2017 Wartburg Knights football team

2017 Wartburg Knights football
IIAC champion
NCAA Division III Quarterfinal, L 27–41 at Wisconsin–Oshkosh
Conference	Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Ranking
AFCA	No. 8
D3Football.com	No. 10
Record	12–1 (8–0 IIAC)
Head coach	Rick Willis (19th season)
Offensive coordinator	Matt Wheeler (8th season)
Defensive coordinator	Chris Winter (7th season)
Home stadium	Walston-Hoover Stadium

2017 Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 10 Wartburg $^		8	–	0					12	–	1
Central (IA)		6	–	2					7	–	3
Luther		5	–	3					6	–	4
Dubuque		4	–	4					6	–	4
Simpson (IA)		4	–	4					5	–	5
Loras		3	–	5					4	–	6
Coe		2	–	6					4	–	6
Buena Vista		2	–	6					2	–	7
Nebraska Wesleyan		2	–	6					2	–	8
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3football.com

The 2017 Wartburg Knights football team represented Wartburg College as a member of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 2017 NCAA Division III football season. Led by Rick Willis in his 19th season as head coach, the Knights compiled an overall record of 12–1 with a mark of 8–0 in conference play, winning IIAC title for the first time since 2014 and earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs. Wartburg lost in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs to the Wisconsin–Oshkosh.[1] The team played home games at Walston-Hoover Stadium in Waverly, Iowa.

Schedule

Wartburg's 2017 regular season scheduled consisted of six home and four away games.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 9	1:00 p.m.	Monmouth (IL)*		Walston-Hoover Stadium Waverly, IA	W 36–13	3,451
September 16	1:00 p.m.	Simpson		Buxton Stadium Indianola, IA	W 40–31	3,100
September 9	1:00 p.m.	Washington University*		Walston-Hoover Stadium Waverly, IA	W 30–20	3,000
September 30	1:00 p.m.	Coe		Walston-Hoover Stadium Waverly, IA	W 34–7	4,112
October 7	1:00 p.m.	at Central (IA)		Schipper Stadium Pella, IA	W 44–20	1,500
October 14	12:30 p.m.	Loras	No. 22	Walston-Hoover Stadium Waverly, IA	W 42–11	4,500
October 21	12:00 p.m.	at Luther	No. 20	Carlson Stadium Decorah, IA	W 41–16	1,850
October 28	1:00 p.m.	Dubuque	No. 19	Walston-Hoover Stadium Waverly, IA	W 23–0	1,957
November 4	1:00 p.m.	at Buena Vista	No. 18	J. Leslie Rollins Storm Lake, IA	W 56–14	1,230
November 11	1:00 p.m.	Nebraska Wesleyan	No. 18	Walston-Hoover Stadium Waverly, IA	W 41–20	1,950
November 18	12:00 p.m.	Franklin*	No. 17	Walston-Hoover Stadium Waverly, IA (NCAA Division III First Round)	W 35–34	2,008
November 25	12:00 p.m.	No. 25 Trine*	No. 17	Walston-Hoover Stadium Waverly, IA (NCAA Division III Second Round)	W 49–7	2,500
November 25	12:00 p.m.	at No. 3 Wisconsin–Oshkosh*	No. 17	J. J. Keller Field Oshkosh, WI (NCAA Division III Quarterfinal)	L 27–41	1,902
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from D3Football.com Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

[2]

Awards and honors

Individual awards

Player	Award
Matt Sacia	Gagliardi Trophy Finalist IIAC Offensive Player of the year
Derek Schipper	D3football.com First-team All-American AFCA First-team All-American
Riley Brockway	D3football.com Second-team All-American AP Second-team All-American
Coach	Award
Rick Willis	IIAC Coach of the year AFCA Region 5 Coach of the year
Reference:[3][4][5]

All-Conference

Player	Position	Team	Year
JoJo McNair	DB	1	Fr
Dillon Rademaker	DL	1	SR
Rob Rottler	LB	1	SR
Tony Anstoetter	LB	1	SR
Matt Sacia	QB	1	JR
Derek Shipper	OL	1	SR
Riley Brockway	WR	1	SR
Peyton Imhoff	DB	2	JR
Troy Heick	DL	2	SR
Hudson Johnston	OL	2	SR
Dylan Binion	RB	2	So
Jake Pisarik	P	2	Sr
Chris McNutt	DB	HM	Sr
Tyler Schager	OL	HM	Jr
Tom Schiffer	OL	HM	Sr
Griffin Brennecke	WR	HM	Sr
JoJo McNair	RS	HM	Fr
HM = Honorable mention. Reference:[6]

References

1. Staff Report (December 2, 2017). "Iowa small-college football: Morningside, Wartburg eliminated from playoffs". Des Moines Register. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
2. "2017 Football Schedule". Wartburg College Athletics Athletics. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
3. "2017 D3football.com All-America team". D3football.com. D3football.com. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
4. Jackson, Michael (December 14, 2017). "AP 2017 Division III All-America Team, List". The USA Today. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
5. "Wartburg's Willis Named AFCA Regional Coach of the Year". rollriver.com. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
6. "Wartburg's Sacia, Dubuque's Joseph Headline All-IIAC Football Teams". rollriver.com. American Rivers Conference. Retrieved December 27, 2023.