STORM LAKE, Iowa (Nov. 5, 2026) - The Buena Vista football team (1-7, 0-5 A-R-C) travels to Loras College (2-6 0-5 A-R-C) on Saturday for a match-up of two teams still in search of their first conference win of the year. Kickoff inside of the Rock Bowl is set for 1 p.m.

The Beavers are coming off a 48-7 home loss by the University of Dubuque a week ago. The game was 7-0 with under five minutes to play in the first half before the Spartans got a late first half touchdown to lead 14-0 at the break. BVU was then outscored 20-0 in the third quarter which broke the game open.

The Duhawks dropped a 40-28 home loss to Central College last Saturday. The Dutch led 20-0 at the half and 34-0 midway through the third quarter, but Loras did not go away. The Duhawks got on the board with 2:41 remaining in the third quarter and outscored the Dutch, 21-6 in the fourth, but it was too-little-too-late.

A LOOK INSIDE THE MATCH-UP

• Saturday marks the 50th meeting all-time between the two programs. Loras leads the all-time series 27-22.
• The Duhawks have won seven of the last eight games in the series, including a 28-14 victory in Storm Lake in 2025. BVU's last win against Loras was in 2024 when it came away with a thrilling 20-17 win inside the Rock Bowl.
• The first game between the two programs was played in 1913 with Loras (then called St. Joseph's College) winning 13-7.

BROADCAST INFO

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

LAST TIME OUT:

Buena Vista was hindered by the turnovers last week in its 48-7 home loss to the University of Dubuque. The Beavers gave the ball back to the Spartans on downs three times while also being intercepted four times. Two of those picks came in the end-zone. It was a 7-0 game with BVU looking to pull even just before the half, but the second interception thrown in the endzone with one minute remaining in the half was returned down to the Beavers' 10-yard line which led to a Dubuque touchdown and a 14-0 halftime lead. It proved to be a momentum changer as the Spartans outscored BVU 20-0 in the third to break things open. BVU had 142 yards rushing in the game which was the team's second-highest output of the year and the most since the week two game at Lawrence (181 yds).

The Duhawks hosted Central and outgained the Dutch 444-401 in the game despite facing a  34-0 second half deficit. Most of those yards came in the second half when Loras went on to score touchdowns on its final four drives of the game. The Duhawks punted on their first three possessions of the game and turned it over on the next three before reaching halftime. Over half of the 444 yards (277) came on those final four drives of the game alone. Quarterback Jaxson VanName rushed for a team-leading 120 yards and two TD's on 16 carries while passing for 211 yards and one TD.

SCOUTING THE DUHAWKS: The Duhawks have dropped five straight games overall after beginning the year 2-1. Overall, the team ranks sixth in the American Rivers Conference in both scoring (27.9ppg) and scoring defense (38.4ppg). The team is just one of two teams in the A-R-C to be averaging over 400.0 yards of total offense but is also one of three teams allowing over 400.0ypg.

VanName was appearing in only his second game of the year last week and will get the starting nod again against BVU. The team may lean on running back Jeremy Pittman who has 610 yards rushing this season and sits fourth in the A-R-C during conference play at 92.4 yards per game.  For the year, he's scored five touchdowns overall. VanName, despite having played in only two games, is the team's second leading rusher at 178 yards and two scores. The Duhawks do have a strong receiving corps to pass to led by Isaiah Washington, who has 30 receptions for 567 yards and four touchdowns. Isaac Oster has a team-high 32 catches for 424 yards and three touchdowns while Brock Couch has a team-high five touchdown grabs.

Defensively, Will Speltz leads the team with 59 total tackles and 5.0 TFL. Senior linebacker Henry Ivers is on his tail with 57 tackles, 5.0 TFL and has one fumble recovery. Sophomore defensive lineman Mason Booth is fourth overall in tackles with 38, but has 10.5 TFL and a team-leading 4.5 sacks. Junior defensive back Braxten Johnson has picked-off a team-high three passes and is third in overall tackles with 41. The team ranks sixth in league play in stopping the run (232.0ypg) and fourth in defending the pass (230.0ypg).

ABOUT BUENA VISTA: BVU has dropped six straight games overall since hanging on for a 12-point road win at Lawrence University in week two. The team is averaging just over 300.0 yards per game but has struggled to get off the field on defense and is allowing over 470.0 yards of total offense per contest. 

Senior Adriel Fussell is coming off a season-high 131 yards rushing last week against Dubuque and is 30 carries were the most by an A-R-C player this season. He also added 33 yards receiving and his first touchdown grab of the year. He has been paired with sophomore Trayton Cink in the backfield for most of the year and the duo has accounted for 773 yards and five touchdowns combined overall.  The rest of the team combined has only 19 yards on the ground.

Through the air, junior Brett Garcia is completing over 61 percent of his attempts and has thrown for 1,618 yards and 11 touchdowns. He is coming off his toughest performance of the year with four interceptions by the Spartans after throwing only six total over the first seven games. He ranks third in the A-R-C during conference play in passing yards per game this season (202.2). Junior Johnny Messerly is among the team's biggest receiving threats with 34 receptions and 606 yards, including seven touchdowns. Senior tight end Gavin Honkomp is next with 22 catches for 246 yards and one touchdown while sophomore Sebastian Dennis has 24 grabs and 180 yards.

Defensively, the team is allowing a league-worst 53.8 points per game during A-R-C games this season and is at the bottom at 547.8 yards per game. Senior Drew Volkmann has generated a team-high 62.0 total tackles and has one of the team's two interceptions. Fellow senior Brody Boeckman is second in tackles with 43 and has one pas breakup. The team hasn't generated consistent pressure in the backfield with only five sacks on the year and 18 total TFL's. Elijah Romero and Quincy Donalde  each have three TFL's with five different players recording one sack apiece.

LOOKING AHEAD: The Beavers will conclude their 2026 campaign next Saturday, Nov. 14, by hosting Nebraska Wesleyan University on Senior Day. Kickoff inside of J. Leslie Rollins Stadium is set for 1 p.m.