Game Leaders
Team Stats
Passing Yards
Rushing Yards
Turnovers
Time of Poss.
NEW ULM, Minn. - The Martin Luther College football team scored 42 unanswered points on the way to a 49-21 win over St. Scholastica on Saturday.
MLC finished the game with a school-record 477 yards rushing, breaking the previous record of 433 set during the the 2009 season.
The Saints jumped on top early, scoring on three straight drives with a passing offense that totaled 263 yards in the first half, but the Knights would take over from that point on both sides of the ball. Trailing 21-7 points with 9:47 to play in the second quarter, the Knights' offense scored on six consecutive offensive possessions while the defense held the Saints to only 86 yards on their final eight drives.
The Knights' offensive line pushed the Saints backwards all day. Of the team's school-record 78 rushing attempts, MLC was tackled for loss only three times. The Knights also converted 12 of 20 third-down conversions, many of which were short yardage situations.
Running backs Austin DeNoyer and Joshuah Kren carried the load for the Knights for much of the day. DeNoyer finished with 178 yards on 28 carries and three scores, while Kren gained 197 yards on 21 carries and scored once in his first action of the season. DeNoyer also made an impact as a receiver, catching two passes for 35 yards to push his total yards from scrimmage to 213 for the day.
Quarterback Zach Bloomquist also got into the act, rushing 16 times for 75 yards and two scores. He also completed seven passes for 107 yards.
Defensively, the Knights held the Saints to only two yards on 17 carries. The MLC defensive front spent much of the day in the Saints' backfield and finished with a season-best seven sacks. Dan Gensmer led the way with three sacks and a team-high seven tackles. Nathan Holz recorded two sacks, while Keith Brassow added 1.5 sacks and four total tackles.
While CSS quarterback Zach Edwards passed for 336, the Knights forced a pair of interceptions. Ben Arndt picked off Edwards on the first play of the game, whileJared Witkowiak intercepted a pass and returned it to the Saints' one-yard line to set up Elliott Butler's one-yard touchdown at the end of the third quarter to finish the scoring.
MLC's win stopped a streak of seven straight wins by the Saints in the all-time series, dating back to the 2010 season.
The Knights improved to 3-1 on the season and 2-0 in UMAC play with the win. CSS fell to 2-2 overall and 2-1 in league play in defeat.
MLC will return to action on Saturday, October 6, when it travels to Iowa Wesleyan for a game scheduled to start at 1 p.m.