What's in a name? Baldwin Wallace senior Luke Riemenschneider carving his own path (video)

Luke Riemenschneider is adding to his family's BW legacy Baldwin Wallace senior defensive end Luke Riemenschneider is coming off two extraordinary games, adding to his family's long and varied history on the Berea campus. (Tim Warsinskey / The Plain Dealer)

BEREA, Ohio – The Riemenschneider name is world renown by those who study the life and career of 18th century composer Johann Sebastian Bach.

Baldwin Wallace senior Luke Riemenschneider is not among those devotees.

"I'm musically declined,'' he joked, when asked if is musically inclined.

This Riemenschneider is making a name for himself in a vastly different manner than his great-grandfather, Edwin Riemenschneider, who founded BW's Riemenschneider Bach Institute, which houses one of the world's finest collections of baroque manuscripts and first editions.

Luke Riemenschneider

Luke Riemenschneider is a sixth-generation Riemenschneider at BW, a tradition that dates back to Karl Riemenschneider, who was the second president of German Wallace College in 1892, and Albert Riemenschneider, who was born on BW's campus and created BW's Bach Festival 82 years ago.

There's a bust of Albert Riemenschneider at BW's famed Riemenschneider Bach Institute. Luke said he's never seen it.

Luke is extending a different BW legacy while making his own mark, not on a music scale, but on the gridiron. The son and nephew of former BW football All-Americans, Luke has emerged as one of the top defensive linemen in the Ohio Athletic Conference, if not the country.

He is coming off a pair of extraordinary games.

On Oct. 4, he returned a fumble 86 yards for a touchdown, which was the go-ahead score in what had been a tight homecoming game against Muskingum. BW went on to win, 35-7.

Last week at Marietta, Riemenschneider had a career-high 11 tackles and scored the game-winning touchdown on a 26-yard interception return with 1:22 remaining. BW won, 40-33.

Riemenschneider (6-4, 230) was named OAC defensive player of the week for both games, and the excitement of the two game-turning plays still rang in his ears this week, as BW prepared to play at Wilmington on Saturday.

The Muskingum game was tied, 7-7, and Muskingum had reached the BW 13-yard line on a 61-yard run in the first half. Riemenschneider significantly altered the momentum when he picked up a dropped handoff exchange, and ran for the longest fumble return in Finnie Stadium history.

Baldwin Wallace defensive end Luke Riemenschneider pursues Muskingum quarterback Griffin Degener, a Ledgemont graduate, during BW's homecoming game on Oct. 4. Riemenschneider recovered and returned a fumble 86 yards for a touchdown in the game, the first of two big turnovers for touchdowns he produced in BW's last two games.

In his mind, he pictured 30 people chasing him, but in reality, his teammates had done a good job of blocking and eliminating pursuers.

"The only thing I was thinking was, 'Do not get caught from behind. You will never live it down. My friends, teammates, family, they will make fun of me until the day I die,'" Riemenschneider said.

It was his first college touchdown, and a week later, he did it again in a much more crucial situation. BW was on the ropes against Marietta, a team that last beat the Yellow Jackets in 2006.

Riemenschneider intercepted a flare pass in the backfield and sprinted 26 yards for the game-winning score. He was mobbed by teammates in the end zone.

"It was like I was watching the ball in slow motion,'' Riemenschneider said. "I just grabbed it and was thinking, 'Touchdown! You have to score a touchdown!' It was the weirdest thing how it happened so perfectly.

"It was like a dream. I'm still overwhelmed. I was standing in the end zone astonished. Everyone was jumping around patting me on the head. That was probably the coolest moment of my life right there.''

Despite frequent double-teaming by offensive linemen, Riemenschneider leads BW defensive linemen with 34 tackles, four tackles for loss and 1 ½ sacks.

Quick and relentless, Riemenschneider is in constant attack mode, but he easily sheds the intensity when he leaves the field. The best place to find him on a Monday during BW's off day is driving his family's boat on Lake Erie, perch fishing with his buddies.

"Luke is very easy going, but very positive,'' BW coach John Snell said. "The kids have great respect for him. He was a unanimous selection for captain.''

While it may have seemed destiny for a kid named Riemenschneider to star at BW, it wasn't always a sure thing. Coming out of Rocky River high school, he strongly considered playing at Lake Erie College for coach Mark McNellie, who played at BW in the 1980s with Luke's father, Dirk, and his uncle, Chris. Both Riemenschneiders were All-American linemen. Dirk is a local attorney now, and Chris co-owns Brother's Lounge in Cleveland.

Luke said a strong impression was made during his grandfather Walter Riemenschneider's funeral in the BW chapel in 2010. Walter Riemenschneider was a prominent Berea attorney, and a loyal BW alum.

"I always knew BW would be a great fit for me,'' Luke said. "My grandpa's funeral had a lot to do with it. I thought if he wanted to have his funeral here, he must really like this place a lot.''

Now Luke's younger brother, Brock, is a freshman at BW and plans to play lacrosse. Every Friday, Luke and his friends have lunch at the Oriole Cafe near campus, as his father, uncles and grandfather often did.

"Looking at my dad and all his BW friends and how close they were, and how much my grandpa loved BW and how close he was to his friends here, I thought, 'I want to go there and find a group of guys that will be my friends for the rest of my life like they did,'" he said. "That's exactly what I found here.''

It is, after all, a family tradition.

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