SCOUTING THE SPARTANS: The team has been strong on both sides of the ball during conference play this season. Offensively, it has done alot of the damage through the air by ranking second at 295.3 yards passing per game. Rhomberg leads the league at 281.5 yards passing with 15 touchdowns. No other quarterback has more than eight passing touchdowns through the first four conference games. On the flip side, Dubuque leads the A-R-C in pass defense at 190.5 yards contest. Opponents have only passed for five touchdowns the last four weeks while the Spartans have intercepted six pass attempts. The unit continues to put the pressure on the backfield with 16 sacks
Brown leads all A-R-C receivers to this point in the year with 98.3 yards per game during league play. His 25 receptions in those games are second as does his six touchdowns. His 36 points scored is tied for third-highest.
On the ground, the Spartans rushed for a season-high 267 during a win over Simpson College two weeks ago, but has been held under 100 yards in three games overall this season. The team has rushed for only five scores on the year.
Trey Roberson is among a host of top defenders for the Spartans. The sophomore defensive back has a team-high 57 total tackles, three interceptions and six pass break-ups. Senior defensive back Ben Egan is right behind with 56 total stops and one pass break-up. Junior linebacker Giovanni Rivera is third in tackles (55) and has four tackles for loss. Nick Thalacker has a team-leading 6.5 tackles for loss, including three sacks. As a team, Dubuque has 49 tackles for a loss overall.
ABOUT BUENA VISTA: BVU is looking to snap its five-game conference losing streak dating back to last season. It's last A-R-C victory was a 34-21 triumph over Nebraska Wesleyan on Nov. 8 of last season in Storm Lake. Since that win, the Beavers have allowed over 40 points to each of its last five league opponents.
BVU, which has been more of a force on the ground over the last couple seasons, have taken strides in its passing game here in 2026. It is averaging 254.5 yards passing over the last two games and is averaging 199.5 per game during conference play overall. Garcia has completed nearly 70 percent of his attempts during that span for three touchdowns to go along with one other on the ground. Junior wide receiver Johnny Messerly leads the team with 30 catches, 570 yards and seven touchdowns. Sophomore wideout Sebastion Dennis is close behind with 23 receptions but for only 173 yards. Lullmann has a career-high 15 catches for 108 yards and one touchdown.
On the ground, it's been a shared attack by senior Adriel Fussell and sophomore Trayton Cink. Fussell has 398 yards on 104 carries with Cink sitting at 246 yards on 65 attempts and three TD's. Both players are averaging nearly 4.0 yards per carry and have combined for five of the team's eight rushing scores. Garcia has the final three rushing TD's.
The Beavers continue to be plagued by its inability to slow down the opponent's run game. The team has allowed at least 260 yards on the ground in each of its first four A-R-C games this season which has led to 18 rushing touchdowns over that span. Opponents are averaging only 18 pass attempts per game with BVU holding them to 200.0 yards per game which ranks second in the conference. Senior Drew Volkmann has been among the leaders of the unit with 57 total tackles. He has three games this season with at least 10 stops and intercepted the team's first pass of the year last week against the Dutch. Senior Brody Boeckman and junior Bobby Gross are next with 39 and 38 tackles, respectively.
Freshman Owen Fedje has helped the team flip the field with his leg by booting three kicks of more than 50 yards this season and six of his 22 attempts that have resulted in a fair catch. Fellow freshman Aaron Christian is 3-for-6 in field goal attempts this season with a long of 28. All three of his missed kicks have been blocked.
