Buena Vista Falls to #23 UW-Platteville in Season Opener
The Buena Vista football team couldn't overcome four first-half turnovers, as #23 UW-Platteville built an early 28-0 and went on to top the Beavers in their season-opener on Saturday afternoon, 56-13.
The Pioneers struck first after recovering an onside-kick attempt by BVU on the game's opening kick-off. Four plays later, Pioneer quarterback Nick Anderson found Russell Martin for the first of his four touchdown strikes on the day.
BVU then fumbled on the first play of its ensuing possession which led to a UW-P two-yard touchdown run.
Following a Beaver punt, Anderson then added a rushing touchdown before adding his second through the air following BVU's third turnover of the game, and the Pioneers held onto a 28-0 advantage after just one quarter.
UW-P added three more scores in the second quarter to take a 49-0 halftime lead.
The Beavers got on the board early in the third quarter after a low snap on a punt attempt deep in UW-P forced the Pioneer punter to go low to scoop it up, but his need had touched the ground, giving BVU the ball on downs at the Pioneer eight yard-line.
Senior John Hill (Webster City, Iowa/Webster City) then scampered into the end-zone on the very next play and Bryce Bintner's (Indianola, Iowa/Indianola) PAT made it 49-7.
The defenses then combined for four punts and one turnover on downs throughout the remainder of the quarter before sophomore Dylan Barrett (Harlan, Iowa/Harlan) found an opening on the left side and tight-roped the side line to go 57 yards for the score.
The Pioneers added a late touchdown in the frame for the game's final score.
Anderson finished 15-of-17 through the air for 193 yards and the four scores for UW-P, while four different receivers tallied at least 40 yards receiving.
Sophomore Bobby Brown (Storm Lake, Iowa/Storm Lake) completed 12-of-30 attempts for 107 yards.
Barrett posted a game-high 61 yards rushing on just five carries, while Adam Cave (Harlan, Iowa/Harlan) caught four passes for 42 yards.
Defensively, Yoel Wonsey registered seven stops for the Pioneers, while Nick Plueger (Le Mars, Iowa/Le Mars) was in on 10 tackles, including one for a loss, for the Beavers.
Buena Vista (0-1) will begin a three-game road trip beginning next Saturday when the team travels to Concordia College-Moorhead for a 1:00pm kick-off.
