PELLA, Iowa (Nov. 1, 2025) - The Buena Vista football team faced a tough test on Saturday on the road at No. 18 Central College, and the Dutch used a strong running attack to hand the Beavers a 52-28 loss.
Of its 518 yards of total offense, Central finished with 375 yards on the ground, averaged 8.3 yards per carry and had five touchdowns on the day. The Dutch used a pair of long touchdown bursts of 47 and 26 yards in the first quarter to lead 14-7 and added three touchdown runs in the third quarter to pull for a 45-14 advantage.
Buena Vista responded after the Dutch needed only 42 seconds to find the endzone on the 47- yard touchdown run with an eight play, 59-yard drive that was capped by an
Adriel Fussell one-yard touchdown plunge with 10:08 remaining. BVU was then forced to punt on its next two drives and turned it over on downs on the third while Central went back in front late in the quarter with the 26-yard run and then went to the air for a pair of touchdown strikes in the second to lead 28-7. The Beavers found the endzone with under five minutes left in the half when quarterback
Zy Gravitt connected with
Wyatt Fahey on a 29-yard strike that made it 28-14. The Dutch, however, were able to squeeze in one more scoring opportunity just before the half with a 32-yard field goal with 42 seconds to go.
Central running back Cody Klein, who chalked up a game-high 212 yards on the ground in the game, scored the third of this three touchdowns for the Dutch midway through the third quarter before Eli Rouse added a one-yard scamper that extended their margin to 45-14 heading to the fourth. From there, Central (7-1, 5-1 A-R-C) added its fifth rushing touchdown of the day early in the fourth quarter to make it 52-14 before Gravitt tossed a pair of touchdown passes to sophomore
Johnny Messerly inside the final six minutes for the game's final score.
BVU finished with a balanced offensive attack as it had 130 yards on the ground and one touchdown to go along with 171 through the air. Gravitt completed 13 passes for 122 yards and all three scores.
Brett Garcia also saw action in the first half and was 5-of-9 for 49 yards. Senior
Meven Obregon led the ground game with 70 yards on 11 carries while Messerly was the team's leading receiver with four catches for 39 yards and two scores.
Cashtin Craycraft and
Aedan Hayes each hauled in three catches.
Hunter Hoffman completed 13-of-21 pass attempts for 143 yards and two scores and also carried the ball six times for 56 yards. Nolan Meyer was his favorite target on the day, catching six passes for 96 yards and one touchdown.
Bobby Gross registered a team-high nine tackles for Buena Vista with
Noah Delgado right behind with six.
Sebastian Dennis had himself a strong day in the return game by returning five kickoffs for 113 yards, including a long of 33 that helped set up the team's first score.
BVU is now 2-6 overall (1-5 A-R-C) and is set to return home next Saturday, Nov. 8, to host Nebraska Wesleyan University (1-7, 1-5 A-R-C) for Senior Day. Kickoff inside of J. Leslie Rollins Stadium is at 1 p.m.
