Game Leaders
Team Stats
Passing Yards
Rushing Yards
Turnovers
Time of Poss.
Luke Rothe had a huge day for MLC on the ground, carrying 39 times for 253 yards and three scores in the losing effort.
The Knights started the game strong on offense, capping an eight-minute drive with a 29-yard Matt Olson touchdown run to take a 6-0 lead.
Following a MacMurray score, Rothe put the Knights back ahead 12-7 with a 56-yard scoring run.
The Highlanders scored twice more in their next two drives to take a 21-12 lead, but the Knights cut that deficit to one point at 21-20 when Josh Rathje recovered a fumble in the end zone late in the second quarter as MLC went into halftime trailing 21-20.
MacMurray came out strong in the third quarter, scoring touchdowns on its first two drives to build its lead to 34-20 before Rothe cut the deficit to 34-28 with his second touchdown run of the game with 13 minutes to play in the fourth.
After the Highlanders scored again to take a 42-28 lead, Rothe added his third touchdown run of the game with 5:07 to play in the game to cut the deficit to 42-36.
The MLC defense held strong to give the offense one last chance to tie the game, but MacMurray stopped the Knights on downs inside Highlander territory in the final minute to end the game.
Rothe finished the game with 83 yards passing and one touchdown to go with his 253 yards rushing. Olson rushed 16 times for 80 yards and one score, helping the Knights total 366 yards on the ground for the game. Olson also caught two passes for 34 yards.
The defense struggled to hold down MacMurray, as the Highlanders ran for 249 yards and threw for 158 more. Ben Ewings led MLC with eight tackles, while Dan Schmidt finished with five tackles and one fumble recovery.
MLC fell to 1-1 on the season and 0-1 in the UMAC in defeat, while MacMurray improved to 1-1 overall and 1-0 in league play.
The Knights will return to action on Saturday, September 20, when they travel to Northwestern for a game scheduled to start at 7 p.m.