NEW ULM, Minn. - The Martin Luther College football team was unable to slow down the St. Scholastica offensive attack in a 62-19 loss in front of a big Homecoming crowd Saturday.

The Saints jumped in front 7-0 early, and then put the Knights in a big deficit with three touchdowns in a span of 34 seconds near the end of the first quarter thanks to a pair of MLC fumbles on consecutive plays.

The Knights were unable to slow the CSS passing attack in the first half, as the big, experienced Saints made plays down the field against a young MLC secondary. Quarterback Kyle Stepka finished the day with 314 yards and five touchdowns through the air.

MLC was able to move the ball on the ground, rushing for 250 yards on 58 carries, but were unable to convert opportunities for big plays in the passing game to supplement the rushing attack. 

Nate Stein led the team with 112 yards and one rushing touchdown, while T.J. Babinec carried the ball 17 times for 54 yards and two scores.

The Saints built their lead thanks to 279 yards and four touchdowns passing in the first half, but put the game away with 243 of their 345 rushing yards in the second half.

Tom Keller led MLC with ten tackles, while Chris Dean and Yaffet Gabayehu recorded six and five tackles, respectively. Nate Lindloff intercepted a pass in the first quarter.

The Knights fell to 0-5 on the season and 0-4 in UMAC play with the loss, CSS improved to 4-1 overall and 4-0 in league play with the win.

MLC will return to action on Saturday, October 8, when it travels to Minnesota Morris for a game scheduled to start at 6 p.m.