2023 Wartburg Knights football team

2023 Wartburg Knights football
ARC champion
NCAA Division III Semifinal, L 27–34 vs North Central
Conference	American Rivers Conference
Ranking
AFCA	No. 3
D3Football.com	No. 3
Record	13–1 (8–0 ARC)
Head coach	Chris Winter (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Matt Wheeler (13th season)
Defensive coordinator	Matt Tschetter (3rd season)
Home stadium	Walston-Hoover Stadium
Seasons ←  2022 2024  →

2023 American Rivers Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 3 Wartburg $^		8	–	0					13	–	1
Coe ^		7	–	1					9	–	2
Central (IA)		6	–	2					8	–	2
Dubuque		5	–	3					5	–	5
Loras		4	–	4					5	–	5
Nebraska Wesleyan		2	–	6					4	–	6
Simpson (IA)		2	–	6					3	–	7
Buena Vista		2	–	6					2	–	8
Luther		0	–	8					0	–	10
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3Football.com

The 2023 Wartburg Knights football team represented Wartburg College as a member of the American Rivers Conference (ARC) during the 2023 NCAA Division III football season. The Knights, led by third-year head coach Chris Winter, played home games at Walston-Hoover Stadium in Waverly, Iowa. ^[1] The Knights clinched their 19th conference championship on October 28, 2023, with a win over Central College ^[2] and then capped of the regular season 10–0 following a win at Nebraska Wesleyan. Wartburg ended the season in the national semifinals for the second straight year, losing to North Central 34–27. ^{[3] [4]}

Senior linebacker Owen Grover was named the Cliff Harris Award winner, awarded to the defensive player of the year in division III. ^[5] He was also named ARC Defensive player of the year and 1st team all-American along with 3 other teammates, including running back Hunter Clasen, who was also named ARC Offensive player of the year. ^[6]

Schedule

Wartburg's 2023 regular season scheduled consisted of five home and five away games. The Knights also hosted 4 postseason games. ^[7]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 2	7:00 p.m.	Monmouth (IL) *	No. 5	Walston-Hoover Stadium Waverly, IA	W 62–35	3,756
September 9	1:00 p.m.	at No. 16 Bethel (MN) *	No. 3	Royal Stadium Arden Hills, MN	W 16–2	3,642
September 16	1:00 p.m.	Buena Vista	No. 3	Walston-Hoover Stadium Waverly, IA	W 47–0	2,137
September 23	1:00 p.m.	at Simpson	No. 3	Buxton Stadium Indianola, IA	W 63–0	1,524
September 30	1:00 p.m.	Coe	No. 3	Walston-Hoover Stadium Waverly, IA	W 27–21	3,016
October 7	1:00 p.m.	at Luther	No. 4	Carlson Stadium Decorah, IA	W 54–0	317
October 14	1:30 p.m.	Dubuque	No. 3	Walston-Hoover Stadium Waverly, IA	W 31–10	5,102
October 21	1:00 p.m.	at Loras	No. 3	Rock Bowl Dubuque, IA	W 62–7	1,300
October 28	1:00 p.m.	Central (IA)	No. 3	Walston-Hoover Stadium Waverly, IA	W 24–14	1,500
November 4	1:00 p.m.	at Nebraska Wesleyan	No. 3	Abel Stadium Lincoln, NE	W 45–0	1,200
November 18	12:00 p.m.	Illinois College *	No. 3	Walston-Hoover Stadium Waverly, IA (NCAA Division III First Round)	W 49–14	1,355
November 25	12:00 p.m.	No. 20 Whitworth *	No. 3	Walston-Hoover Stadium Waverly, IA (NCAA Division III Second Round)	W 42–20	1,207
December 2	12:00 p.m.	No. 5 Wisconsin–Whitewater *	No. 3	Walston-Hoover Stadium Waverly, IA (NCAA Division III Quarterfinals)	W 31–28	3,259
December 9	2:30 p.m.	No. 1 North Central (IL) *	No. 3	Walston-Hoover Stadium Waverly, IA (NCAA Division III Semifinals)	L 27–34	3,525
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from D3Football.com Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Rankings

Further information: 2023 NCAA Division III football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Final
D3football.com	5	3	3	3	3	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3
AFCA	Not released			4	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3

Roster

2023 Wartburg Knights football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 1 Brock Califf Jr QB 3 Riley Richards Jr WR 4 Drake George Sr QB 5 Grant Halverson So WR 6 Trey Eagle Sr WR 6 Caleb Egesdal Fr QB 7 Carter Markham Jr WR 8 Karter Decker Fr QB 8 Nile McLaughlin Sr WR 10 Carter Henry Jr QB 10 Payton Salomon Fr WR 11 Thor Maakestad Sr QB 15 Quintin Loeb Fr WR 15 Miles Robertson Fr WR 16 Jagger Schmitt So WR 17 Matt Buckner Sr QB 18 Leo Dodd So WR 20 Dylan Swanstrom Fr RB 21 Ben Bryant Sr WR 23 Darius Whaley Sr RB 24 Hunter Clasen Sr RB 25 Dylan Marti Fr WR 26 Jonathan Greig Fr RB 27 Brenden Fisch Fr RB 28 Bricen White Jr RB 31 Joey Anderson So RB 31 Brandon Cushion Fr RB 35 Levi Pingel So RB 36 Dawson Rud Fr RB 38 CJ Hisler Fr RB 39 Maurice Powell Fr TE 41 John McConohy Jr TE 43 Micah Holmberg So TE 46 Austin Barta Jr RB 47 Jackson Thompson Fr OL 51 Will Conlan Sr OL 52 Ben Petlon Sr OL 53 Brandt Petersen Sr OL 60 Ben Dunlap Sr OL 60 Brady Weepie Fr OL 62 Arturo Venegas Fr OL 63 Reese Theobald So OL 64 Jason Koopmann So OL 65 Brandt Reints Fr OL 65 Cooper Smock Jr OL 65 Garrett Williams Fr OL 66 Cade Carpenter Jr OL 67 Josh Reichard Fr OL 68 Kellen Kpogli Fr OL 68 Ethan Stockwell Sr OL 69 Nathan Lorenzen So OL 70 Logan Peterman Fr OL 72 Jesse Nevarez Fr OL 72 Max Rossow Fr OL 73 Xander Bradley Jr OL 74 Alex Lahmon Sr OL 75 Brady Robinson Fr OL 76 Clayton Bockhoven Fr OL 76 Isaiah Corbin Jr OL 77 Dakota Dally Fr OL 77 Tucker Kinney Sr OL 78 Cole Mahnke Fr WR 80 Tai Streets So WR 80 Ben Wymer Fr TE 81 Kaden Behrens So TE 81 Tom Butters Sr WR 82 Justis Bachman Fr TE 82 Grant Higgins Jr WR 83 Caleb Beck Fr WR 83 Jack Eddy Fr WR 83 Max Solis Jr WR 84 Tucker Mumford Sr TE 85 Matt Dufoe So WR 85 Brayden Lane Fr WR 85 Elijah Mendoza Fr TE 86 Tanner Sauerbrei Jr WR 87 Cade Hughes So WR 88 Carter Bussanmas Sr WR 89 Tyler Ott Jr TE 93 Blayne Farmer Fr TE 96 Matthew Hilleman Fr TE 96 Malachi Moore Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 2 Grant McCallips Sr DB 2 Jack Wilson Fr LB 3 Nate Link Sr DB 5 Kaleb Lamphier Sr DB 6 Sam Kissner Sr DB 8 Ryan Doyle Fr DB 9 Ben Parker Sr DB 10 Trace Meyer Fr DB 12 Blake Janssen So DB 13 Thane Alexander Jr DB 14 Parker Rochford Jr DB 15 Grant Larson Jr DB 19 Drew Wyffels Sr DB 20 Conner Grover So LB 22 Sam Conway So DB 22 Dylan Steen Sr DB 23 Ryan Folkerts So DB 25 Calem Maclearn Jr DB 26 Jason O'Boye Fr DB 27 Logan Jungling Fr DB 27 Tegan Wyckoff Sr DB 28 Dylan McCaulley Fr DB 28 Tobias Polk Jr LB 29 Tyler Gayer Fr DB 30 DJ Witt Jr DB 32 Adam Link Fr DB 33 Dakota Lau Jr DL 34 Jordan Downing Sr LB 36 McKade Munn So LB 37 Preston Rochford Sr LB 40 Mac Watts So DL 42 Justin Grieff Sr LB 44 Owen Grover Sr DB 45 Colt Berry Fr LB 45 Dakota Stevenson Sr LB 48 Alex Koch So LB 49 Keenan Tyler So LB 50 Jack Heinberg So LB 51 Aiden Mauer Fr LB 52 Colin Snitker So DL 54 Conner McDonald Fr DL 55 Riley Konrardy Sr LB 55 Kale Rodgers Jr LB 56 Kaden Bibler So DL 56 Kanan Morris Sr LB 57 Seth Madden Fr LB 58 Trent Polley So LB 58 Trent Roberts So LB 59 Zack Crawford Fr DL 61 Riley Theobald Sr DL 71 Kale Folkerts Jr DL 72 Ethan Schellhorn Jr DL 73 Ethan Berding Fr DL 74 Jackson Woodley Fr DL 75 Andrew Friend Jr DL 79 Aiden Roberson Fr DL 90 Jack Drahos So DL 91 Walker Hermeier Jr DL 93 Aiden Doyle Fr DL 93 Griffin Neal Jr DL 94 Josh Stiffend Sr DL 95 Brady Peterson Fr DL 96 Cam Stalzer So DL 97 Owen Hatcher Jr DL 98 Jake Walker Fr DL 99 Christian Nunley Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 0 Cael O'Neill Sr K/P 39 Luke Shepard Fr K/P 39 Jaxson Hoppes So LS 79 Parker Sperfslage Fr	Head coach Chris Winter Coordinators/assistant coaches Matt Wheeler – Offensive Coordinator/Assistant Head Coach Matt Tschetter – Defensive Coordinator/Recruiting Coordinator Anthony Vela – Defensive Line Luke Summers – Offensive Line Ethan Lape – Running Backs Quinton Murphy – Wide Receivers Jeff Beck – Offensive Assistant Paul Mugan – Tight Ends Steve Kingery – Specialists Jason Splitt – Defensive Assistant/Student Coach Danny Drees – Athletic Trainer Jessica Albright – Athletic Trainer Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: June 4, 2025

Awards and honors

Individual awards

Player	Award
Owen Grover	William V. Campbell Trophy Finalist Gagliardi Trophy Finalist ARC Defensive Player of the Year Cliff Harris Award D3Football.com Defensive Player of the year DIII Academic All-American of the Year D3football.com 1st team All-American AFCA 1st team All-American AP 1st team All-American
Hunter Clasen	ARC Offensive Player of the Year D3football.com 1st team All-American AP 2nd team All-American
Parker Rochford	D3football.com 1st team All-American AP 1st team All-American
Riley Konrardy	D3football.com 1st team All-American
Jordan Downing	D3football.com 3rd team All-American AP 2nd team All-American
Tucker Kinney	D3football.com 4th team All-American
Coach	Award
Chris Winter	ARC Coach of the year AFCA Region 5 Coach of the year
Reference: [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15]

All-Conference

Player	Position	Team	Year
Jordan Downing	DL	1	SR
Riley Konrardy	DL	1	SR
Owen Grover	LB	1	SR
Nate Link	LB	1	SR
Parker Rochford	DB	1	JR
Hunter Clasen	RB	1	SR
Tucker Kinney	OT	1	SR
Alex Lahmon	OG	1	SR
Justin Grieff	DL	2	SR
Preston Rochford	LB	2	SR
Drew Wyffels	DB	2	SR
Nile McLaughlin	QB	2	SR
Tom Butters	TE	2	SR
Ethan Stockwell	OT	2	SR
Cael O'Neill	K	2	SR
Jaxson Hoppes	P	HM	SO
Dylan Steen	DB	HM	SR
HM = Honorable mention. Reference: [16]

References

1. "Wartburg Facilities". go-knights.net. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
2. Promnitz, Donald (October 28, 2023). "Wartburg College clinches A-R-C championship in win over Central". The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier . Cedar Falls, Iowa . Retrieved November 7, 2023.
3. Nelson, Jim (December 9, 2023). "Wartburg Fights to Finish Stunned Late in National Semifinal Loss to No.1 NCC". The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. Cedar Falls, Iowa. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
4. "Wartburg falls short in national semifinal loss 34–27 to North Central". krcg.com. KRCG. December 9, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
5. Miller, Danny (December 15, 2023). "Knighted:Wartburg College Linebacker Owen Grover wins Cliff Harris Award for NCAA Division III". CLiff Harris Award.
6. Miller, Danny (November 18, 2023). "College football: Clasen, Grover earn A-R-C top honors". Telegraph Herald. Dubuque, Iowa. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
7. "2023 Wartburg Knights Football Schedule". go-knights.net. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
8. "2023 D3football.com All-America team". D3Football.com. December 15, 2023.
9. "NFF Proudly Announces the Finalists for 2023 William V. Campbell Trophy". National Football Foundation. October 25, 2023.
10. "Illinois College's Collin Brunstein and Pomona-Pitzer's Cameron Shirangi Headline the 2023 AFCA Division III Coaches' All-America Teams". AFCA. December 11, 2023.
11. Russo, Ralph. "Cortland quarterback Zac Boyes and North Central RB Joe Sacco lead AP Division III All-America team". Associated Press. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
12. "Five named Gagliardi finalists". D3football.com. D3football.com. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
13. "Wartburg's Owen Grover named finalist for 2023 Gagliardi Trophy". Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. December 9, 2023. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
14. "Kalen Deboer and Willie Simmons Headline the 2023 AFCA Regional Coach of the Year Winners". afca.com. AFCA. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
15. "2023 Academic All-America® Football Teams announced for all NCAA and NAIA divisions" (Press release). January 23, 2024. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
16. "Wartburg's Clasen, Grover, and Winter Highlight A-R-C All-Conference Football Selections". American Rivers Conference. November 17, 2023.