NEW ULM, Minn. - The Martin Luther College football team overpowered the Warriors of Wisconsin Lutheran College (WLC) on the ground in a 42-28 win in Saturday's home opener. 

The Knights ran for 363 yards on 61 carries and put two rushers over the century mark. Carson Oestreich led the way with 187 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries, while Max Nordlie finished with 19 carries for 130 yards and three scores. Zach Arndt also got into the act, rushing nine times for 42 yards in his first career start.

MLC jumped out to a 14-0 lead thanks to a 30-yard run by Nordlie, followed by a 55-yard scoring burst from Oestreich in the opening 16 minutes. Oestreich added a seven-yard touchdown run with 1:39 to play in the second quarter, but the Warriors closed the half with a 21-yard touchdown pass as time expired to cut the Knights' lead to 21-14 at the break.

The Knights put the game to bed in the third quarter, however, as Nordlie scored on runs of 37 and 10 yards, and then found Mike Radue from three yards out in the final minutes of the quarter to push the MLC lead to 42-14 on the way to the win.

Defensively, the Knights recovered two fumbles and held WLC to 127 yards on the ground on the day. 

Ben Riegsecker led the defensive charge with seven total tackles, including one tackle for loss and one pass break-up. Nathan Golisch, Ben Arndt, Aiden Holien and Cooper Knoll each recorded six tackles, with Holien also adding a fumble recovery. 

MLC improved to 1-1 on the season with the win, while WLC fell to 0-2 in defeat.

The Knights will return to action on Saturday, September 18, when they travel to Saint John's for a game scheduled to start at 1 p.m.