STORM LAKE, Iowa (Oct. 15, 2026) - The Buena Vista football team (1-4, 0-2 A-R-C) remains in search of its first American Rivers Conference win as it welcomes Coe College (3-2, 2-0 A-R-C) to town for Family Weekend. Kickoff inside of J. Leslie Rollins Stadium is at 1 p.m.

BVU was on the road last week at No. 11 Wartburg College, but despite taking a 7-0 lead during first two minutes of the game, the Beavers saw the Knights roll off 72 unanswered points and go on to win, 72-14.

The Kohawks, who hit the road for the first time in league play this week, remained perfect in conference play after their 31-13 home triumph over Central College last week. That followed a 35-14 victory in Cedar Rapids over Loras College in the A-R-C opener a week earlier.

A LOOK INSIDE THE MATCH-UP

• Saturday marks the 31st  meeting all-time between the two programs. Coe leads the series,  23-7
• The Kohawks have won 16 straight games in the series, including a 31-10 win at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, last season
• Buena Vista's last win in the series came in 2008 at Cedar Rapids, 19-10
• BVU's last home victory over the Kohawks was in 1989 (W, 56-21).

BROADCAST INFO

LIVE STATS: https://bvuathletics.com/sidearmstats/football/summary
LIVE VIDEO: https://rollriversnetwork.com/buenavista/
LISTEN (Chris Boeckman play-by-play): https://www.kbvu975.com/

LAST TIME OUT:

Buena Vista traveled to No. 11 Wartburg for its first A-R-C road test of the year. It was a promising start as junior quarterback Brett Garcia connected with junior receiver Johnny Messerly for a 49-yard touchdown pass less than three minutes into the game that put the Beavers on the board first at 7-0. The lead was short lived as the Knights came right back nearly as quick with a touchdown of their own to the game at 7-7 and only five minutes gone by. They went on and added another score on the next drive and took a 14-7 lead to the second. Wartburg, which chalked up nearly 800 yards of total offense in the game, outscored BVU 30-0 in the second quarter to lead 51-7 at the half en route to a 72-14 victory. BVU was held to 187 yards of offense overall.

The Kohawks wrapped up a two-game homestand to begin A-R-C play with a 31-13 victor over Central College. It marked the team's fifth straight win over the Dutch. Coe did most of the damage on the ground with over 300 yards rushing and three touchdowns. It was a 17-0 halftime lead before the two teams traded touchdowns in each of the final two quarters. Running back Quincy Drummer rushed for  223 yards on 26 carries, including a touchdown burst of 70 yards for the first of his two scores. CJ Johnson helped lead the defensive force with 12 total tackles, including one sack, while also recovering one fumble.

SCOUTING THE KOHAWKS: The team has allowed an average of only 13.5 points over the first two A-R-C games this season and is chalking up 441.0 yards per game which is fourth in the league. Drummer has helped carry the load early in conference play by averaging 191.5 rushing yards per game which leads the league. Quarterback Brady Kelly ranks sixth in passing yards through the two games at 148.5 and has thrown for two touchdowns against no interceptions. Junior wide receiver Jackson Baethke has been the go-to pass catcher through five games thus far with 16 catches and 196 yards and two scores. 

Senior linebacker Jack Clarahan and senior defensive back Henry Ryan are both tied for the team lead in total tackles at 34.0 with Johnson just behind at 30. Henry has picked off one pass while Johnson is tied for the team lead with three pass breakups. The defense has 19 TFL's on the year, including nine sacks. Special Teams play has also benefited the team throughout the year with punter Jake Collett averaging 40.5 yards per attempt and has a season-long boot of 63 yards. Collett is also 3-of-4 in field goal attempts with a long of 45 yards while converting all 14 PAT's.

Coe recorded a 49-7 victory over Cornell College in the season opener and then took on defending DIII national champion, UW-River Falls in week two and fell 38-6 and was held to a season-low 159 yards of total offense. 

ABOUT BUENA VISTA: The Beavers have dropped two straight games to begin the conference slate and have allowed a combined 123 points in those two games. Defensively, the team aims to make adjustments in slowing down its opponents on the ground as teams come in averaging over 242.0 yards rushing per game overall. Offensively, BVU was held to a season-low 187 total yards last week by Wartburg and has seen opponents control the ball an average of 11minutes longer per game the last three outings.

Garcia has thrown for 945 yards and seven touchdowns while being intercepted only four times. His go-to target has been Messerly,  who has caught 22 passes for 471 yards and six touchdowns. He ranks fifth in the A-R-C during the first two weeks of A-R-C play in yards per game (70.0) and his six TD grabs are tied for second-most over all five contests. On the ground, Adriel Fussell (50.2) and Trayton Cink (47.4) are ranked seventh and eighth, respectively, among all league players in rushing yards per game overall. The duo has combined for five rushing scores on the year.

Senior linebacker Drew Volkmann continues to be the leader of the defense for the Beavers and has registered 42 total tackles. He has a pair of games this season with at least 10 stops. Senior defensive back Brody Boeckman is close behind with 29 with fellow senior Bobby Gross on  his heels at 22. As a team, the Beavers are looking to find a way to generate more turnovers and negative yard plays. The team has yet to intercept a pass and has forced only three total turnovers. Despite allowing only two sacks, BVU has recorded only four of its own.

LOOKING AHEAD: The Beavers go back on the road next week to play at Central College (2-3, 0-2 A-R-C) with kickoff in Pella, Iowa, set for 1 p.m.