NEW ULM, Minn. - The Martin Luther College football team lost its conference opener to Eureka 55-21 on Saturday.

The Knights fell behind 21-0 early, as Eureka scored on its first three possessions.

Josh Rathje kept the Knights in striking range, however, returning a kickoff 75 yards to cut the MLC deficit to 21-7 heading into the second quarter.

After the Red Devils scored to make it 27-7 early in the second quarter, the Knights had a chance to score right before the half, but quarterback Matt Olson was intercepted in the end zone to keep the deficit at 20 at the break. The interception was one of three MLC turnovers in the first half.

The teams traded touchdowns to start the second half. The Red Devils opened the half with a nine-play touchdown drive, but the Knights responded with an 82-yard Josh Arndt touchdown reception to cut the deficit to 34-14. After another Eureka touchdown drive, the Knights capped off their best drive of the day, a 15-play, 90-yard scoring drive capped by a 13-yard Olson touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.

The deficit was too much to overcome, however, as the Red Devils added two more scores in the final quarter to finish off the win.

MLC finished 338 with yards of total yards, while the Red Devils totaled 530 yards (213 on the ground and 317 through the air).

Olson finished the day 8-22 passing for 177 yards and one touchdown. He also added 66 yards rushing on 13 carries. 

Tim Keller was the top rusher for MLC with 67 yards on 18 carries. Rathje (45 yards), T.J. Babinec (26) and Joseph Rodewald (25) each caught two passes, while Arndt led the team with his 82 receiving yards on one catch.

Ben Ewings finished with eight tackles, including 2.0 tackles for loss and 1.0 sack. Chris Dean also finished with eight tackles. Jacob Brohn had five tackles and his first interception of the season. 

MLC fell to 1-1 on the season and 0-1 in UMAC play in defeat, while Eureka improved to 2-0 overall and 1-0 in conference play.

The Knights will return to action on Saturday, September 19, when they travel to Crown College for a game scheduled to start at 1 p.m.