No. 13/13 Wartburg vs. No. 15/17 Central – Saturday, Nov. 6 – 1 p.m. – A.N. Kuyper Stadium – Central campus - Pella
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. … A special tailgate is planned at 10:30 a.m. in the Roe Center Parking Lot at the corner of University Street and West Fourth Street. Interested fans need to look for an orange flag and tent. For more information, visit the Des Moines Knight Club Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wartburg-College-Des-Moines-Knight-Club/157531704283955.
The series: If recent history is any indication, fans in attendance might want to be prepared for a white knuckler. Eight of the last 11 meetings have been decided by 17 points or less, and two of the last five contests have gone into an extra session. … The Orange and Black have a 5-4 edge in the last nine meetings with the Dutch winning a 41-33 offensive shootout a year ago. Central has a 41-18 lead all-time. … Wartburg won the last meeting in Pella 19-17 in 2008.
Knights notes: The Knights take an 8-0 overall and 6-0 Iowa Conference record to Pella. They lead the Dutch and Coe by a game with two to play on the conference standings chart. … Wartburg continues to receive strong recognition nationally. Coach Rick Willis’ squad is No. 13 on both the American Football Coaches Association’s Division III and D3Football.com top 25s. … The Knights were part of the first NCAA Division III West Region poll, debuting at No. 3. … Wartburg continues to hang its hat on defense. Through eight games, the Orange and Black are in the top 10 of three NCAA Division III statistical categories. They rank 10th in sacks, averaging 3.5 per game, eighth in turnover margin at plus 1.75, and eighth in scoring defense, surrendering just 10.38 points per contest. They are the IIAC leaders in all three categories and are second against the run (108.8 ypg allowed) and total (287.2 ypg) defense. Along individual lines, junior defensive back Josh VanDenHul of North Sioux City, S.D., and sophomore defensive back Garrett McGrane of Fairbanks are one-two in the IIAC in interceptions (.75 and .62 per game) which are top 20 national figures. Junior defensive end Matt Tschetter of Milford and senior linebacker Blake Suckow of West Union are among the top 21 of Division III in sacks (Tschetter – T-21 – one per game) and tackles (Suckow – T-19th – 11.25 pg). … Special teams are ranked high in the nation and league, too. Junior punter Robby Salmon of Mason City continues to rise in yards-per-kick average (43.14) which is second-best in the country and leads the conference. His numbers also put the team seventh nationally in net punting (37.12 ypk). VanDenHul, who serves double-duty as a return specialist, is in the top 60 of Division III in kickoff return average (24.21 ypr) which is first in the IIAC. … On offense, the Knights are in the top 35 nationally in rushing (207.38 ypg) and the top 55 in scoring (32.5 ppg) and total (411.38 ypg) offense. Along conference lines, the sophomore running back tandem of Reese Thompson of Van Horne and Brandon Sims of South Holland, Ill., are two-three in in yards per game (88.4 – Thompson/72.9 – Sims). Junior quarterback Danny Stiefel of Sterling Heights, Mich., is third in passing (201.2 ypg) and efficiency (138.1) and has several options to throw to with junior wide receiver Levi Helbling of Malvern ranking third in the IIAC in receptions (4.6 pg) and second in yards per game (78). Senior receiver Jason Roskam of Sioux Center is sixth in yards per game (56.4). .. Stiefel looks to continue the program’s run of 40 consecutive games of 100-yards-or-more through the air. … Sims enters the weekend on a roll. He’s been over 100 yards in two of his last three games and was only seven shy of hitting the mark last weekend. … The road has been good to Willis’ program of late. They’ve won eight straight and are 12-1 in their last 13 away ventures.
Regular season finale: A 1 p.m. kickoff is set Nov. 13 when the Knights face Simpson College at Buxton Community Stadium in Indianola.
