New Ulm, MN - The Martin Luther College football team hosted the Minnesota-Morris Cougars for Senior Day on Saturday afternoon and the Knights looked poised for a victory in the final home game of the season. However, the Knights had a second down and eight at the Cougars' eight-yard line with a chance to extend their 27-23 lead with either a field goal or a touchdown, but were unable to do so as the Cougars linebacker, Gregory Ohman, recovered a fumble by Max Nordlie and took it 92 yards to the house (30-27 UMM).

From there, MLC had a final opportunity to regain the lead, but the Cougars' secondary closed it out with an interception down the middle of the field to win the game 30-27.

The Knights started things off with a 14-0 lead in the first quarter after an Andrew Raasch 40-yard touchdown catch and a Nordlie rushing score near the goal line. Minnesota-Morris then got the running game going and countered with a pair of touchdowns to make it 14-13 with 11:18 remaining in the second quarter.

MLC would benefit from another Nordlie rushing touchdown (21-13), but Minnesota-Morris scored 10 unanswered points and converted an interception into a field goal to give themselves a 23-21 advantage at the intermission

The Knights opened the second half off with some solid execution from the defense when they forced the Cougars into a turnover on downs. That defensive effort then brought a jolt of energy for the offense, as Rees Roecker broke off his longest run of the season (51 yards) and flipped the field position in favor of the Knights. MLC was then able to chew off some clock and came away with some points off of a Micah Koschnitzke field goal.

Both teams would have limited possessions in the second half and the late turnovers proved costly for the Knights. 

Roecker led the MLC backfield with 95 yards on 13 rushing attempts and stepped up for another week as Carson Oestreich's carries were limited due to injury. 

Nordlie finished the game with 187 passing yards and three touchdowns (two rushing), while Mason Cox led the Knights' receiving corps with seven receptions for 71 yards.

The MLC defense continued to show improvements on that side of the ball and contained the Cougars' three headed rushing attack and didn't allow for the "big play."

Thomas Balge led the team in tackles (17), while Joey Ehlke flew around the field to record 10 tackles.

The Cougars' win puts them at 4-0 and atop the conference, while MLC now goes to (2-7, 2-3) and will travel to Mayville, ND, for a road game at Mayville State on Saturday, November 11, at 1 p.m.