STORM LAKE, Iowa (Sept. 10, 2025) - The Buena Vista football team (0-1) is gearing up this week to host Wisconsin Lutheran (0-1) on Saturday, Sept. 13, for its 2025 home opener inside of J. Leslie Rollins Stadium.

INSIDE THE SERIES:
This marks the second match-up all-time between the two teams. Wisconsin Lutheran topped BVU last season, 44-13, in a game played in Milwaukee, Wis. The Warriors led 13-3 at the half and 23-13 heading to the fourth quarter. Saturday's game will be the first time these two teams will meet in Storm Lake.

LAST TIME OUT:
Buena Vista: The Beavers kicked-off their season last week at Benedictine University (Ill.) with a 35-0 non-conference road loss. The Eagles broke open the game with 14 points in the third quarter and added one final score in the fourth. BVU missed a FG opportunity late in the first half and also turned the ball over on downs on two other occasions. The team allowed nearly 300 yards rushing in the game which proved the difference. Junior transfer quarterback Zy Gravitt completed 14-of-22 pass attempts in his Beaver debut for 96 yards and one interception. Aedan Hays hauled in a team-leading six passes for 42 yards. Junior transfer tailback Adriel Fussell carried the ball 17 times for 50 yards. Defensively, junior Drew Volkmann chalked up a team-leading eight tackles.

Wisconsin Lutheran: The Warriors dropped their season opener at home last week, 41-27, to St. Scholastica. The Saints jumped out to a 20-0 lead in the second quarter before the Warriors clawed back within 20-14 at the half. From there, the two teams traded touchdowns the rest of the way. Defensively, the Warriors allowed 249 yards rushing and 290 yards through the air while finishing with 301 yards of offense. Quarterback Quincy Rheams was 17-of-24 through the air for 121 yards and two touchdowns but was intercepted three times. Liam Heiges rushed for 83 yards and one score on 15 rushing attempts.

ABOUT BUENA VISTA: The Beavers, who return 15 starters from a year ago, are looking to avoid their third straight 0-2 start to a season on Saturday. The team was outgained 382-195 during last week's opener at Benedictine University with the bulk of those yards allowed on the ground. Offensively, junior transfer quarterback Zy Gravitt has earned the starting job in his first season on campus as has junior transfer running back Adriel Fussell. The two combined for 146 yards of the team's total offense last week. Defensively, the team sits in the top-25 of DIII in passing defense after allowing only 90 yards through the air against the Eagles. The team also has two new faces handling its kicking duties this season with senior Tyler Pennington doing the place kicking and freshman Michael Bae doing the punting. Pennington spent his first three seasons on campus as a member of the men's soccer team. Mason Griffith averaged over 26 yards per kick return in the opener, including one that he returned 34 yards.

SCOUTING THE WARRIORS: Wisconsin Luther went 7-3 overall last season, including a 6-2 mark in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference. The seven wins matched a program record that was last reached back in 2014. Among the players to watch on offense is sophomore running back Liam Heiges. Heiges, who was the 2024 NACC Freshman of the Year and a Second Team All-Conference selection, rushed for 83 yards in last week's opener and finished his first collegiate season with over 830 yards and eight touchdowns. Last season against BVU, Heiges rushed for 179 yards. Senior wide receiver Jamil Gordon will be on of the team's top targets in the passing game. He had 47 yards receiving last week and has over 100 catches and nearly 1,000 yards receiving with nine touchdowns in his career. New under center for the team this season is freshman Quincy Rheams, who passed for 121 and rushed for 49 more in his collegiate debut last week. Defensively, senior linebacker Layson Handwork registered 12 tackles last week and has over 200 in his career.

BY THE NUMBERS:

LOOKING AHEAD: Buena Vista will have its bye week on Sept. 20 before it begins American Rivers Conference play by hosting Simpson College for Homecoming/Hall of Fame on Saturday, Sept. 27. Kick-off is set for 1 p.m.