The Knights' Football Beat Goes On: 'I Have Never Seen a Large Loyal Following That Wartburg Has With Its Fans and Students'

Obviously, Wartburg College has it going in NCAA Division III football. There's a very strong football tradition at the Waverly school, and this 2008 team is more than upholding it very well.

R. H. of Des Moines was on hand for the Knights' last-minute [almost last-second] 30-28 victory Saturday at Monmouth, and sent the following e-mail:

"Ron,

"Your eastern Iowa reporter was spot on about the Cedar Rapids Gazette's [lack of] coverage, but I have to advise him to read Kelly Beaton's account of the game from the Waterloo Courier. The Courier sent Beaton to Monmouth for the game. Heck, even John Bohnenkamp from the [Burlington] Hawk Eye had a front row seat at April Zorn Memorial Stadium/Bobby Woll Field for Saturday's wild classic.

"I was very lucky that things fell into place for me to travel to Monmouth. After having Thanksgiving with the family in Waterloo, I drove my mother and sister back home to the Quad Cities for the weekend. That allowed me to sneak away Saturday morning make the 45-minute trip south to the quaint small town Monmouth, Ill. I have been to a good number of college football games, from Iowa and ISU, to UNI and Simpson, but forgive me for being biased, I have never seen a large loyal following that Wartburg has with its fans and students. We had so many fans from Waverly and eastern Iowa fill the visitors stand, we started to fill out the stands on the Monmouth side of the field! Of course, the Monmouth crowd was none too pleased with us sitting next to them!

"It was a tale of two halves. Monmouth, with its vaunted high-scoring spread offense, wasted little time in getting on the board first in the first quarter. Sophomore QB Alex Tanney, who has thrown for over 3,000 yards and 48 TDs, moved the Fighting Scots down the field with ease. The Scots dominated Wartburg's defense and capped off the first half scoring with a TD pass from Tanney to WR Steve Zidow to take a 28-14 lead.

"A classmate of mine said that if the Knights hold on to the ball and make several defensive stops in the second half, they can get back in the game. Wartburg came out in the second half and did the unthinkable: hold Division III's top offensive unit scoreless, and the offensive scrapped and clawed themselves down the field and outscored the Scots, 16-0, in the second half.

"After the game, the local media started asking questions about a call made by the Scots' coach Steve Bell. On a fourth-and-6 at the Knights' 16-yard line, Monmouth was called for a false start. Rather than kick a field goal and go up, 31-24, Bell decides to go for it on fourth-and-11 on the 21-yard line and Tanney's pass was broken up. QB Nick Yordi brings the Orange and Black offense back out for one last chance with roughly 1:20 to go.

"Justin Vetter, who caught the game-winner, made two gaffes earlier in the fourth quarter. The first one was making a catch and fumbling it, with the Scots recovering the fumble. The second one was dropping a wide-open pass from Yordi. Vetter atoned for his mistakes, by what, in my opinion, was the play of the game. He catches a key third-down pass on a slant route across the field to keep the drive going. Several plays later, he hauls in the pass in the endzone to win it.

"I have sent you the picture of Vetter's winning catch [at the right], courtesy of the Courier.

"Wartburg advances to the quarterfinal round of the Division III playoffs for the first time in school history, and will travel to play defending national champion Wisconsin-Whitewater at Perkins Stadium on Saturday. This game was one of the most exciting and memorable playoff games since the 1994 first round game between the Knights and the Central Dutch. Central missed a go-ahead FG with :12 left to lose to Wartburg, 22-21, in dramatic fashion in Pella. Earlier that season, the Knights missed a PAT and lost to Central, 14-13. That playoff win cemented Wartburg's rise from the middle-of-the-pack to a dominant football powerhouse that it is today in the IIAC.

"There is no doubt that Chuck Offenburger is smiling from ear-to-ear, thanks to the great play of the Knights and how they are representing the Iowa Conference in grand fashion.

"Best,"

R.H.
Des Moines

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: Thanks for the recap of Wartburg's outstanding victory last week, and good luck to the Knights in the next round against Wisconsin-Whitewater. The way Wartburg has caught fire this season, I'm predicting it will knock off the defending champions this week].