NEW ULM, Minn. - The Martin Luther College football team opened its defense of last year's UMAC championship with a 43-14 win over Greenville in Saturday's conference opener. 

Joshuah Kren had a career first half, as he scored three times to help MLC to a 27-7 halftime lead. After Austin DeNoyer opened the scoring with a 14-yard run, Kren caught a swing pass on the team's second possession and raced 80 yards down the right sideline to push the Knights to a 14-0 lead. After a 10-yard touchdown run on fourth down early in the second quarter, Kren capped his big first half with an 81-yard run right before the half.

The Panthers scored early in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 27-14, but Ethan Aguilar and DeNoyer shut the door with touchdown runs of 63 and 28 yards, respectively, later in the quarter. Micah Otto finished the scoring with a career-best 41 yard field goal in the fourth quarter. 

The defense continued to give the Knights chances throughout the game by forcing four turnovers, and also held the Panthers to only 199 yards of total offense. Aiden Holien, Ben Riegsecker, Joe Herrewig and Ben Washburn each recorded an interception in the game, while Nate Holz led the defense up front with 1.5 sacks. Tristan Pankow led the team with 11 total tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss and 0.5 sack. 

Kren finished with a career-high 215 total yards (135 rushing, 80 receiving) on only 10 touches (nine rushes, one reception). DeNoyer carried the ball 17 times for 93 yards and two scores, while Aguilar finished with 66 yards rushing and one score on six carries. 

Mike Radue also had a big day in the passing game, catching two passes for 60 yards, including a 50-yard reception that set up a first-half touchdown.

MLC improved to 2-1 on the season and 1-0 in UMAC play with the win Greenville fell to 2-2 overall and 1-1 in league play in defeat.

The Knights will return to action on Saturday, October 5, when they travel to St. Scholastica for a game scheduled to start at 3 p.m.