WAVERLY, Iowa—The No. 3/3 Wartburg football team (11-0 overall) will host No. 18/20 Whitworth (10-0) in an NCAA Playoff Second-round game Saturday, Nov. 25 at noon at Walston-Hoover Stadium.
The Knights won the American Rivers Conference Championship for the automatic bid, and the Pirates won the Northwest Conference title for the automatic bid.
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Tickets
$10 adults
$7 seniors/students/children (5-18)
Free: Children under 5
No presale of tickets
Ticket window will open at 10:30 a.m.
No passes accepted
The Series
This will be the inaugural meeting between the programs.
Monday Press Conferences
Coach Winter
Student Athletes
Wartburg
Hunter Clasen has rushed for 1,324 yards and 19 touchdowns. He surpassed the 1,000 rushing yards mark for the second-straight year.
Nile McLaughlin has thrown for 2,590 yards and 29 touchdowns. Three receivers have over 500 yards as
Carter Henry has 647,
Thor Maakestad has 574, and
Drake George follows at 569. Maakestad leads the group with six TDs.
Owen Grover leads the defense with 87 total tackles.
Jordan Downing has a team-high 12.5 TFLs and 9.0 sacks.
Cael O'Neill is 52-55 in PATs and has made five field goals.
Career Record Watch
Clasen is second in total TDs (54) and points (324), all purpose yards (5,360) and rushing TDs (50), fourth in rushing yards (3,757) and eighth in kick return yards (908).
McLaughlin is tied for fifth in passing TDs (59), sixth in pass completions (480) and in passing yards (6,069).
Cael O'Neill is third in field goals (23) and tied for fourth in PATs (112).
Ben Bryant is first in punt return yards (849) and tied for fifth in punt returns (59).
Rochford is tied for first in interception return TDs (4). Grover is first in total tackles (338), tied for third in assisted tackles (153), and fourth in solo tackles (185).
Downing is first in sacks (29.5), second in fumbles forced (5), and eighth in TFLS (45.0).
Season Record Watch
Clasen is tied for third in rushing TDs (19), fourth in points (126) and total TDs (21), and seventh in rushing yards (1,324).
McLaughlin is fourth in passing TDs (29), eighth in completions (195), and 10th in passing yards (2,590).
O'Neill is fifth in PATs (52).
Kanan Morris is tied for sixth in fumble returns (2).
Rochford is first in interception return TDs (3) and tied for second in INTs (7). Downing and
Justin Grieff are tied for sixth in forced fumbles (2). Grieff is also eighth in quarterback hurries (7).
On the season team lists, this squad is tied for first in pick-sixs (4), tied for third in fumble returns (7), third in quarterback hurries (21), tied for fourth in punt return TDs (2), fifth in points (480) and PATs (58), sixth in passing TDs (30) and pass breakups (58), tied for seventh in total TDs (60), tied for eighth in completions (207) and blocked kicks (4), ninth in passing yards and pass reception yards (2,754), tied for 10th in pass receptions (207), and 10th in punt return yards (394).
National Stat Rankings
The Knights rank in the top 50 of 26 various national statistics. They are tied for 1
st in winning percentage (1.000), tied for 1
st in blocked punts allowed (0), 1
st in rushing defense (37.9), 2
nd in defensive touchdowns (5), 4
th in scoring defense (9.4), 5
th in passes intercepted (20), 7
th in sacks allowed (0.55), 11
th in total defense (239.2), 13
th in scoring offense (43.6), 13
th in turnovers gained (27), 14
th in team passing efficiency defense (97.58), 21
st in first downs defense (149), 24
th in first downs offense (248), 25
th in punt return defense (3.11), 25
th in total offense (456.5), 30
th in rushing offense (206.1), 31
st in blocked punts (2), 37
th in third down conversion percentage defense (0.315), 38
th in third down conversion percentage (0.472), 39
th in turnover margin (0.82), 42
nd in fourth down conversion percentage defense (0.360), 42
nd in team passing efficiency (153.65), 45
th in kickoff return defense (16.56), 48
th in punt returns (11.21), 49
th in team sacks (2.73) and 50
th in kickoff returns (21.10).
Individually, the Knights have nine players ranking in the top 100 of various national statistics.
Hunter Clasen is 5
th in rushing touchdowns (19), 5
th in total points scored (126), 5
th in total touchdowns (21), 9
th in rushing yards (1,324), 9
th in scoring (11.5), 13
th in rushing yards per game (120.4), 19
th in rush yards per carry (6.43), 23
rd in all-purpose yards (139.45) and 91
st in points responsible for (126).
Nile McLaughlin is 21
st in passing touchdowns (29), 34
th in points responsible for (186), 40
th in passing efficiency (154.3), 41
st in passing yards (2,590), 42
nd in points responsible for per game (16.9), 51
st in yards per pass attempt (8.12). 58
th in passing yards per game (235.5), 65
th in passing yards per completion (13.28), 67
th in completions per game (17.73), 69
th in completion percentage (0.611) and 75
th in total offense (236.0).
Kanan Morris is 32
nd in fumbles recovered (2).
Parker Rochford is 4
th in interceptions per game (0.6) and 20
th in passes defended (1.5).
Blake Janssen is tied for 10
th in punt return touchdowns (1).
Jagger Schmitt is tied for 10
th in punt return touchdowns (1).
Jordan Downing is 35
th in sacks (0.82).
Thor Maakestad is 33
rd in yards per reception (19.13).
Carter Henry is 73
rd in yards per reception (17.32).
Whitworth
Luis Salgado leads the team on the ground with 704 rushing yards and nine scores. Solo Hines follows with 435 yards and nine TDs.
Quarterback Austin Ewing has thrown for 2,671 yards and 23 TDs. His top receiver has been Dillon Kuk with 822 receiving yards and 11 TDS. Evan Liggett follows with 729 yards and seven scores.
Zach Brooks leads the defense with 71 tackles and JT Munoz has a team-best 11.0 TFLs and 6.0 sacks.