NEW ULM, Minn. - Football hits the road for the first time in UMAC play to take on Greenville.
Inside the Matchup
The Knights have a 5-10 program record against the Panthers in program history, however MLC has had more recent success, winning five of the last eight contests. In those eight games, MLC has averaged 36 points per game.
MLC won last season's meeting 41-39.
Brady Turriff threw for 346 yards and four touchdowns.
Jude Pederson had 109 yards receiving and a TD while
Noah Huebner chipped in 75 yards receiving and caught two touchdown passes, including what ended up being the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Arthur Robinson also scored twice on the ground.
Responding to adversity
Coach
Paul Huebner on the biggest key to the game: "How do we deal with mistakes when they happen? How do we deal with bad calls if they happen? How do we deal with a hostile atmosphere on a long road game, far away from home? I think how we respond and focus on things that are in our control is going to go a long way for what the outcome of the game is going to be."
MLC in the UMAC
The Knights dropped their UMAC opener 22-16 to Northwestern last weekend in a game that featured four lead changes. MLC was driving for a would-be game-winning score when Northwestern picked off a pass inside the red zone.
"We spent more time this week working on the situation football piece, especially that two-minute drill and how do we manage the clock at the end of games," Huebner said. "That's something we've struggled with before and that's my fault as offensive coordinator, play caller and head coach, so we have to practice those scenarios. We have to have a better plan."
The Eagles outgained the Knights 353-311 in the game, ach team had an interception and both teams turned the ball over on downs once. The difference came down to MLC having to settle for a field goal instead of scoring a touchdown with 6:06 left.
Offensively, Turriff threw for 209, which included a first-quarter touchdown strike to
Gabriel Nottling.
Benjamin Vasold and
Noah Huebner led the receiving corps with 117 and 64 yards, respectively.
Arthur Robinson had his best day of the season by far, rushing for 132 yards and a touchdown. Coach Huebner said the offensive message continues to be improvement in early-down execution.
"[The key is] not creating any negative plays," coach
Paul Huebner said. "When our drives have stalled these past few weeks, it's often because we've gone backwards or not done anything of value on first or second down. Our third-down efficiency has been poor the last few weeks, a lot of that is because our average to go is I think 8 yards. We haven't had a third- or fourth-and-1 since Concordia in week two.
Defensive back
Brock Ochoa had an excellent game to keep MLC alive, blocking a kick and intercepting a pass, both inside the UNW red zone.
Jonah Mittelstadt was also disruptive from his linebacker spot, recording nine tackles, including 1.5 for loss.
"Neat to see Brock stepping up with those takeaways is big," Huebner said. "He'll be our axe-bearer this week, which is the prize our defense gives out.
"Learning how to fit the run game is kind of the next step for those guys. Coverage-wise we're OK, but how do we come up and fit alleys and make tackles on big quarterbacks and running backs like we'll continue to see in our conference play."
Greenville in the UMAC
Greenville lost 34-7 to Westminster to open UMAC play last week.
Westminster outgained Greenville 384-182 on the day. The Panthers woes came in the passing game, where quarterback Breylan Dewberry threw for just 57 yards and was picked off four times. Greenville did have moderate success on the ground, rushing for 125 yards as a team with 45 coming from running back Trevion Taylor and 32 coming from Dewberry. The Panthers' lone touchdown came in the second quarter when Dewberry found Logan Keith for a 7-yard score.
"[It's] another running quarterback, option-type attack," Huebner said. "So we'll just have to be assignment sound against the option. They've got some receivers with enough athleticism and speed that they'll hurt you. This week for us is can we contain their offense enough and keep them out of the end zone."
Defensively against Westminster, Greenville recorded seven tackles for loss, forced two fumbles and were able to recover one. The Panthers surrendered 115 yards on the ground and 269 through the air.
"They're going to try to create some chaos and create some big plays in the backfield with their aggressive front," Huebner said.
