Luther defeats wisconsin lutheran 43-21 in home opener
Sept. 12, 2009
Luther racked up 480 yards of total offense en rote to a 43-21 victory over Wisconsin Lutheran in the home opener this afternoon. The Norse produced 224 yards on the ground and 256 in the air.
Derek Leigh rushed for a career high 93 yards on 15 carries, that included a career long 32-yard touchdown scamper. Chris Reynolds rushed for 85 yards on 9 carries, with a long of 50. Reynolds also threw two 35-yard touchdown passes, one each to Kris McAllister and Darren Oxton.
"Our young offensive line did a nice job today." commented head coach Mike Durnin. "I was very happy with our ability to create explosive plays. I am very happy with the improvement we made from last week to this week."
Defensively, the Norse held the Warriors in check most of the game allowing 238 yards of total offense. Unfortunately, the Warriors three touchdowns came on pass plays of 34, 13 and 16 yards.
Kyle McGivney led the defensive unit with 10 tackles. He was followed by Trevor Theobald with six and Will Bothe with four. Kyle Stoner and Josh Patterson both picked off a pass. Freshman defensive lineman Obi Ukabiala recorded his first collegiate sack.
"I was pleased with how our defensive unit hit today," commented Durnin. "We forced the action which allowed us to produce the two interceptions. "
Next week the Norse will begin Iowa Conference play at Coe College. Kick-off will take place at Clark Field at 1:00 p.m.
"As we enter into the conference schedule next week against Coe, we need to improve on three things this week," stated Durnin. "We need to increase our completion percentage in the passing game, have better consistency in the kicking game, and our defensive will need to take a bigger step forward in minimizing explosive plays."
Fans can catch all the action via audio stream. Luther College student radio station 1240 AM KWLC will broadcast the game beginning with the pre-game show at 12:40 p.m.
