GREENVILLE, Ill. - For a third consecutive season, Wartburg football came out victorious in its season opener, defeating Greenville University 60-21 in the 2019 opener Saturday, Sept. 7. 

The Knights combined for 416 yards of total offense, 335 through the air and 81 on the ground. Senior wide receiver Kolin Schulte tied a Wartburg record with four touchdown receptions, becoming the fourth Knight in program history to do so, the last coming from Riley Brockway versus Nebraska Wesleyan in 2017.

Schulte caught eight passes for 159 yards, including a 52-yard touchdown reception from junior quarterback Jace Moore. Moore and senior quarterback Noah Dodd both saw ample time under center, both totaling career-high numbers. The pair combined for five touchdown passes and threw for 271 yards. Nile McLaughlin added 64 yards in his collegiate debut. Bennett Goettsch led with 42 rushing yards, while Connor Bailey tallied two rushing scores.

After going down 14-0, the Wartburg defense limited Greenville to just one more score throughout the rest of the game and held the Panthers under 300 yards of total offense. Two scores each from Bailey and Schulte along with a Nick Wall nine-yard touchdown reception gave the Orange and Black a 33-21 lead at halftime. 

Wartburg came out strong in the third quarter while the defense held strong throughout. The Knights scored four times in the third quarter alone and shutout Greenville in the final two frames for the 60-21 victory. Along with two more scores from Schulte, Cedric Dobbins returned a punt to the house to go with a rushing touchdown from Austin Griffin; both career-first touchdowns for Dobbins and Griffin. 

Defensively, Dobbins also notched his seventh career interception. Eli Barrett led the Knights with 17 tackles (10 solo), while Jayden Goos forced a fumble on a sack and added 1.5 tackles for loss.

Sophomore kicker Kain Eagle went 6-for-7 on PAT attempts. 

Up Next
Wartburg hosts Monmouth next Saturday, Sept. 14 for the 2019 home opener at Walston-Hoover Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. The Knights are undefeated in home-opening night games in the Walston-Hoover Stadium era (since 2001).