ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The weather conditions were far from ideal.
 
But Drew Buslee (Eagan, Minn.) and her teammates on the College of Saint Benedict flag football team didn't let that stop them from getting the program started on the right foot Saturday afternoon.
 
The Bennies kicked off their inaugural season by going 3-0 at the Saint Benedict Jamboree, beating Gustavus 39-12, Concordia-Moorhead 13-6 and Augsburg 26-7. The Bennies never trailed in any game and compiled a 78-25 scoring margin.
 
"It was a blast out there," said Buslee, a sophomore who led the way with five touchdowns in the three games. "We've been working so hard in practice to get this program going. We took all that hard work with us onto the field today and it paid off."
 
That was in spite of a chilly April rain which at times turned into a downpour. But the steady precipitation did nothing to dampen the Bennies' enthusiasm and intensity.
 
"(Going 3-0) was pretty special," said CSB head coach Joe Bartos, who was hired to help launch the program after serving as the head football coach at Little Falls High School since 2015.  "It's a testament to these girls and the support we've received from the school. I thought we showed a lot of grit out there. But that's nothing new. We've been practicing in 35-degree temperatures the past few weeks and it hasn't slowed our players down at all."
 
It was Buslee who made history, hauling in a pass from first-year quarterback Peyton Boyd (Farmington, Minn.) on the first play from scrimmage in CSB's opening game against Gustavus. Two plays later, she recorded another milestone - catching a pass over the middle and making her way through traffic to the end zone for the first touchdown in program history.
 
"I felt good," said Buslee, who is also the starting point guard on the Bennie basketball team. "All the nerves went away after the first catch. It was awesome."
 
Buslee added another touchdown catch to help her team take a 13-0 halftime lead against Concordia, then had a pair of touchdown catches and an interception return for another in the victory over Augsburg.
 
But she wasn't the only standout Saturday. Boyd and fellow first-year Nora Schmidt (Shoreview, Minn.) split time at quarterback, finishing with three and four touchdown passes respectively. 
 
Schmidt also rushed for a pair of touchdowns - one in the second half against Gustavus and the other to get the Bennies on the board first against Concordia.
 
First-year Alaina Pundsack (Shoreview, Minn.) and sophomore Rianna DeBettignies (Otsego, Minn.) also rushed for touchdowns against Gustavus. First-year Avary White added a touchdown catch against Concordia.
 
"It was pretty cold and wet, and that made the ball a little slippery," Schmidt said. "But we worked through it. 
 
"We had high expectations for ourselves coming into today and we exceeded them."
 


Despite the weather, a good crowd turned out to see the program's launch. That support extended to the sideline where College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University President Brian Bruess was on hand serving as the team's ballboy.
 
"That meant so much to us," Schmidt said. "It just shows how big a movement this is on campus and how much of a commitment the school has made to getting this program going. 
 
"You always hear so much about the Bennie support network and that was definitely on display today."
 
But it was the players who made the day a successful one.
 
"We knew coming in we'd be competitive," Bartos said. "What we saw today is exactly what we've been seeing in practice the past five or six weeks. This is a determined group. We didn't panic, even when we found ourselves in tight situations. If we dropped a pass, we didn't let it get to us. No one complained about the weather. Everyone was focused on getting the job done."
 
CSB returns to action when the Bennies take part in the Northwestern Jamboree next Saturday (April 18) in Roseville. Then it's on to the Midwest College Women's Flag Football League tournament on April 25 at TCO Stadium in Eagan.
 
"The coaches did a great job of getting us ready today and everybody did their jobs," Buslee said. "We couldn't have asked for a better start and I'm excited to see where we go from here."