MORRIS, Minn. (Sept. 19, 2026) - The Buena Vista football team had a potential go-ahead 51-yard field goal attempt blocked with under 30 seconds remaining in regulation on Saturday, and the Beavers would go on to drop a heartbreaking 30-28 road loss at the University of Minnesota-Morris on Saturday afternoon.
The Beavers held a 28-24 lead going to the fourth quarter, and continued to lead by the same score until the Cougars got a 17-yard yard touchdown pass with 1:17 to play in the game, but the PAT failed to keep it at two-point cushion. BVU was able to put itself in position for a go-ahead score after a short kickoff to the BVU 28-yard line was then returned 12 yards out to the 40. Facing a third-and-one from about midfield, junior quarterback
Brett Garcia connected with junior wide out
Johnny Messerly for an 18-yard completion down to the UM-M 33-yard line with just over 30 seconds remaining.
After three straight incomplete passes, the Beavers were forced to line up for a potential go-ahead 51-yard field goal attempt by freshman
Aaron Christian with less than 25 seconds on the clock, but the attempt was blocked and recovered deep in Cougar territory by UM-Morris.
The Cougars got on the board first with a 30-yard field goal less than five minutes into the game. BVU later responded with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Garcia to senior tight end
Gavin Honkomp with 5:28 left, and the Beavers led 7-3 going to the second. After UM-Morris retook the lead on a touchdown run just seconds into the second stanza, Garcia connected quickly with Messerly on the second play of the ensuing drive that resulted in a 30-yard touchdown and a 14-10 lead.
Later in the frame, the Cougars got their second touchdown of the quarter and would go into the locker room with a 17-14 advantage. Garcia tossed his second touchdown pass of the day to Messerly on the first play of the second half from 69 yards out that gave BVU the 21-17 lead. The two teams went on to traded touchdowns after that, including a seven-yard scamper from Garcia that gave the Beavers the lead going to the final quarter.
Garcia finished the day completing 14-of-26 attempts for a career-high 235 yards and three touchdowns. Messerly was on the receiving end of six of those completions for 178 yards and two scores. On the ground, senior
Adriel Fussell chalked up 74 yards on 14 carries with Garcia adding 26. The Beavers finished the day with 359 yards of total offense and averaged 7.0 yards per play.
The Cougars were able to put up 371 yards of offense and used a balanced attack with 178 yards rushing and 193 through the air on 22-of-33 passing.
Drew Volkmann led the way on the defensive end with 15Â total tackles while senior
Brody Boeckman added a season-high 10.
Buena Vista is now 1-2 on the year and has a bye next week before returning home for Homecoming 2026 on Saturday, Oct. 3. The Beavers will host Simpson College for the American Rivers Conference opener with kickoff at 1 p.m.
