130-24 on the ground overall but held a slight edge through the air with 211 yards. Both teams ran essentially the same number of offensive plays in the contest with Wartburg outgaining Coe overall by less than 50 total yards. Henry Ryan turned in a team-high 12 tackles to lead the way defensively.

ABOUT BUENA VISTA: The Beavers look to put together a complete game in all three phases when it takes the field against the Kohawks. The team has controlled the time of possession this season at over 30 minutes per game but has been held to only 5.67 points per outing through the first three games. The team continues to improve in the run game by increasing its total rushing yards in each game, including 116 against the Storm last week. Senior Meven Obregon turned in a season-best 77 yards in that game and is tied with junior Adriel Fussell on the year by averaging 50.67 yards per game. The team continues to work on finding ways to throw the ball down field. Sophomore Brett Garcia made his first career start last week after junior Zy Gravvitt had started the first two games. Gravitt has thrown the team's two touchdown passes on the year and is completing over 60 percent of his attempts. Aedan Hayes has hauled in  team-leading eight passes this season with sophomore Johnny Messerly leading the way with 154 yards on six grabs and both touchdowns. Defensively, the Beavers are ranked second in all of Division III in stopping the pass by allowing only 90.1 yards passing per contest, and the entire unit is only allowing 331 yards of total offense per contest.

SCOUTING THE KOHAWKS: Coe College came into the season picked to finish third by the A-R-C coaches and is coming off a 9-2 campaign (7-1 A-R-C) in 2024 which included an NCAA Playoffs appearance. Both of the team's losses in 2025 have come to team's currently ranked in the top-15 of DIII. Despite being held to only seven points against Wartburg a week ago, the team is still averaging over 44.0 points per game and generating an average of over 520 yards of total offense each time out. A bulk of that yardage comes through the air with an average over 404.0 per game. Junior quarterback Brady Kelly has thrown for over 200 yards in all four games this season, including a 519-yard performance and six touchdowns against nationally-ranked UW-River Falls in week two. He's also the team's leading rusher with 129 yards and 32 carries. He has one of the best receiving trios in the conference to throw to which includes returning all-conference selection Jeron Senters who is third on the team with 327 yards, but tied for the lead in catches (24) and tied for second in touchdowns (3). Defensively, the Kohawks rank fourth in the A-R-C in scoring defense (24.0ppg) but is down at sixth in total defense (358.0ypg).

BY THE NUMBERS:

LOOKING AHEAD: The Beavers host Luther College on Saturday, Oct. 11, inside of J. Leslie Rollins Stadium. The team has won five straight games over the Norse. It will also be Family Weekend on campus for BVU.