Week Five Review

Another weekend of UMAC football has come and gone, and one team still remains above the rest: the Martin Luther Knights. While the Knights now hold a firm grasp on the UMAC, it doesn't mean that there weren't any other games with large conference-picture impact. Lets take a look at the Week Five results, eh?

Westminster 0, Greenville 36 - I thought the home field advantage would give the Panthers an edge, but it turns out they didn't need it. They kicked the tar out of the Blue Jays, holding them to 98 yards of total offense. The charge was led by UMAC Defensive player of the week Anthony Esquivel, who recorded 5 tackles including 3.5 TFL and one sack. Meanwhile, the Greenville offense rolled, with QB George Harris (10/21-199-2), RB Paul Garrett (19-117-2), and WR Kyler Henson (7-149-1) leading the charge. For Westminster, Travion Mosby pulled double duty, pulling in 3 receptions for 35 yards on offense and tallying 5 tackles and 2 interceptions defensively. The Panthers feel like they pick up where they left off in week three, while the Blue Jays retreat back to Missouri wondering what went wrong with their game plan.

Iowa Wesleyan 0, Crown 35 - I was sure that the Storm would be able to pull this win out, but they did it in style, blanking the Tigers and limiting them to 186 total yards of offense. After the shutout, Crown remains the conference leader defensively in yards allowed (266.2 ypg) and now scoring as well (21.8 ppg). The Storm had four separate players grab interceptions, with DB Sebastian Alvarado returning one 47 yards to set up a score. Offensively, Crown QB Jared Gilmore had a day, throwing for 200 yards and a score and rushing for one as well. Storm WR Cole Mistrietta was a benefactor of that production, catching 8 balls for 124 yards and a TD, and kicker Corey Huard picked up UMAC player of the week by nailing all 5 of his PATs on the day. Crown picks up their second victory of the 2019 campaign, while Iowa Wesleyan continues to search for their first win. They might continue searching for a while longer, as they will run in to the conference leading Martin Luther Knights next week.

Northwestern 20, MacMurray 41 - The Highlanders took it to the Eagles, led by MacMurray QB Bobby Tedesco, who earned UMAC Offensive Player of the Week by throwing for 260 yards and 4 TDs, while also rushing for 79 yards. Four different Highlander WRs caught TD passes, led by Tanner Sussenba who had 5 receptions for 86 yards and the score. Defensively, MacMurray LB Ahmad Washington piled up 12 tackles, 0.5 for loss. Northwestern RB Payton Bowdry ran the show for the Eagles, rushing for 73 yards and 2 TDs. Eagle LB George Obitz tallied 13 tackles to lead the defense, but MacMurray was able to easily handle Northwestern in this one. After this, I'm having a hard time placing Northwestern, while MacMurray should be right behind MLC and St. Scholastica in the standings. The MacMurray/St. Scholastica matchup in the last week of the season may actually hold some conference standing weight.

Martin Luther 27, St. Scholastica 6 - While I called the correct winner in this one, I am truly impressed by the manner in which the Knights manhandled the Saints. The Martin Luther defense dominated, only allowing 84 yards of total offense to Saint QB Zach Edwards and the normally potent St. Scholastica offensive attack. That also included -20 rushing yards allowed. Yikes. On the other side of the ball, the Knights racked up 402 rushing yards and the whole OL was named to D3football.com's Team of the Week. RBs Austin DeNoyer and Joshuah Kren ran the game (literally), with 228 yards/2 TDs and 128 yards/1 TD respectively. 75 total rushing attempts for the Knights meant lots of tackles for the Saints, as 5 CSS defensive players finished the game with over 10 tackles, with LB Eric Soderberg leading the game with an astonishing 22 tackles. The Martin Luther defense finished the game with 8 sacks, led by DL Jacob Schmidt, who racked up 7 tackles, 3 for loss, and 2.5 sacks. The Knights showed the conference their true power, and I don't really think anyone can hold a candle to them honestly. They still have to get through MacMurray to claim their second UMAC championship, but after this win, I just don't see the Highlanders taking down the high-flying Knights.

I was a perfect 4-0 in my picks this week, which either shows you that I'm really great at this, or that the UMAC is pretty predictable. I'll go with the former. Overall in 2019, I'm 25-5, which I don't think is too shabby. It remains to be seen if anyone will be able to challenge the Martin Luther College Knights, and I'm under the impression that they will be riding into the sunset with another UMAC championship belt around their waists. Congrats to all the week five winners! Keep an eye out for my Week Six Preview and my picks on Twitter.