NEW ULM, Minn. - MLC football heads to Mequon, Wisconsin, to take on Concordia University in its first road test of the season.
Inside the Matchup
The Knights have an 0-3 record against the Falcons in program history. The teams met three-straight seasons from 2021-2023.
In the last meeting, Concordia beat MLC 55-14. Current seniors
Jude Pederson and
Ethan Melso, then freshmen, were bright spots for the Knights in the loss. Pederson recorded 96 yards on three catches and a TD while Melso led the team with 14 tackles.
"Doesn't Matter, Get Better"
That was the message from the coaching staff to the team when the Knights kicked off the week on Monday, according to coach
Paul Huebner.
"That's part of what we want our culture to be," Huebner said. "Every Monday when we look back at the previous weekend, the answer always needs to be, 'Hey, it doesn't matter, get better.'
"I told the guys, and I will continue to tell them throughout the season, that if we'd had won on Saturday, I would have told you today, 'Doesn't matter, get better.' We focus on the process, what we can control, the effort, the attitude we bring to practice every day, how we compete every single snap on a Saturday and then let the outcomes take care of themselves."
MLC Week 1 Recap
The Knights were unable to overcome a first-half riddled with mistakes against Macalester last week. The offense turned the ball over on downs once, lost a fumble and threw an interception in addition to two dropped passes and two defensive penalties that gave the Scots first downs.
Despite the mishaps, Huebner said he likes what he saw from his offense in terms moving the ball, but drives have to result in points.
"Offensively, there was production, but there wasn't finish," Huebner said. "That was a big focus this week. We moved the ball, we proved that what we're doing offensively can work, but we have to finish with points, especially in the red zone. Cleaning up our execution and play calling and clock management and a lot of that is on me as the offensive coordinator."
MLC outgained Macalester 367-331 in total yards.
Week 1 Standouts
QB
Brady Turriff: 316 passing yards, 1 TD; WR
Jude Pederson: 136 receiving yards; TE
Noah Huebner: 73 receiving yards
DT
Andrew Oblender : 4 total tackles, 2 tackles for loss;
Trevor Hueske: 3 total tackles, 1 INT, 1 blocked PAT
K/P
Gabriel Nottling: 3/3 PAT, 30.25 punt average
CUW Week 1 Recap
The Falcons jumped all over Ripon in week 1, leading 35-0 at the end of the third quarter. CUW went on to win 38-14.
Senior QB Roman Funk was outstanding passing the ball. He was 20-for-24 for 281 yards and a pair of TDs. His top targets were Kam'Ron Pierre and Jack Bradley. Pierre had 96 yards receiving and a touchdown, Bradley added 59 receiving yards and the other score.
On the ground, Jacob Pugh rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown while freshman Alijah Bright debuted with 75 yards and two scores.
Defensively, CUW held Ripon to just 216 total yards and nine first downs, one of which came by penalty. Through the first three quarters, the Falcons held Ripon to just 127 yards.
