Staff photo by Ari Selvey Martin Luther College’s Ethan Melso (50) celebrates with teammate Micah Koschnitzke (2) after an interception against Luther College in a college football game Saturday at MLC.

NEW ULM — Martin Luther College dominated the trenches for a 34-0 shutout of Luther College Saturday at MLC Football Field.

The Norse quarterbacks were constantly under pressure during the game, with Andrew Esmay continuing his dominance from last season with two sacks in the game before exiting in the fourth quarter with an injury. Esmay also had 2 1/2 tackles for loss, with the team totaling five tackles for loss.

“I think the work the guys put in in the offseason,” MLC head coach Paul Huebner said. “Our strength coach, Sam Hunter, does a phenomenal job with programing and pushing the guys in the weight room. And the commitment they’ve had in the offseason the last couple of years, because this is the product of multiple years with coach Hunter being here and these guys in the weight room. That’s the difference.”

That pressure led to hurried throws by the Norse quarterbacks, which resulted in four interceptions for the Knights, including two by Trevor Hueske.

“It’s fantastic comfort,” Hueske said. “I only have to cover for three seconds and the D-line will be in their face. It helps a lot.”

Hueske said his interceptions were a credit to the team around him.

“It’s a great team and we had a great team win,” he said. “First one, shout-out to [Micah Koschnitzke], he tipped it right to me, mostly his, not mine, but I’ll take it. It was just a great team win, everyone contributed, everyone had some part of it.”

Ethan Melso and Jonah Mittelstadt also earned interceptions.

The offensive line, meanwhile, helped carve out 148 rushing yards for the Knights, with Arthur Robinson leading the way with 104 yards and a score on 25 attempts and Phillip McCaskill adding a touchdown on the ground. The pocket was kept clean for quarterback Brady Turriff, who passed for 243 yards and two scores without a sack. The team was also strong on third and fourth down, converting seven of 16 third down attempts and both of their fourth down tries.

“Our kids are really smart,” Huebner said. “That’s another thing we hang our hat on, our team is smart, physical and aggressive. The smart part is knowing how to attack defenses in those critical moments. This is two weeks in a row now where we’ve come up big in the red zone. We’ve converted our chances in the red zone with touchdowns or field goals. Then guys knowing where to go and we can adjust route combinations and formations based on coverages we see and guys know how to execute.”

On the receiving end of those passes, Thomas Koelpin caught nine for 88 yards and a score, while Benjamin Vasold caught five passes for 73 yards. Noah Huebner had two receptions for 21 yards and a score.

MLC took the opening drive 75 yards and ended it with an 8-yard rush by Robinson for a 7-0 lead. After a three-and-out by Luther College, the Knights added to the score with a 1-yard pass from Turriff to Koelpin for a 14-0 lead. The teams traded possessions as four consecutive punts followed, but Hueske got his first interception to set up the Knights at the Luther 35-yard line.

Turriff capitalized with ha 12-yard pass to Huebner for a touchdown and a 21-0 lead. The Knights added a field goal by Micah Koschnitzke after an interception by Melso as time expired in the second half for a 24-0 lead.

Another field goal in the fourth quarter made it a 27-0 game, and an interception from Mittelstadt at Luther’s own 8-yard line set up a 2-yard touchdown rush by McCaskill for a 34-0 lead.

Luther was driving as time wound down in the fourth quarter, getting inside the red zone for the first time all game, but Hueske’s second interception sealed the shutout for the Knights.

MLC (2-0) plays at UW-Eau Clair on Saturday, Sept. 20.