No. 15/13 Wartburg vs. Luther – Saturday, Oct. 30 – 1 p.m. – Walston-Hoover Stadium, Waverly
For the fans: Live audio, video and statistics can be accessed in the scrolling schedule section of the home page of www.go-knights.net, the Internet home of Wartburg athletics. … Wartburg’s 22-member Class of 2010-11 is honored prior to kickoff. The group has been part of an Iowa Conference championship and NCAA Division III national quarterfinal playoff appearance among four winning campaigns. Their record is 31-9. … A portion of Saturday’s concession sales go towards the family of Luther freshman defensive back Chris Norton who was severely injured during the Norse’s game with Central Oct. 16. The donation is being made to assist the family deal with medical expenses during Chris’ recovery. For more information, go to http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/chrisnorton.
The series: It’s the 68th meeting between the league rivals. … Coach Rick Willis’ program owns wins in 18 of the last 19 contests that included a 24-9 decision in Decorah last fall. … Wartburg leads 37-29-1 all-time.
Knights notes: The Orange and Black (7-0 overall, 5-0 Iowa Conference) moved up on spot to No. 15 on this week’s American Football Coaches Association Division III top 25. They remained at No. 13 on D3Football.com’s poll. … Wartburg holds a half-game lead over second-place Central with three weeks to go with Coe a game back in third, and Luther sitting in fourth two back. The Dutch travel to Storm Lake for a meeting with Buena Vista Saturday, while the Kohawks host Loras. … Junior quarterback Danny Stiefel of Sterling Heights, Mich., was named the league’s football offensive and overall Male Athlete of the Week Oct. 25. He threw for a school single-game record 389 yards and tied the single-game touchdown pass mark with five in a 55-17 Homecoming 2010 win over the University of Dubuque Oct. 23. The Knights have earned the last two overall male awards with sophomore offensive lineman Jon Orr of Delhi garnering the honor last week. … Sophomore running back Brandon Sims of South Holland, Ill.’s 100-yard-plus rushing game, in the win over Dubuque, was his second straight. Wartburg has had a rusher hit triple digits five times. … Junior wide receiver Levi Helbling of Malvern’s effort last weekend (five catches for 191 yards and three touchdowns) ranked among the best in program history in regards to yardage. Assistant coach and former wide receiver Chris Winter holds the current mark with eight catches for 259 yards against Central in 2003. … The four sacks last weekend marked the sixth time in seven games that the Orange and Black had recorded multiples in a game. … The Knights are 42-8 in Walston-Hoover Stadium since it opened in 2001. … On the current NCAA Division III statistics charts, Wartburg is in the top 10 of three team categories. They are third in turnover margin (plus 2.14 per game), seventh in scoring defense (9.29 ppg allowed) and eighth in sacks allowed (only .43 surrendered a game). They’re in the top 15 of three others (sacks – 11th – 3.57 pg; net punting – 36.73 ypk; and pass efficiency defense – 92.31 quarterback rating allowed). Individually, junior punter Robby Salmon of Mason City’s 43.75 yards per kick average is third, while junior defensive back Josh VanDenHul of North Sioux City, S.D., is tied for eighth in interceptions (.86 per game). Sophomore Garrett McGrane of Fairbanks, also in the Knights’ defensive backfield, is tied for 12th in interceptions (.71 per game).
On the road: A two-game road swing closes the 2010 regular season. Wartburg opens it with a key conference clash against Central at Kuyper Stadium in Pella Saturday, Nov. 6.
