2024 Wartburg Knights football team

2024 Wartburg Knights football
ARC champion
NCAA Division III Third Round, L 14–24 vs Bethel (MN)
Conference	American Rivers Conference
Ranking
AFCA	No. 12
D3Football.com	No. 13
Record	10–2 (8–0 ARC)
Head coach	Chris Winter (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Matt Wheeler (14th season)
Defensive coordinator	Matt Tschetter (4th season)
Home stadium	Walston-Hoover Stadium
Seasons ←  2023 2025  →

2024 American Rivers Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 13 Wartburg $^		8	–	0					10	–	2
Coe ^		7	–	1					9	–	2
Central (IA)		6	–	2					8	–	2
Dubuque		5	–	3					5	–	5
Simpson (IA)		4	–	4					5	–	5
Nebraska Wesleyan		2	–	6					3	–	7
Buena Vista		2	–	6					2	–	8
Loras		2	–	6					2	–	8
Luther		0	–	8					1	–	9
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from D3football.com

The 2024 Wartburg Knights football team represents Wartburg College as a member of the American Rivers Conference (ARC) during the 2024 NCAA Division III football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Chris Winter, the Knights play home games at Walston-Hoover Stadium in Waverly, Iowa. ^{[1] [2]}

The Knights won their 20th conference championship and 3rd straight in 2024. ^[3] Their season would come to an end in the third round of the NCAA playoffs to Bethel (MN). Chris Winter was named the conference coach of the year for the 3rd straight year, along with Parker Rochford being named defensive player of the year(DPOY). The Knights have had the DPOY in the ARC 3 years running.

Schedule

Wartburg's 2024 regular season schedule consists of four home, with six on the road. ^[4]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 7	7:00 p.m.	at Monmouth (IL) *	No. 4	April Zorn Stadium and Woll Memorial Field Monmouth, IL	W 38–24	3150
September 14	1:00 p.m.	at No. 12 Saint John's (MN) *	No. 5	Clemens Stadium Collegeville, MN	L 13–35	9,529
September 21	1:00 p.m.	at Central (IA)	No. 13	Ron and Joyce Schipper Stadium Pella, IA	W 10–6	1,500
September 28	1:00 p.m.	Nebraska Wesleyan	No. 13	Walston-Hoover Stadium Waverly, IA	W 34–0	2,301
October 12	1:00 p.m.	at Buena Vista	No. 16	J. Leslie Rollins Stadium and Peterson Field Storm Lake, IA	W 70–21	520
October 19	1:30 p.m.	Simpson	No. 12	Walston-Hoover Stadium Waverly, IA	W 46–21	6,125
October 26	1:00 p.m.	at Coe	No. 13	Clark Field Cedar Rapids, IA	W 14–7	2,156
November 2	1:00 p.m.	Luther	No. 12	Walston-Hoover Stadium Waverly, IA	W 49–10	4,250
November 9	1:00 p.m.	at Dubuque	No. 12	Chalmers Field Dubuque, IA	W 24–14	1,250
November 16	1:00 p.m.	Loras	No. 11	Walston-Hoover Stadium Waverly, IA	W 69–14	3,501
November 30	12:00 p.m.	No. 7 Wisconsin–Platteville *	No. 11	Walston-Hoover Stadium Waverly, IA (NCAA Division III Second Round)	W 19–14	3,715
December 7	12:00 p.m.	No. 21 Bethel (MN) *	No. 11	Walston-Hoover Stadium Waverly, IA (NCAA Division III Third Round)	L 14–24	5,214
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from D3Football.com Poll released prior to the game All times are in central time

Rankings

Further information: 2024 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	4	5	13	13	13	16	12	13	12	12	11	11	13
AFCA	4	6	15	16	15	15	13	12	11	11	11	10	12

Roster

2024 Wartburg Knights football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 1 Brock Califf Sr WR 2 Ben Wymer So WR 3 Declan Fortuna Fr WR 4 Drake George Sr WR 5 Trey Eagle Sr WR 6 Caleb Egesdal So QB 7 Carter Markham Sr QB 7 Zachary Randl Fr WR 8 Justis Bachman So WR 8 Carter Reinbold Fr QB 8 Tyler Shaner Fr WR 10 Carter Henry Sr WR 10 Preston Moriarity Fr QB 10 Charlie Zimmerman Fr QB 11 Riley Richards Sr QB 11 Jett Scott Fr QB 12 Josh Papesh Fr WR 15 Ty Gardner Fr WR 16 Jagger Schmitt Jr WR 17 Dylan Swanstrom So QB 18 Leo Dodd Jr RB 20 Chris Heard Fr RB 21 Ben Bryant Sr RB 22 Dakota Johnson Fr RB 23 Theodor Kolie Fr RB 25 Nahir Aguirre Fr WR 25 Blake Ferris Fr RB 26 Spencer Zinn Jr RB 27 Dylan Marti So RB 28 Bricen White Sr RB 31 Joey Anderson Jr RB 34 Carson Bruns Fr RB 35 Levi Pingel Jr RB 36 Gavin Barta Fr RB 36 Dawson Rud So TE 38 Simon Ott So TE 41 John McConohy Sr TE 43 Micah Holmberg Jr RB 44 CJ Hisler So TE 46 Austin Barta Sr TE 48 Thaden Abbas Fr RB 48 Mario D'Orazio Fr OL 50 Cole Hotz Jr OL 51 Will Conlan Sr OL 52 Ben Petlon Sr OL 55 Carter Seliger Fr OL 57 Caden Hankins Fr OL 57 Andrew Kato Fr OL 60 Max Rossow So OL 60 Brady Weepie So OL 61 Braden Plotz Fr OL 61 Samuel Wirstrom Fr OL 62 Drew Streb Fr OL 63 Reese Theobald Jr OL 64 Jason Koopmann Jr OL 65 Brandt Reints So OL 65 Cooper Smock Sr OL 66 Cade Carpenter Sr OL 67 Kellen Kpogli So OL 68 Ethan Stockwell Sr OL 69 Nathan Lorenzen Jr OL 70 Josh Reichard So OL 72 Jaydon Boynton Fr OL 72 Lars Landa Fr OL 73 Xander Bradley Sr OL 74 Jackson Woodley So OL 75 Isaac Bender Sr OL 75 Brady Robinson So OL 76 Clayton Bockhoven So OL 76 Isaiah Corbin Sr OL 77 Tucker Kinney Sr OL 77 Jesse Nevarez So OL 78 Cole Mahnke So OL 79 Wyatt Miles Fr TE 80 Kaden Behrens Jr WR 80 Elijah Mendoza So WR 81 Topher Bigalk So TE 81 Jake Schulz Fr WR 82 Caleb Beck So WR 82 Tai Streets Jr WR 83 Kaiden Griffith Fr WR 83 Henry Morris Fr WR 83 Max Solis Sr WR 84 Tucker Mumford Sr TE 85 Matt Dufoe Jr WR 85 Brayden Lane So TE 86 Matthew Hilleman So WR 87 Jack Eddy So WR 87 Cade Hughes Jr WR 88 Carter Bussanmas Sr WR 89 Tyler Ott Sr TE 96 Olin Stockwell Fr QB Quintin Loeb So QB Lincoln Sauser Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 2 Grant McCallips Sr LB 3 Nate Link Sr DB 3 Jack Wilson So DB 4 Cam Stephens Fr DB 5 Kaleb Lamphier Sr DB 6 Blake Janssen Jr DB 7 Matthew Tarr Fr DB 9 Ben Parker Sr DB 11 Kaden Kobliska Fr DB 12 Kaiden Knaack Fr DB 12 Tyge Lyon Fr DB 13 Thane Alexander Sr DB 14 Parker Rochford Sr DB 15 Grant Larson Sr DB 15 Carter Lavender Fr DB 19 Jason O'Boye So DB 20 Conner Grover Jr DB 20 Jordan Juma Fr DB 21 Dylan McCaulley So LB 22 Sam Conway Jr DB 22 Rory Prazak II Fr DB 23 Ryan Folkerts Jr LB 24 Adam Link So DB 25 Calem Maclearn Sr DB 27 Korbin Barck Jr DB 28 Logan Jungling So DB 29 Sam Roose So DB 30 DJ Witt Sr DB 32 Ryan Doyle So LB 33 Keenan Tyler Jr LB 34 Tyler Gayer So LB 34 Andrew Kline Fr LB 36 Christian Pettinger Fr LB 37 McKade Munn Jr DB 39 Nick Woods Fr LB 40 Mac Watts Jr DL 42 Justin Grieff Sr DB 45 Brandon Christofferson Fr LB 45 Zack Crawford So LB 47 Colin Snitker Jr LB 48 Alex Koch Jr LB 49 Seth Madden So DL 51 Aiden Mauer So LB 52 Tyler Bark Fr LB 52 Cole Wiemers Fr LB 53 Jack Heinberg Jr LB 54 Trent Roberts Jr LB 54 Kale Rodgers Sr LB 55 Derek Hoerner Fr DL 55 Conner McDonald So LB 56 Kaden Bibler Jr DL 56 Luke Dunlap Fr LB 56 Colin Patterson Fr LB 58 Brady Cannon Fr DL 58 Collin Schulz Fr DL 59 Rune Boyd Fr LB 59 AJ Phelps Fr DL 62 Jacob Stolz Fr DL 63 Drew Jackson So DL 68 Ethan Berding So DL 71 Kale Folkerts Sr DL 72 Ethan Schellhorn Sr DL 73 Aiden Roberson So DL 74 TJ Webber So DL 79 Andrew Rhodes Fr DL 90 Jack Drahos Jr DL 91 Walker Hermeier Sr DL 91 Reese Trepanier Fr DL 93 Parker Ehrenfelt Fr DL 93 Nolan Lamphier Fr DL 93 Griffin Neal Sr DL 94 Grant Higgins Sr DL 95 Cooper Johnston Jr DL 95 Brady Peterson So DL 96 Indiana Ferguson Fr DL 96 Cam Stalzer Jr DL 97 Owen Hatcher Sr DL 98 Jake Walker So DL 99 Christian Nunley Sr DL Landon Coleman Fr LB Alex Jansen Fr DL Charlie Niegsch Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 0 Cael O'Neill Sr K 4 Keegan Weber Fr K 23 Jackson Othmer Fr K/P 39 Jaxson Hoppes Jr K 39 Jacob Kamara Fr K 45 Andrew Tollefson Fr P 52 Ben Petlon Sr LS 58 Austin Souhrada Fr LS 79 Parker Sperfslage So LS 91 AJ Hallman Fr	Head coach Chris Winter Coordinators/assistant coaches Matt Wheeler – Offensive Coordinator/Assistant Head Coach/Quarterbacks Matt Tschetter – Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers/Recruiting Coordinator Luke Summers – Offensive Line Ethan Lape – Defensive Line Matt Buckner – Wide Receivers Jawanza Holmes – Running Backs Jeff Beck – Offensive Assistant Paul Mugan – Tight Ends Steve Kingery – Specialists Alex Pollock – Linebackers Tom Butters – Tight Ends Jason Splitt – Defensive Assistant/Student Coach Grant Halverson – Offensive Assistant/Student Coach Dakota Stevenson – Defensive Assistant/Student Coach Mac Smigielski – Offensive Assistant/Student Coach Jacob Lord – Offensive 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
Parker Rochford	ARC Defensive Player of the Year AFCA 2nd team All-American AP 1st team All-American D3football.com 2nd team All-American
Tucker Kinney	AFCA 1st team All-American AP 1st team All-American D3football.com 2nd team All-American
Coach	Award
Chris Winter	ARC Coach of the year
Reference: [5] [6]

All-Conference

Player	Position	Team	Year
Thane Alexander	DB	1	SR
Justin Grieff	DL	1	SR
Keenan Tyler	LB	1	JR
Parker Rochford	DB	1	SR
Ethan Stockwell	OL	1	SR
Dawson Rud	RB	1	SO
Tucker Kinney	OT	1	SR
Ben Bryant	RS	1	SR
Christian Nunley	DL	2	SR
Will Conlan	OL	2	SR
Carter Henry	WR	2	SR
Carter Markham	QB	2	SR
Cael O'Neill	K	2	SR
Jaxson Hoppes	P	HM	SO
Kaleb Lamphier	DB	HM	SR
John McConohy	TE	HM	SR
Austin Souhrada	LS	HM	FR
Mac Watts	LB	HM	JR
Jake Walker	DL	HM	SO
HM = Honorable mention. Reference: [7]

References

1. Nelson, Jim (August 27, 2024). "College Football: With standards raised high, Wartburg embraces No. 4 ranking". Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
2. "Wartburg Facilities". go-knights.net. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
3. Nelson, Jim (November 17, 2011). "College football: No. 11 Wartburg secures third consecutive ARC championship". Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
4. "2024 Football Schedule". Wartburg College Athletics Athletics. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
5. "Curry's Montie Quinn And Bethel's Matt Jung Headline The 2024 AFCA Division III Coaches' All-America Teams". AFCA. December 3, 2024.
6. Olson, Eric (December 19, 2024). "North Central (Ill.) QB Luke Lehnen wins top offensive honor on AP Division III All-America team". Associated Press. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
7. "Wartburg's Rochford and Winter, Coe's Barnes, and Simpson's Cracraft Headline A-R-C Football Postseason Selections". American Rivers Conference. November 22, 2024.