"There was a huge crowd and a lot of old friends coming back so we just wanted to perform for them and show them what we could do," said senior quarterback Matt Wheeler.

In the game, it was the team with the 1-4 record that struck first blood with a field goal on their opening drive.

"They [Luther] played a really good game," said Wheeler, who was held to 150 yards passing.

Wartburg got fired up, and on the following kickoff bombarded the Norse with the Knights special teams. Junior Ryan Rausch roared down the field for a 99-yard touchdown making the score 7-3.

After a Luther interception return of 25 yards for a score by the Norse, it was Wheeler connecting with senior receiver Tim Flynn for a touchdown of 34 yards, bringing the score to 14-10.

Another connection of senior partners, Wheeler and Flynn gave Wartburg six more points with the point-after attempt sailing wide of the uprights.

The score remained 20-10 until midway through the fourth quarter when Luther struck with a touchdown. The Knights were held and forced to punt the ball with approximately two minutes to play in the game. The defensive secondary tightened up and knocked down four passes in a row, forcing the Norse to turn over the ball on downs.

"The Luther defense is one where you don't know what to expect, and we didn't. They did everything and anything. We made some new routes this week, and I think that really helped deal with what they did," said Flynn.

"During the game everyone had some anxiety but we came together and supported each other and backed up the defense. The defensive came up with a huge stand," said Wheeler.

"We have been in close games before this year with Buena Vista and Loras. Really it is only a state of mind so we knew what we had to do to win," said Flynn.

The Knights next game is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 30 at Schield Stadium against the Spartans of Dubuque.