WAVERLY - No. 7/12 Wartburg football team is set to carry its undefeated 8-0 record into Pella this Saturday for the final regular season road contest at Central College. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Schipper Stadium.
WARTBURG (8-0, 6-0 A-R-C) AT CENTRAL COLLEGE (7-1, 5-1 A-R-C)
Date: Nov. 9, 2019
Time: 1 p.m.
Site: Pella, Iowa // Schipper Stadium
Series: Central leads 43-25
Radio: KWAY Country AM 1470 FM 96.3 // Matt Ray (Play by Play), Terry Goetzinger (Color)
THE SERIES
Saturday's game marks the 69th meeting between Wartburg and Central. Though the Dutch hold a 43-25 series advantage, the Knights own a 7-3 series lead in the past 10 meetings. Last season, Wartburg then-ranked No. 20 Central 47-20 at Walston-Hoover Stadium as Wartburg great
Matt Sacia 19' tied a program single-game school record with five touchdown passes for the second time in his career.
LAST 10 MEETINGS: 7-3 WARTBURG
Date Home/Away Result
10/20/18 H W, 47-20
10/7/17 A W, 44-20
10/22/16 A L, 37-51
10/3/15 H W, 21-13
10/4/14 A W, 35-14
11/9/13 H W, 16-14
11/3/12 A L, 28-31
10/29/11 H W, 20-13
11/6/10 A W, 20-17
11/7/09 H L, 33-41
LAST TIME OUT
Wartburg improved to 8-0 on the season on last Saturday, defeating Coe 21-7 at Walston-Hoover Stadium to remain atop of the conference.
Senior quarterback Noah Dodd produced all the scoring for the Orange and Black, leading the Knights' offense with a career-high three rushing touchdowns. Dodd also threw for 190 yards, completing 20-of-30 passing attempts.
The Wartburg defense limited the Kohawks to just one score, which came in the third quarter to trim the Knights' lead to 14-7. However, Wartburg held strong, forcing a Coe fumble and adding an interception. Dodd rushed in his third TD of the game with just under seven minutes remaining to secure the 14-point cushion. JoJo McNair brought in a season-high eight catches while adding three tackles and his second interception on the year. Antonio Santillan paced the defense with a team-high eight tackles.
IN THE POLLS
Wartburg is ranked among the top 25 in a pair of Division III rankings for an eighth consecutive week. The Knights jumped up from No. 9 to No. 7 in the latest American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) top 25 rankings. In D3football.com's rankings, the Knights moved up from No. 12 to No. 11.
WARTBURG
- Wartburg ranks first in A-R-C scoring offense and defense with an average of 45.1 points per game and 15.1 points against, along with 49 total touchdowns.
- The Knights lead the A-R-C with 25 rushing touchdowns, paced by a collective effort. Seven Knights have tallied at least two rushing scores, led by junior running back Bennett Goettsch, who ranks second in the conference with seven. Dodd has five, followed by four from Connor Bailey.
- Senior wide receiver Kolin Schulte shares the A-R-C lead with 12 receiving touchdowns and ranks third with 798 yards and 99.8 per game.
- Dodd has played the majority of time under center, tallying 13 touchdowns and 1,191 yards through the air. He is the conference leader with a 70.6 percent completion rate, completing 96 of 136 pass attempts.
- Defensively, junior defensive back Eli Barrett leads the Knights with 67 tackles. Freshman linebacker Owen Grover leads Wartburg with 5.5 tackles for loss.
CENTRAL
- Central has won three-straight A-R-C games, with its sole loss of the season coming against Dubuque.
- The Dutch have averaged 48 points in the past three games during wins over Buena Vista, Nebraska Wesleyan, and Simpson.
- Junior quarterback Blaine Hawkins set a school record 421 passing yards on just 24 completions at Simpson, earning A-R-C Offensive Player of the Week.
- Senior kicker Jon Alberts earned his fourth A-R-C Special Teams Player of the Week honor this season after going 6-for-6 on PAT attempts and adding a field goal at Simpson.
- Central leads the A-R-C during conference play with 3,011 yards of total offense, averaging 501.8 in six conference games.
- The Dutch received 30 votes in the latest AFCA poll.
