2023 Wartburg Knights football team

2023 Wartburg Knights football
2023 Wartburg Knights football
ARC champion
NCAA Division III Semifinal, L 27–34 vs North Central
Conference	American Rivers Conference
Ranking
AFCA	No. 3
D3Football.com	No. 3
Record	13–1 (8–0 ARC)
Head coach	Chris Winter (3rd season);
Offensive coordinator	Matt Wheeler (13th season)
Defensive coordinator	Matt Tschetter (3rd season)
Home stadium	Walston-Hoover Stadium
	Seasons ← 2022 2024 →

2023 American Rivers Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 3 Wartburg $^	8	–	0	13	–	1
Coe ^	7	–	1	9	–	2
Central (IA)	6	–	2	8	–	2
Dubuque	5	–	3	5	–	5
Loras	4	–	4	5	–	5
Nebraska Wesleyan	2	–	6	4	–	6
Simpson (IA)	2	–	6	3	–	7
Buena Vista	2	–	6	2	–	8
Luther	0	–	8	0	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3Football.com

The 2023 Wartburg Knights football team represented Wartburg College as a member of the American Rivers Conference (ARC) during the 2023 NCAA Division III football season. The Knights, led by third-year head coach Chris Winter, played home games at Walston-Hoover Stadium in Waverly, Iowa.^[1] The Knights clinched their 19th conference championship on October 28, 2023, with a win over Central College^[2] and then capped of the regular season 10–0 following a win at Nebraska Wesleyan. Wartburg ended the season in the national semifinals for the second straight year, losing to North Central 34–27.^[3]^[4]

Senior linebacker Owen Grover was named the Cliff Harris Award winner, awarded to the defensive player of the year in division III.^[5] He was also named ARC Defensive player of the year and 1st team all-American along with 3 other teammates, including running back Hunter Clasen, who was also named ARC Offensive player of the year.^[6]

Schedule

Wartburg's 2023 regular season scheduled consisted of five home and five away games. The Knights also hosted 4 postseason games.^[7]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 2	7:00 p.m.	Monmouth (IL)*	No. 5	Walston-Hoover Stadium Waverly, IA	W 62–35	3,756
September 9	1:00 p.m.	at No. 16 Bethel (MN)*	No. 3	Royal Stadium Arden Hills, MN	W 16–2	3,642
September 16	1:00 p.m.	Buena Vista	No. 3	Walston-Hoover Stadium Waverly, IA	W 47–0	2,137
September 23	1:00 p.m.	at Simpson	No. 3	Buxton Stadium Indianola, IA	W 63–0	1,524
September 30	1:00 p.m.	Coe	No. 3	Walston-Hoover Stadium Waverly, IA	W 27–21	3,016
October 7	1:00 p.m.	at Luther	No. 4	Carlson Stadium Decorah, IA	W 54–0	317
October 14	1:30 p.m.	Dubuque	No. 3	Walston-Hoover Stadium Waverly, IA	W 31–10	5,102
October 21	1:00 p.m.	at Loras	No. 3	Rock Bowl Dubuque, IA	W 62–7	1,300
October 28	1:00 p.m.	Central (IA)	No. 3	Walston-Hoover Stadium Waverly, IA	W 24–14	1,500
November 4	1:00 p.m.	at Nebraska Wesleyan	No. 3	Abel Stadium Lincoln, NE	W 45–0	1,200
November 18	12:00 p.m.	Illinois College*	No. 3	Walston-Hoover Stadium Waverly, IA (NCAA Division III First Round)	W 49–14	1,355
November 25	12:00 p.m.	No. 20 Whitworth*	No. 3	Walston-Hoover Stadium Waverly, IA (NCAA Division III Second Round)	W 42–20	1,207
December 2	12:00 p.m.	No. 5 Wisconsin–Whitewater*	No. 3	Walston-Hoover Stadium Waverly, IA (NCAA Division III Quarterfinals)	W 31–28	3,259
December 9	2:30 p.m.	No. 1 North Central (IL)*	No. 3	Walston-Hoover Stadium Waverly, IA (NCAA Division III Semifinals)	L 27–34	3,525
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from D3Football.com Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Final
D3football.com	5	3	3	3	3	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3
AFCA	Not released			4	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3

Roster

2023 Wartburg Knights football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
WR	`1`	Brock Califf	Jr
QB	`3`	Riley Richards	Jr
WR	`4`	Drake George	Sr
QB	`5`	Grant Halverson	So
WR	`6`	Trey Eagle	Sr
WR	`6`	Caleb Egesdal	Fr
QB	`7`	Carter Markham	Jr
QB	`8`	Nile McLaughlin	Sr
WR	`8`	Karter Decker	Fr
WR	`10`	Carter Henry	Jr
QB	`10`	Payton Salomon	Fr
WR	`11`	Thor Maakestad	Sr
QB	`15`	Quintin Loeb	Fr
WR	`15`	Miles Robertson	Fr
WR	`16`	Jagger Schmitt	So
WR	`17`	Matt Buckner	Sr
QB	`18`	Leo Dodd	So
WR	`20`	Dylan Swanstrom	Fr
RB	`21`	Ben Bryant	Sr
WR	`23`	Darius Whaley	Sr
RB	`24`	Hunter Clasen	Sr
RB	`25`	Dylan Marti	Fr
WR	`26`	Jonathan Greig	Fr
RB	`27`	Brenden Fisch	Fr
RB	`28`	Bricen White	Jr
RB	`31`	Joey Anderson	So
RB	`31`	Brandon Cushion	Fr
RB	`35`	Levi Pingel	So
RB	`36`	Dawson Rud	Fr
RB	`38`	CJ Hisler	Fr
RB	`39`	Maurice Powell	Fr
TE	`41`	John McConohy	Jr
TE	`43`	Micah Holmberg	So
TE	`46`	Austin Barta	Jr
RB	`47`	Jackson Thompson	Fr
OL	`51`	Will Conlan	Sr
OL	`52`	Ben Petlon	Sr
OL	`53`	Brandt Petersen	Sr
OL	`60`	Ben Dunlap	Sr
OL	`60`	Brady Weepie	Fr
OL	`62`	Arturo Venegas	Fr
OL	`63`	Reese Theobald	So
OL	`64`	Jason Koopmann	So
OL	`65`	Brandt Reints	Fr
OL	`65`	Cooper Smock	Jr
OL	`65`	Garrett Williams	Fr
OL	`66`	Cade Carpenter	Jr
OL	`67`	Josh Reichard	Fr
OL	`68`	Kellen Kpogli	Fr
OL	`68`	Ethan Stockwell	Sr
OL	`69`	Nathan Lorenzen	So
OL	`70`	Logan Peterman	Fr
OL	`72`	Jesse Nevarez	Fr
OL	`72`	Max Rossow	Fr
OL	`73`	Xander Bradley	Jr
OL	`74`	Alex Lahmon	Sr
OL	`75`	Brady Robinson	Fr
OL	`76`	Clayton Bockhoven	Fr
OL	`76`	Isaiah Corbin	Jr
OL	`77`	Dakota Dally	Fr
OL	`77`	Tucker Kinney	Sr
OL	`78`	Nicholas Mahnke	Fr
WR	`80`	Tai Streets	So
WR	`80`	Ben Wymer	Fr
TE	`81`	Kaden Behrens	So
TE	`81`	Tom Butters	Sr
WR	`82`	Justis Bachman	Fr
TE	`82`	Grant Higgins	Jr
WR	`83`	Caleb Beck	Fr
WR	`83`	Jack Eddy	Fr
WR	`83`	Max Solis	Jr
WR	`84`	Tucker Mumford	Sr
TE	`85`	Matt Dufoe	So
WR	`85`	Brayden Lane	Fr
WR	`85`	Elijah Mendoza	Fr
TE	`86`	Tanner Sauerbrei	Jr
WR	`87`	Cade Hughes	So
WR	`88`	Carter Bussanmas	Sr
WR	`89`	Tyler Ott	Jr
TE	`93`	Blayne Farmer	Fr
TE	`96`	Matthew Hilleman	Fr
TE	`96`	Malachi Moore	Fr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DB	`2`	Grant McCallips	Sr
DB	`2`	Jack Wilson	Fr
LB	`3`	Nate Link	Sr
DB	`5`	Kaleb Lamphier	Sr
LB	`6`	Sam Kissner	Sr
DB	`8`	Ryan Doyle	Fr
DB	`9`	Ben Parker	Sr
DB	`10`	Trace Meyer	Fr
DB	`12`	Blake Janssen	So
DB	`13`	Thane Alexander	Jr
DB	`14`	Parker Rochford	Jr
DB	`15`	Grant Larson	Jr
DB	`19`	Drew Wyffels	Sr
DB	`20`	Conner Grover	So
LB	`22`	Sam Conway	So
DB	`23`	Ryan Folkerts	So
DB	`25`	Calum Maclearn	Jr
DB	`26`	Jason O'Boye	Fr
DB	`27`	Logan Jungling	Fr
DB	`27`	Tegan Wyckoff	Sr
DB	`28`	Dylan McCaulley	Fr
DB	`28`	Tobias Polk	Jr
LB	`29`	Tyler Gayer	Fr
DB	`30`	DJ Witt	Jr
DB	`31`	Dylan Hanson	Fr
DB	`32`	Adam Link	Fr
DB	`33`	Dakota Lau	Jr
DL	`34`	Jordan Downing	Sr
LB	`36`	McKade Munn	So
LB	`37`	Preston Rochford	Sr
LB	`40`	Mac Watts	So
DL	`42`	Justin Grieff	Sr
LB	`44`	Owen Grover	Sr
DB	`45`	Colt Berry	Fr
LB	`45`	Dakota Stevenson	Sr
LB	`48`	Alex Koch	So
LB	`49`	Keenan Tyler	Jr
LB	`50`	Jack Heinberg	So
LB	`51`	Aiden Mauer	Fr
LB	`52`	Colin Snitker	So
DL	`54`	Conner McDonald	Fr
DL	`55`	Riley Konrardy	Sr
LB	`55`	Kale Rodgers	Jr
LB	`56`	Kaden Bibler	So
DL	`56`	Kanan Morris	Sr
LB	`57`	Seth Madden	Fr
LB	`58`	Trent Polley	So
LB	`58`	Trent Roberts	So
LB	`59`	Zack Crawford	Fr
DL	`61`	Riley Theobald	Sr
DL	`71`	Kale Folkerts	Jr
DL	`72`	Ethan Schellhorn	Jr
DL	`73`	Ethan Berding	Fr
DL	`74`	Jacskon Woodley	Fr
DL	`75`	Andrew Friend	Jr
DL	`79`	Aiden Roberson	Fr
DL	`90`	Jack Drahos	So
DL	`91`	Walker Hermeier	Jr
DL	`93`	Aiden Doyle	Fr
DL	`93`	Griffin Neal	Jr
DL	`94`	Josh Stiffend	Sr
DL	`95`	Brady Peterson	Fr
DL	`96`	Cam Stalzer	So
DL	`97`	Owen Hatcher	Jr
DL	`98`	Jake Walker	Fr
DL	`99`	Christian Nunley	Jr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`0`	Cael O'Neill	Sr
K/P	`39`	Luke Shepard	Fr
K/P	`39`	Jaxson Hoppes	So
LS	`79`	Parker Sperfslage	Fr

Head coach

Chris Winter

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Matt Wheeler – Offensive Coordinator/Assistant Head Coach
Matt Tschetter – Defensive Coordinator/Recruiting Coordinator
Anthony Vela – Defensive Line
Luke Summers – Offensive Line
Ethan Lape – Running Backs
Quinton Murphy – Wide Receivers
Jeff Beck – Offensive Assistant
Paul Mugan – Tight Ends
Steve Kingery – Specialists
Jason Splitt – Defensive Assistant/Student Coach
Danny Drees – Athletic Trainer
Jessica Albright – Athletic Trainer

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster
Last update: November 22, 2023

Awards and honors

Individual awards
Player	Award
Owen Grover	William V. Campbell Trophy Finalist Gagliardi Trophy Finalist ARC Defensive Player of the Year Cliff Harris Award D3Football.com Defensive Player of the year DIII Academic All-American of the Year D3football.com 1st team All-American AFCA 1st team All-American AP 1st team All-American
Hunter Clasen	ARC Offensive Player of the Year D3football.com 1st team All-American AP 2nd team All-American
Parker Rochford	D3football.com 1st team All-American AP 1st team All-American
Riley Konrardy	D3football.com 1st team All-American
Jordan Downing	D3football.com 3rd team All-American AP 2nd team All-American
Tucker Kinney	D3football.com 4th team All-American
Coach	Award
Chris Winter	ARC Coach of the year AFCA Region 5 Coach of the year
Reference:^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13]^[14]^[15]

All-Conference
Player	Position	Team	Year
Jordan Downing	DL	1	SR
Riley Konrardy	DL	1	SR
Owen Grover	LB	1	SR
Nate Link	LB	1	SR
Parker Rochford	DB	1	JR
Hunter Clasen	RB	1	SR
Tucker Kinney	OT	1	SR
Alex Lahmon	OG	1	SR
Justin Grieff	DL	2	SR
Preston Rochford	LB	2	SR
Drew Wyffels	DB	2	SR
Nile McLaughlin	QB	2	SR
Tom Butters	TE	2	SR
Ethan Stockwell	OT	2	SR
Cael O'Neill	K	2	SR
Jaxson Hoppes	P	HM	SO
Dylan Steen	DB	HM	SR
HM = Honorable mention. Reference:^[16]

References

^ "Wartburg Facilities". go-knights.net. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
^ Promnitz, Donald (October 28, 2023). "Wartburg College clinches A-R-C championship in win over Central". The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. Cedar Falls, Iowa. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
^ Nelson, Jim (December 9, 2023). "Wartburg Fights to Finish Stunned Late in National Semifinal Loss to No.1 NCC". The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. Cedar Falls, Iowa. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
^ "Wartburg falls short in national semifinal loss 34–27 to North Central". krcg.com. KRCG. December 9, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
^ Miller, Danny (December 15, 2023). "Knighted:Wartburg College Linebacker Owen Grover wins Cliff Harris Award for NCAA Division III". CLiff Harris Award.
^ Miller, Danny (November 18, 2023). "College football: Clasen, Grover earn A-R-C top honors". Telegraph Herald. Dubuque, Iowa. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
^ "2023 Wartburg Knights Football Schedule". go-knights.net. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
^ "2023 D3football.com All-America team". D3Football.com. December 15, 2023.
^ "NFF Proudly Announces the Finalists for 2023 William V. Campbell Trophy". National Football Foundation. October 25, 2023.
^ "Illinois College's Collin Brunstein and Pomona-Pitzer's Cameron Shirangi Headline the 2023 AFCA Division III Coaches' All-America Teams". AFCA. December 11, 2023.
^ Russo, Ralph. "Cortland quarterback Zac Boyes and North Central RB Joe Sacco lead AP Division III All-America team". Associated Press. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
^ "Five named Gagliardi finalists". D3football.com. D3football.com. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
^ "Wartburg's Owen Grover named finalist for 2023 Gagliardi Trophy". Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. December 9, 2023. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
^ "Kalen Deboer and Willie Simmons Headline the 2023 AFCA Regional Coach of the Year Winners". afca.com. AFCA. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
^ "2023 Academic All-America® Football Teams announced for all NCAA and NAIA divisions" (Press release). January 23, 2024. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
^ "Wartburg's Clasen, Grover, and Winter Highlight A-R-C All-Conference Football Selections". American Rivers Conference. November 17, 2023.

[1] "Wartburg Facilities". go-knights.net. Retrieved January 5, 2024.

[2] Promnitz, Donald (October 28, 2023). "Wartburg College clinches A-R-C championship in win over Central". The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. Cedar Falls, Iowa. Retrieved November 7, 2023.

[3] Nelson, Jim (December 9, 2023). "Wartburg Fights to Finish Stunned Late in National Semifinal Loss to No.1 NCC". The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. Cedar Falls, Iowa. Retrieved December 15, 2023.

[4] "Wartburg falls short in national semifinal loss 34–27 to North Central". krcg.com. KRCG. December 9, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2023.

[5] Miller, Danny (December 15, 2023). "Knighted:Wartburg College Linebacker Owen Grover wins Cliff Harris Award for NCAA Division III". CLiff Harris Award.

[6] Miller, Danny (November 18, 2023). "College football: Clasen, Grover earn A-R-C top honors". Telegraph Herald. Dubuque, Iowa. Retrieved December 18, 2023.

[7] "2023 Wartburg Knights Football Schedule". go-knights.net. Retrieved July 16, 2023.

[8] "2023 D3football.com All-America team". D3Football.com. December 15, 2023.

[9] "NFF Proudly Announces the Finalists for 2023 William V. Campbell Trophy". National Football Foundation. October 25, 2023.

[10] "Illinois College's Collin Brunstein and Pomona-Pitzer's Cameron Shirangi Headline the 2023 AFCA Division III Coaches' All-America Teams". AFCA. December 11, 2023.

[11] Russo, Ralph. "Cortland quarterback Zac Boyes and North Central RB Joe Sacco lead AP Division III All-America team". Associated Press. Retrieved December 26, 2023.

[12] "Five named Gagliardi finalists". D3football.com. D3football.com. Retrieved December 26, 2023.

[13] "Wartburg's Owen Grover named finalist for 2023 Gagliardi Trophy". Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. December 9, 2023. Retrieved December 27, 2023.

[14] "Kalen Deboer and Willie Simmons Headline the 2023 AFCA Regional Coach of the Year Winners". afca.com. AFCA. Retrieved January 5, 2024.

[2023AA-15] "2023 Academic All-America® Football Teams announced for all NCAA and NAIA divisions" (Press release). January 23, 2024. Retrieved January 28, 2024.

[16] "Wartburg's Clasen, Grover, and Winter Highlight A-R-C All-Conference Football Selections". American Rivers Conference. November 17, 2023.

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v t e Wartburg Knights football
Venues	Schield Stadium (1955–2000) Walston-Hoover Stadium (2001–present)
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024