Martin Luther 45
Minnesota, Morris 20
The Cougars knew going into New Ulm that Martin Luther's option offense could generate big gains, and it did just that as the Knights racked up 433 yards on the ground in a 45-20 win.
This afternoon, as they did last week, the Cougars burst out of the gate with their first possession. Jerrod Nohner rambled 61 yards with the opening kickoff to the MLC 19 yard line. Two plays later, Nohner caught a 10 yard pass from quarterback Derrick Foss, bringing the Cougars to a first and goal at the seven where running back Robert Koranda finished the drive with a rushing touchdown.
The Knights roared back on the next possession, running the ball on five of six plays on a 70-yard drive that culminated in a 14-yard touchdown run for Andrew Becker. MLC missed the extra point and trailed 7-6 with less than five minutes gone in the first quarter.
The Cougars answered back, but a penalty and interception would stall the drive. Foss hit two long passes, moving UMM into Knights' territory: a 16-yard throw to tight end Brady Rose, and a 31-yard connection with John Russow to the MLC 19 yard line. After an Ernest Tucker rush for no gain, the Cougars went back to the air. Foss' completion to Koranda was nullfied by an ineligible receiver penalty, giving UMM a second and 17 on the MLC 26. Two plays later, Foss was intercepted at the MLC 9.
The teams traded punts on the next two series when Martin Luther quarterback Greg Holtzhueter ripped off two runs for 21 and 24 yards. Two plays later, he connected with running back Alexander Hunt for a 28 yard touchdown pass, giving the Knights a 14-7 lead.
The Cougars again responded with an impressive drive. With quarterback Daniel Garrigan now at the helm, UMM drove into Knights territory on the strength of runs by Koranda and Tucker. But faced with a second and 7 at the MLC 17 yard line, Garrigan was sacked on consecutive plays, leaving the Cougars with with a fourth down outside of field goal range, forcing them to punt.
Martin Luther staged a long drive, eating up seven minutes in the second quarter. They capped it with a 30-yard field goal for a 17-7 lead going into halftime.
The Knights took advantage of a long kickoff return to score quickly opening the second half. With the ball on the UMM 40, MLC needed two plays to get in the end zone--a Holtzheuter to Ryan Kolander touchdown pass from nine yards out.
But, as they had in the first half, the Cougars marched back downfield again only to be thwarted by some bad luck in MLC territory. After a 31-yard pass from Foss to Rose and the ball on the Knights 16, the Cougars went out on downs, unable to convert or pull into field goal range.
The Knights took advantage of this lapse in momentum to put the game out of reach. Going 90 yards in 10 plays, MLC finished the drive with a second touchdown from Hunt, rushing in from 20 yards out, and giving the Knights a 31-7 lead.
The Cougars would score a couple touchdowns late. Foss hit Rose for his second touchdown of the day and later connected with Josh Hiltner for another score. Foss finished the day with three touchdowns on 21 of 39 passing for 240 yards.
But UMM could not stop the Knights offense, which tallied a couple more touchdown for a 45-20 final.
The Cougars gained 320 yards on the afternoon, but could not stop a mighty MLC attack that amassed 533 total yards.
Defensively, safety Nate Lund (9) and cornerback James Watkins (8) led the team in tackles.
Box Score
