Trio catapaults MLC into championshipKnights get opportunity to play in Dome

By JEREMY BEHNKE

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- The recipe of success for the Martin Luther College football team can be broken down into three main ingredients.

One is a relatively small but elusive back whose quick burst of speed makes defenders look foolish.

Another is a hard-hitting linebacker who, because of his dominance against opposing offenses, has twice been player of the week and even earned national player of the week honors.

The third is a 6-foot, 185 pound free safety whose four interceptions which have resulted in 109 yards on the return leads the team.

Meet Joel Russow, Jon Beilke and Seth Herrmann.

The trio is preparing for Friday night's Upper Midwest Athletic Conference championship game against Westminster College at the Metrodome. Russow said he and the rest of the team is thrilled for such a challenge.

"Everyone's really excited," Russow said. "It's a great opportunity. Coming into the season, not a lot of people thought we'd be here. So far we're doing a good job I think, and we're ready to play."

"Right now we're feeling pretty good," Beilke said. "We have a good chance of winning if we play a good game. Making a lot of mistakes, that will make it more difficult. It's a winnable game."

Russow will get to play on the Metrodome's turf for the second time and he says it is a completely different surface than what most players are used to.

"I always envision it like it's like playing on carpet at home," Russow said. "I feel fast. A lot of guys say they feel faster."

Russow stands 5-foot 8 and weighs 165 pounds, but he has run all over the opponent all year, setting numerous records along the way.

He has a chance to become the first back in MLC history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a single season. He has 937 yards to date and should eclipse the mark Friday. He has 10 rushing touchdowns on the season and 19 for his career, not bad numbers for a sophomore. Even more telling of his rapid success is the fact that he ranks second on the career MLC rushing list with 1,542. Justin Coute (95-97) holds the record with 1,990, so that mark should be broken next year.

"I always say it takes two to tangle," head coach Dennis Gorsline said. "You just wouldn't think that he's as good as he is. They [the offensive line] give him some holes and they'll block downfield for him, but the way he can cut and bounce -- he's so short and he runs pretty low and he keeps his eyes up and his pads down."

Russow is one of the key contributors to an offense that is averaging nearly 31 points per game. Herrmann said that the points the offense is able to put on the board is a huge relief to the defense.

"It's relaxing because it makes our jobs a lot easier," Herrmann said. "Possession after possession when we walk out on the field, we know that if we do our job, the offense is going to do theirs."

As much respect as the defense has for the offense, Russow said it works both ways.

"It's great," Russow said. "We like watching the 'D' and we always have competition to see who can do better in the game. At practice they're always joking around with us and we're joking with them. It's good competition and we're rooting for them to have another big game for us."

Leading the way on defense is Beilke, who is a candidate for the UMAC defensive player of the year. Beilke will shy away from his individual accomplishments and prefers to put the focus on his team.

"I think our defense overall has been playing real well," Beilke said. "We've lost a few players, but I think overall the guys that have stepped in have filled their roles and are doing a good job."

Beilke has been a menace to opposing offenses and he leads the team with 104 tackles. He also has three quarterback sacks and an interception. His presence has been invaluable, and he ranks ninth in the nation in total tackles.

He is grateful for the chance to play for the title, but he admits he didn't expect it after a 27-20 loss to Northwestern in week four.

"After we lost to Northwestern I didn't think we'd have this chance," Beilke said. "There was a slight hope that Morris could beat them. We could have blown our chance to play in this game. I'd say I'm a little surprised, but I think this team deserves to play in this game."

Herrmann brings to the table a big physical presence lurking in the defensive backfield. His four interceptions have resulted in two touchdowns, and the junior said the defense has shown significant signs of improvement throughout the year.

"We've improved tremendously, not so much on the physical aspect, but mentally," Herrmann said. "At the beginning of the year, we started out playing Maranatha, and we did very well defensively.

"In the next few weeks, teams were scoring on us and we turned into a high-low defense," Herrmann said. "We'd get real high after a few plays and real low after one and we worked on just keeping a middle ground and not get too excited or too down on ourselves."

Herrmann said that the team prefers to play a physical style of defense.

"We're a very physical team," Herrmann said. "Sometimes we have to pull guys off of each other and say 'come on now.'"

The Knights have achieved a lot despite not being a real big team physically. Their 7-1 record is the best in school history and the confidence among the players has grown throughout the year.

"We're not real big," Gorsline said. "In fact, our whole team's not very big. We're really small by college standards. Our speed is pretty good. People go around the edge, we can catch up to them. I think self-confidence really helps too."

The Knights would love to bring home the hardware, but even if the Knights don't win, the season is not a loss.

"We're going to go in and play our butt off and let the chips fall where they may," Gorsline said. "Even if we lose, its been a successful season. I'm not going to put a lot of pressure on them. There's enough pressure to win and the guys wanna win. But it's been a successful season regardless.

"We're going to have a big party," Gorsline said. "It's going to be a big party. We're going to go out there and have some fun and stick some people."

The Knights battle Westminster at 8 p.m. Friday night at the Metrodome.