ST. PETER, Minn. - The Martin Luther College football team opened its 2019 season with a 50-19 loss at Gustavus Adolphus College on Saturday.

The Knights opened the scoring early in the first quarter as Joshuah Kren raced into the end zone from eight yards out on fourth down following a GAC muffed punt return to give MLC a 6-0 edge.

The Gusties took control from there, scoring 36 unanswered first-half point to take a 36-6 lead into the break.

MLC got back on the board in the third quarter, as Austin DeNoyer capped a 17-play drive that lasted nearly nine minutes with a one-yard touchdown run.

The Gusties put the game to bed in the fourth quarter, scoring on both offense and defense to push their total to 50 for the game. MLC was able to get one last score in the final minutes when first-year quarterback Colin Olson found first-year receiver Zach Thiel in the end zone from 32-yards out for the first career score for both players. 

Quarterback Ethan Aguilar finished as the Knights' leading rusher in his first career start with 52 yards on 12 carries. He also completed six of 13 pass attempts for 43 yards, but threw a pair of interceptions. 

DeNoyer was unable to find much room on the ground against the stout GAC defense, carrying the ball 22 times for 49 yards and one score. Kren finished with nine carries for 29 yards and one touchdown.

The MLC defense struggled against the talented and experienced GAC offense, allowing 496 total yards for the game. Gusties' senior quarterback Michael Veldman finished the day 18-27 through the air for 353 yards and three scores, while receiver Brice Panning caught six passes for 118 yards and three touchdowns.

Ian Paulsen led the MLC defense with 13 tackles, 11 of which were solo stops. Ben Riegsecker registered the team's lone sack on the day, while Ben Arndt recorded a team-high three pass break-ups. 

MLC will return to action for its second and final non-conference game next week when it hosts Rockford in the team's home opener. That game is scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m.