Season Preview: Martin Luther

Martin Luther starts the season expected to in the lower half of the UMAC. Picked to finish 7th by the coaches, Martin Luther will try to get out of the cellar in a competitive conference. The never ending search for a QB continued for the Knights into training camp, but they might have found a good one in Matt Olson who looked solid in his debut against Maranatha Baptist. Eric Duve, Dyllan Jensen, and Jacob Bode give consistency to the offensive line, and the WR and RB positions return a lot of starting experience. Look for the Knights to try and balance an attack that traditionally runs the football with the triple option.

The defense will look to improve from last year when they allowed over 400 yards and 37 points a game. Returning from injury, Benjamin Olson will stabilize a weak defensive backfield from last year along with Peter Schlicht. There is experience returning on the defensive line, and Paul Spaude will move down to linebacker. As usual, look for the best athletes to be moving around this year as Martin Luther tries to find the best combination of players to put on the field.

Prediction: In order for the Knights to have a good year, their defense is going to have to play better than last year. The opening schedule is brutal with a trip to Morris followed by home games against Westminster and St. Scholastica. The schedule is just as challenging as they travel to Presentation and Eureka followed by a home game against Greenville. Martin Luther then goes to Northwestern and then finally two winnable games against MacMurray and Crown. This team returns a lot of experience at key positions, but overall they are not a very talented group. The key will be the QB play and the defense. The one thing about Martin Luther is that you can never count them out of any game because of their unique style. I think they will surprise a few teams but end up going 2-6.