Final Week Review

Aaaand that's all folks, thanks for tuning in to another year of UMAC football! It was an exciting year, and the Martin Luther Cinderella story continues for another week! The Knights got some nice attention from the Star Tribune and will face St. John's University in the first round of the NCAA DIII playoffs. Before we look ahead, let's look back at last weekend's results and the last games that many UMAC seniors will ever play.

Greenville 13, Minnesota Morris 21 - *Pikachu shock face* Oh man, I got a pick wrong. The Panthers went into the Big Cat thinking they could pull off one more win to end the year, but Morris and QB Justin Masloski had other ideas. Masloski took over the game, throwing for 144 yards and 2 TDs while running for 150 yards and a touchdown en route to a victory and UMAC Player of the Week honors. He also managed to record a -3-yard punt, but I digress. Defensively for the Cougars, Nathan Gehlen had a great game with 8 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and a forced fumble. On a positive note for the Panthers, RB Eric Kranh led the team with 105 yards and a score on the ground. Morris finishes out the year with just a smidgen more pride than they would have if they had lost.

St. Scholastica 20, MacMurray 34 - *another possibly greater Pikachu shock face* Oh man, two picks wrong in the same week! I really thought the Saints were the better team here, but the Highlanders came out and proved me wrong. Javon Muhammad had a routine monster game for himself, earning D3football.com Team of the Week honors (not to mention UMAC Defensive Player of the Year) by tallying 5 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 3.5 sacks, and 6 pass breakups. Dang, man. On the offensive side, Highlander QB Robert Tedesco threw for 224 yards and 2 TDs, with 105 of those yards and one of the TDs going to WR Demetrius Curry on just three receptions. Saints QB Zach Edwards had a bit of a rough day throwing 4 interceptions, but he did manage to toss for 303 yards and 3 TDs as well. All 3 TDs went to WR Aaron Olson, who managed 126 yards and capped off his career as the UMAC leader in receiving TDs with 12 on the year. Even though the automatic qualifier wasn't on the table in this one, the Saints have to be just a bit disappointed, after missing the DIII playoffs for the third year in a row after earning five straight trips there from 2011-2015. They have one more year of some Edwards magic though, so they'll still be in the running in 2019.

Iowa Wesleyan 0, Northwestern 28 - Okay, admittedly these last two games are a little less exciting to write about. Northwestern was in control throughout the whole game. I thought the Tigers might put up a little bit of a fight, considering it may be the last Iowa Wesleyan football game ever, but I guess not. This was a rather predictable statistical game, so I won't even bother mentioning anyone by name. I guess Eagle George Orbitz had a pretty good game (8 tackles, 1 TFL, 1FR, 1 INT, blocked punt), because he was named UMAC Defensive Player of the Week, so there's that.  Sad ending for a football program if in fact it is the end.

Crown 18, Martin Luther 47 - Crown struck first, but Martin Luther dominated the Storm throughout in this one. Knight RB Austin DeNoyer recorded another 100-yard game (18-125-3) en route to 1,021 on the year and UMAC 2018 Most Valuable Offensive Player. Crown DB Richard Olszak turned a pick-6 for 50 yards, and PR Sebastian Alvarado took one to the house in the fourth quarter for 72 yards and a score, but when your defense/special teams outscore your offense, that usually doesn’t bode well for the final outcome. The Storm go 0-10 for the second year in a row, and are probably wondering when this nightmare will ever end. Meanwhile, the Knights go undefeated in UMAC play and look ahead to their own version of Goliath tomorrow: St. John’s University. Uh oh.

If any of you are keeping track, my two misses this week make me 37-6 on the year, with only one pick remaining. I’d like to say I’m pretty good, but it could also be that just about anyone who follows the UMAC could probably pick just as well as me throughout the year, so I’ll stop tooting my own horn. Congratulations to Mark Stein (The UMAC Coach of the Year) and the Martin Luther College Knights on earning the ever coveted UMAC crown for the first time since 2009 and punching their ticket to their first ever trip to the NCAA DIII playoffs! Also congratulations to all the end-of-the-year award winners, which you can check out Here. Great work to all coaches and athletes, and congratulations to all seniors and departing athletes on awesome careers! Good luck to Martin Luther in the NCAA DIII playoffs tomorrow! I will be writing a Martin Luther-St. John’s Preview, so stay tuned for that!