GRINNELL, Iowa – It's been 15 years in the making, but the wait was well worth it.
Grinnell College's football team tasted victory for the first time in a season opener since 2011 Saturday, as
Ryan Feldman '29 booted a 28-yard field goal with 16 seconds left to lift the Pioneers past Mount Mercy University 16-13 at Rosenbloom Field.
The win was Grinnell's first to open a season since a 31-6 decision at Macalester College in 2011. Grinnell won a home season opener for the first time since 2010, a game that saw the Pioneers topple Macalester 45-10 at Rosenbloom Field.
The matchup on the muggy day was interesting, to say the least. Grinnell entered the game as a team looking to translate steady improvement into victories, and the NAIA-level Mustangs were playing their first-ever varsity game in program history.
All of the scoring was done in the second and fourth quarters. The teams were tied 7-all at intermission before Grinnell grabbed a 13-6 lead on
Will Weber's '29 1-yard run with 12:26 left in the game. The extra point was no good.
Mount Mercy tied the contest with 4:08 left, but also missed the point after to keep the score at 13-all.
Grinnell managed to work its way down the field before Feldman split the uprights with his 28-yard field goal with just 16 ticks left on the clock. The Pioneer defense finished the job, sending the team into celebration as time expired.
Andre Lopez '30 was a workhorse for Grinnell's offense, rushing for 161 yards on 25 carries. That's the highest rushing total for a Pioneer since Dustin Saia went for 162 yards against Trinity Bible College in 2018.
Luke Konczal '29 led the Pioneers' swarming defense with nine tackles, while
Ajay Griffin '27 and
Jack Phillips '29 added five stops apiece.
CJ Readon '27 and
Hays Marionneaux '28 broke up two passes each.
The first five possessions of the game ended with punts before the Mustangs found the end zone on a 3-yard rush with 8:30 left in the first half.
Then the Pioneers went to work, marching down the field with an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. Weber rushed for 24 yards to highlight the drive, which was finished by Lopez on a 26-yard TD run. Feldman's extra point made it 7-all with 3:28 left.
The Mustangs had a chance to break the tie on the final play of the half, but missed a field goal attempt.
Grinnell made it a 13-7 lead early in the fourth period with Weber's TD run, and got some momentum after that when
Adrian Stubbs '28 blocked a Mustang punt that
Riley Spencer '30 recovered.
Feldman attempted to add to the lead, but his 25-yard field goal try was off the mark. Mount Mercy responded, tying the game at the 4:08 mark on a 41-yard TD pass.
Grinnell's final possession began on its own 25-yard line. Lopez and
David Eisenberg '29 had big rushes for first downs as the Pioneers gradually moved downfield. The biggest play came on third-and-13 from the Mustang 40 when Weber hit
Caden Revelle '30 with a 27-yard pass, with Revelle making a spectacular catch while falling to the ground.
Four plays later, Feldman lined up a 28-yard field goal attempt that was directly on the nose. Marionneaux helped preserve the victory with a pass breakup on a long Mount Mercy pass and another Mustang pass fell short as time expired.
Grinnell will look to keep the good times going next Saturday with a game at Concordia-Chicago.
