The Mount Michael Knights crushed the Concordia Mustangs 55-0 on Sept. 13. They dominated both sides of the ball, rushing for 311 yards while holding Concordia to negative 31 total yards.

The Knights pounced early, scoring on their first possession before converting two quick interceptions by Concordia quarterback Gage Kanzmeier into touchdowns to take a 21-0 lead just three minutes into the game.

“I think it was just a snowball effect,” Mount Michael head coach Greg Wunderlich said. “[The interceptions] got the ball rolling and moving, and confidence grows from that.”

Mount Michael continued to add to their total throughout the rest of the first quarter, taking a 42-0 lead into the second. The team tacked on another 13 in the ensuing quarter with backups playing a majority of the snaps before coasting to victory the rest of the way.

Part of the reason for the blowout was due to key injuries Concordia suffered before and during the game. Jack Torosian, the Mustangs’ starting quarterback and arguably their best player, broke his hand the week leading up to the game and did not play. Starting wide receiver Ethan Domsch also did not play due to injury.

To make matters worse, Kanzmeier went down with an arm injury early in the game, as well. He was down for several minutes as he was attended to by medical personnel before walking off the field on his own power. He did not return, forcing Concordia to turn to yet another unproven quarterback.

“They were put in a situation where they had a lot of injuries, which is unfortunate for them,” Wunderlich said. “We were just focused on getting better.”

In the small amount of time that the starters for the Knights did play, they put forth their strongest performance of the season, led by running back Jackson Ramold ‘20, who ran for 137 yards and two touchdowns.

“Jackson Ramold played really well,” Wunderlich said. “He hasn’t had a lot of opportunities in our other games so far. It wasn’t just him, either. The guys up front made things happen for him.”

Ramold’s touchdowns were just two of the team’s seven on the ground. Two seniors scored their first touchdown of their careers, with backup quarterback Ethan Meduna ‘20 scoring on a 29 yard run and Ben Goetz ‘20 finding the endzone with a 23 yard scamper.

“When you get out there, you don’t think about scoring, you just think about making the best out of each play,” Goetz said. “I think I made the most of it.”

Wunderlich attributed the backups’ successes to their work during practice.

“They work just as hard as our varsity side,” he said. “Seeing them play at home under the lights is a cool experience for me. They’ll have that memory forever.”

While winning 55-0 indicates the winning team played at their top level, Wunderlich is still unsure if his team has reached its full potential.

“I don’t know if we played our very best tonight,” he said. “I think we’ve taken another step toward playing our best.”

The Knights will look to continue their success in a matchup against Plattsmouth on Sept 20, while Concordia will aim to regroup against Auburn.