FULTON, Mo. - The Martin Luther College football team jumped on top early and never looked back in a 28-14 win at Westminster on Saturday.
The MLC offense was clicking to start as the Knights scored on three of their first four possessions, and the one drive in which the Knights were stopped came on a fumble at the Blue Jays' five-yard line late in the first quarter.
Joshuah Kren capped the Knights' opening drive with an eight-yard touchdown run.
Carson Oestreich (four-yard run) and
Mike Radue (12-yard reception) added the other two MLC first-half scores, with Radue's touchdown coming from
Ethan Aguilar, who returned to action on Saturday for the first time since the first week of the season.
The Blue Jays scored in the second quarter to cut the MLC lead to 21-7, but the MLC defense stopped them inside the Knights' 10-yard-line late in the second quarter to keep the game 21-7 going into halftime.
After turnovers on their first two possessions of the second half, Kren put the game to bed with a 46-yard touchdown run with 4:24 to play in the third quarter. The Blue Jays would tack on one late touchdown in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, but the Knights secured the onside kick attempt and ran out the clock on the way to the win.
Kren went over the century mark on the ground for the first time this season as he carried 14 times for 107 yards and two scores. Oestreich added 24 carries for 97 yards and one score, while
Max Nordlie ran six times for 38 yards.
Nordlie completed all four of his pass attempts for 74 yards, with Oestreich catching one pass for 54 yards to lead the Knights' receivers.
The defense made life difficult for the Blue Jays' passing game throughout the game. Westminster quarterback Wyatt Ellis completed only 11 of 32 pass attempts for 134 yards, one interception and zero touchdowns.
Jon Holtz recorded an interception, while
Ben Arndt broke up a pair of passes and led the Knights with eight tackles.
Brice Guse recorded the Knights' lone sack on the day as one of his six tackles.
MLC improved to 4-4 on the season and 3-1 in UMAC competition with the win. Westminster fell to 2-5 overall and 1-4 in league play in defeat.
The Knights will return to action next week, when they host Northwestern in the regular season and home finale. That game is scheduled to kick off at 1:00 p.m.
