Knights ride past Crusaders

By BOB VARMETTE

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- For two games, the Martin Luther Knights have been splitting their focus somewhat. And it's quite understandable.

Three games ago, the Knights lost to Northwestern (Roseville) by 33 points. Their mission the past two weeks has been a redemption rematch with the Eagles.

Having that rematch in the back of their minds did nothing to detract from the Knights' performance. MLC got its second straight easy win, pounding the Maranatha Crusaders 37-6 Saturday afternoon at "The Bowl" in UMAC football on Homecoming/Parents' Day.

The Knights' second win in as many weeks, coupled with Northwestern's win over Mount Senario, makes the rematch official. The teams will square off again Friday in a 1 vs. 2 UMAC game at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

"I don't think it's been a big factor in our game preparation," MLC senior quarterback Ben Kuerth said. "But we knew if we won out, and they did, we'd play them again. We felt we didn't give Northwestern our best shot last time. Now we've got another shot at them."

But MLC coach Dennis Gorsline is cautious about the rematch with the Eagles.

"I know we want to play (Northwestern)," Gorsline said. "They say sometimes you have to be careful what you pray for because you might get it. And we might be getting more than what we want because Northwestern's undefeated. They're not going to just lie down for us."

But the Knights, while not playing a perfect game, will give the Eagles something to think about. MLC (4-4, 4-1 UMAC) outgained Maranatha 476-155.

"I don't know what to say," Maranatha coach Terry Price said. "To be honest, I really don't. I know we didn't play well. I guess I can say that. We didn't stop the passing game. We didn't do much of anything to stop them from passing."

The game marked the return of sophomore quarterback Seth Fitzsimmons, who had been sidelined since the first week with a shoulder separation. Fitzsimmons and Kuerth, who got the start, combined for 298 yards passing and four touchdowns.

"They were putting on some pretty good pressure," Kuerth said. "But we have so many good receivers."

Kuerth, who went 10 of 19 for 160 yards, threw a 79-yard touchdown pass to Casey Holtz in the first quarter and a 14-yard scoring pass to Mike Feuerstahler late in the second quarter. Fitzsimmons, who alternated every two series with Kuerth, was 7 of 15 for 71 yards and threw touchdown passes to Tim Breitkreutz and Feuerstahler. Neither quarterback was intercepted.

"It was nice to get the running game going," said Feuerstahler, who caught nine passes for 87 yards. "That opened up the passing game. It was a big help for us offensively to be able to do both things well."

The Knights' running game, which has been resurgent in the last two weeks, didn't dominate Maranatha (2-5, 2-3) statistically. The Knights generated 178 yards rushing, and while that wasn't dominating, the offensive line's success against their Maranatha defensive counterparts set the tone for MLC's offensive success.

"They were terrible," said Price in assessing his defensive line's performance. "And you can quote me on that."

Junior running back Paul Mattek, who played only the second half, led the Knights on the ground with 84 yards on 13 carries. Senior Bill Heiges pounded out 70 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.

"We got it going the past two weeks," Heiges said. "We're running well and the line's blocking well. We've been making everything quicker. That's been the key for getting it together."

Heiges' touchdown, a 1-yard run with 13:33 in the first quarter, was set up by the game's first play -- a trademark Gorsline trick play. Kuerth lateraled to Chris Rathje, who was lined up wide right.

Rathje then found Noah Bater wide open behind the Crusaders' secondary crossing from left to right about midfield. Bater, who is also the Knights' kicker, legged it to the Maranatha 2 before he was finally caught by Crusaders safety Josh Rader for a 67-yard gain.

After a Crusader three-and-out, MLC scored on another three-play drive. Following a clipping penalty that moved the Knights back to their own 21, Kuerth found a wide-open Holtz with 10:40 left in the first quarter for a 14-0 MLC lead.

MLC ran its lead to 21-0 when Fitzsimmons connected with Breitkreutz from 13 yards on the last play of the first quarter. After Kuerth returned, the Knights went 40 yards in seven plays, using one minute and 15 seconds of the clock to take a 27-0 lead at halftime; Kuerth hit Feuerstahler with a 14-yard scoring pass with 37 seconds left in the second quarter.

Still, Gorsline thought the Knights could have been better.

"At halftime, I was mad," Gorsline said. "I chewed the offense out. I didn't think we were crisp. I thought we were lethargic. We scored early on them and that's a Catch-22, I think, sometimes. You can get a little complacent.

"We were trying to have counts like the pros, and we were jumping offsides. I thought we had poor clock management by our quarterbacks -- the delay of games. I wasn't happy with our offense."

Maranatha closed the gap on Nathan Duffie's 61-yard touchdown pass to Josh Angelmyer with only 1:38 gone in the second half. The screen pass that caught the Knights in man coverage cut MLC's lead to 27-6, but the Crusaders didn't find the end zone again.

Maranatha did threaten late after MLC added another touchdown and a 29-yard field goal by Bater. Angelmyer returned a short Joel Schwartz punt 25 yards to the MLC 22.

But Dan Unke's 66-yard interception return of Maranatha backup quarterback Dan Loggans' pass allowed the Knights to run out the clock.

MLC had an answer defensively for almost every Maranatha drive. The Knight defense smothered the Crusaders' running game, which had produced 214 yards in a win against Mount Senario a week earlier. Maranatha finished with minus-8 yards rushing.

Senior linebacker Carlos Leyrer led the Knights with 11 tackles, including four tackles for losses. Senior defensive lineman John Weitzel had a pair of sacks for MLC.

"We jumped on them right away, and I think maybe that hurt them," Gorsline said. "I'm happy with the 'W.' We're .500 and it would sure be nice to win next week because I'd hate to have the first losing season at MLC."