Injury sets aside reunion for two-sport stars
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Six months ago their basketball teams were favored to meet on the hardwood in the West Region sectionals — Wiebers, a court-savvy point guard and Boese, a bruising but skilled, inside player. If both teams had won their first games they would have matched up the following night with a full house in attendance. Gustavus took care of business thanks to a solid performance by Boese and defeated Hanover soundly. Wiebers, the IIAC MVP, struggled and his Buena Vista Beavers were upset by Occidental. This erased any chance of the possible Gusties, Beavers match-up — Gustavus would beat Occidental and advance to the Final Four thanks largely to Boese.
Fast forward to Sept. 6, 2003 and Wiebers and Boese were both back in Storm Lake—this time with their respective football teams and this time filling opposite roles from six months earlier.
Buena Vista and Gustavus both had something to prove on Saturday. Buena Vista was ready to show the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) that they were better than last year’s 3-7 record would suggest. Their returning talent, including the top three rushers from last season, four of the top five receivers and eight of the top nine tacklers were ready to make a statement. It seemed there was no better team to open with than Gustavus because they also had a chip on their shoulder.
Gustavus came into Saturday’s game hoping to prove they had reloaded and would not have to rebuild after losing NFL caliber talent in receiver Ryan Hoag. He was drafted with the last pick as “Mr. Irrelevant” in the 2003 NFL draft. They also had to verify that their running game would be effective after the departure of Andy Traetow whose name is scattered all over the Gustavus football record books.
Both teams returned talented players, none more so than Boese and Wiebers. The only problem was Wiebers was the only one of the two wearing pads.
Wiebers is BVU’s full-time field general and he has several weapons at his disposal — both on the ground and through the air. He threw for over 1,600 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2002 after winning the starting spot midway through the season. On Saturday, the Gustavus defense would focus on his every move.
Boese is the only returning Gustavus receiver to see the field in 2002 and is a major part of coach Jay Schoenebeck’s plans for the Gustie offense this year. Last season he was quarterback Sean Smith’s second favorite target behind Hoag with 36 receptions for 424 yards. However, there is one problem when it comes to Boese’s contributions to the Gusties this year — he hasn’t been able to run since the two-point loss to Williams in the NCAA National Championship basketball game March 22. He has pain in his feet known as plantar fasciitis and is trying everything he can to return to the field. After unsuccessful offseason surgery, Boese opted for cortisone shots two weeks ago looking for any possible remedy so he could return to the field. It didn’t work and on Saturday, he was reduced to a spectator and cheerleader from the sidelines.
The Beavers found themselves in an early hole as Gustavus scored 14 points in six seconds in the first quarter. Staying calm, Wiebers began to steadily chip away at the deficit. He found Jesse Schmidt for a 60-yard touchdown with four minutes to go in the second quarter cutting the lead in half. The teams traded touchdowns and field goals in the second half until Wiebers ran in a one yard touchdown with just over two minutes remaining to tie the game up and force overtime. Once in overtime, Wiebers took over finding Jesse Schmidt for a touchdown in each of the extra frames including the game winner on a 14-yard pass to win 37-34. Wiebers finished with 238 yards on 21-for-34 passing, four passing touchdowns and one rushing. Any memory of last spring’s disappointment on the basketball court was long forgotten.
Somewhere on the sideline Brett Boese was wondering what if he had been able to contribute. “There is not a more helpless feeling than watching a game when you know you could be out there affecting the outcome,” he said. His feet aching, he yelled and cheered trying to inspire his teammates in any way he could. Eight players had receptions for the Gusties but Boese’s absence certainly was a major factor.
When the final horn sounded Saturday the roles of Brett Boese and Eric Wiebers were completely reversed from six months earlier. Wiebers, who struggled in the upset to Occidental in March (10 pts, 2-for-11 from 3-point range) was now the gridiron hero. Boese, a key player in Gustavus’ drive to the NCAA basketball championship in March was now a mere spectator.
The athletic battles in Storm Lake have produced a scrap book of memories for both Wiebers and Boese. The good news is the books not full yet. Gustavus will play a non-conference basketball game on Nov. 25 at Buena Vista—the last time Wiebers and Boese will be on opposite sidelines in any sport.
Record book: Out with Macalester, in with Trinity Bible
It is well known that Macalester, my alma mater, holds a number of dubious Division III football records including 50 losses in a row from 1974 to 1980 and giving up 59.1 points per game during the 1977 season. They set another record that year by giving up 97 points to Concordia-Moorhead in a 97-6 defeat. That record stood for 26 seasons until Saturday when Macalester was relieved of the record by tiny Trinity Bible College in North Dakota.
Rockford set the new record by beating the Lions 105-0 on Saturday. In building a 63-0 halftime lead, the Regents tallied a safety, a 47-yard kickoff return by Blair Lemons, three Marcus Howard TDs, a 31-yard interception return by Frankie Martin and a pair of touchdowns from sophomore rusher Isaac Holloway.
Trinity Bible coach Rusty Bentley took the loss in stride telling the Rockford Register Star, “We have to leave it on the field and not have any regrets. We are the smallest … team in America, and the kids played their hearts out." I can attest to Bentley’s statement as we beat the Lions in 2002 by a score of 51-6 and they played their hearts out until the final horn.
Won in 60 seconds (well, actually 61)
The phrase “It’s not over until it’s over” rang loud and clear in Jamestown N.D. on Saturday as Augsburg wide receiver Yarzue Slowon scored twice in the final 61 seconds to secure a one-point win for the Auggies over the NAIA Jamestown Jimmies 20-19. The game winner came on a diving 25-yard score with 33 seconds remaining. Slowon finished with 13 catches for 145 yards. For his efforts he was rewarded with the MIAC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
ThunderStix invade Armstrong Stadium
Last year, the Whitworth Pirates came back twice against the Bethel Royals in the second half eventually finishing them off 27-26 on a touchdown with 1:53 to play. While no “Rally Pirates” were accused of swinging the game for Whitworth, Bethel fans certainly wanted no part of a late game rally this season when they welcomed Whitworth to Armstrong Stadium. The Bethel student body did the one sure thing they could to eliminate any chance of a Whitworth comeback — they broke out ThunderStix for the home opener. Made famous by the Anaheim Angels in the 2002 World Series, the Royals faithful smacked those blue, foot-long tubes together until visions of a Minnesota Twins ALCS collapse started to appear in everyone’s head.
Asked about the new noisemaker, offensive coordinator Greg Peterson said, “It was the first time I’ve seen them.” With a 25-10 victory to start the season I doubt it will be the last time.
We’re going streakin’
Wartburg wasted no time on Saturday stretching its season opening win streak to 10 games. The Knights put up 456 total yards to Peru State’s 59 yards in cruising to a 47-0 shutout of the NAIA school. On the other end of the spectrum, fellow IIACer Simpson ended a four-game season opening losing streak in beating Washington U. 32-29. Simpson running back Eric Hentges ran for only 38 yards but scored four touchdowns in the victory.
Games of the Week
Carleton at St. Olaf, Northfield, Minn.: The 84-year-old football rivalry between neighboring St. Olaf and Carleton will see a new element this year when Northfield's Malt-O-Meal Co. pitches in to help create the first “Cereal Bowl.” Free Toasty-O’s and the like will be handed out to fans, and the winning team will continue its tradition of marching downtown to Bridge Square. Carleton looks for its first win in two years while St. Olaf looks to bounce back from an ugly loss to Luther in Week 1.
St. Thomas at Bethel, Arden Hills, Minn.: This game will make an early statement as to who will challenge St. John’s and Concordia for the MIAC crown. Bethel quarterback Scott Kirchoff suffered a season-ending injury in this game last season and will look for redemption. Freshman Phil Porta looks to repeat his 115-yard performance against Whitworth. St. Thomas comes into the game with a 0-1 record after losing a nail biter to St. Norbert for the second consecutive year in Week 1.
Redlands at No. 7 Linfield
It’s a matchup of the SCIAC and NWC Conference Champions from 2002. Linfield enters the game after a bye in Week 1 looking to solidify itself as the best in the NWC. Redlands limped away from Willamette 35-15 in Week 1 after trailing 35-0. They have lost a lot from last year’s conference championship team but could still surprise a few teams.
No. 6 Mary Hardin-Baylor at Willamette, Salem, Ore.: Willamette is fresh off a 35-15 disposal of 2002 SCIAC champion Redlands and anxious to open their "fly" offense on a Crusader defense that lost seven starters from 2002. The Crusaders are anxious to open their 2003 season and solidify their No. 6 ranking in the nation, showing that last year's 42-26 victory against Willamette was no fluke.