On Sept. 12, Michigan Lutheran Seminary may have been Ithaca’s latest victim in its winning streak, but head coach Karl Schmugge feels a lot of good came out of the game. “The boys worked very hard in the off-season with weight and speed training so that we are able to be more competitive,” the sixth year coach said of the 33-14 loss.
After blowing through its first two opponents, 47-7 over Bath and 42-7 over Merrill, the Cardinals led the Yellowjackets 14-13 at the half of their week three matchup. Ithaca controlled the second half, but it was proof of just how good this year’s MLS team could be.
“We could see from when these boys came in as freshmen that they were a very athletic class and could be successful if they put their minds to it,” Schmugge said. “Probably the greatest difference with this team compared to past teams is that we have great team speed, faster than any team I can recall.
“We are very strong in the skilled positions, especially with a number of players who can play a variety of positions, whether at running back or wide receiver,” he added. “We also have all three starting linebackers back from last year’s team, which is helping give us a better defense than we have fielded in the recent past.”
MLS went on to top Valley Lutheran in a 56-0 blowout in week four.
Team members have put up impressive numbers during the season. Quarterback Nate Lindloff has gone 23 of 41 and thrown for 414 yards and five touchdowns. Andrew Schroeder has been the team’s top pass catcher, with nine catches for 236 yards and two touchdowns. Tristan Pankow leads the team with 26 tackles on defense and is one of four rushers to have over 100 yards.
“What we can take from the Ithaca game is that to play at a high level, such as Ithaca does, you have to give maximum effort and execution for all four quarters,“ Schmugge said. “You certainly can’t win big games such as that if you lose the turnover battle. On the other hand, for a Division 8 school to go on the road against the four-time defending Division 6 champions and give them a competitive game gives us some confidence.”
Although winning the Tri-Valley West title is unlikely, since Ithaca is expected to run the table in league play again, the Cardinals are hoping to keep going strong and maybe even win their first playoff game since 1994.
“Our goals for the rest of the season are to improve on the execution of our plays, which means that we need to be mentally sharp on every play,” Schmugge said. “If we do that and can say that we used our talents to the best of our abilities, then everything else will take care of itself.”
When discussing the team’s potential in the postseason, Schmugge said that the team needs to make the playoffs first. If that occurs, “[t]here are many extremely talented teams who we could potentially face if we are so fortunate to make the playoffs, so we hope to be in that position to play them.”