BY SETH DRURY ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
The Knights dropped their first-ever NCAA Div. III quarterfinal playoff game against UW-Whitewater 34-17 Saturday.
On Wartburg’s first possession of the game quarterback Nick Yordi dropped back and the ball slipped free while trying to pass. The Warhawks pounced on the ball and five plays later had a 3-0 lead after a 36-yard field goal.
“The turnovers were really tough especially when our defense was playing extremely well. And with our turnovers it set them up with great field position and we couldn’t rely on our defense, even with them playing tremendous,” Yordi said.
Two possessions later, Whitewater would receive the ball after a three-and-out on their own 42-yard line.
Antwan Anderson took over for the Warhawks rushing five times for 44 yards, seven of them coming on a touchdown scamper that gave Whitewater a 10-0 lead with just over four minutes to go in the first quarter.
On the next possession, Wartburg would again be troubled by turnovers as Jace Rindahl intercepted a pass from Yordi and rumbled 43 yards to the Knight 17-yard line.
The Knights defense would hold and a missed 33-yard field goal left the score at 10-0.
“Being down I did feel more pressure, I was just trying to make a play and I knew I was forcing things to much and it turned out bad for us,” Yordi said.
The tables turned when a Stevan Kingery punt was mishandled and ended up in the hands of Eric Lauterbach on the Whitewater 39. A 37-yard field goal by Spencer Herzberg cut the lead 10-3.
A 58-yard pass play made a short field for the Warhawks and Jeff Donovan found Jordan Wells for a 4-yard touchdown, and Whitewater was up 17-3.
The ensuing drive found Wartburg at first and goal on the Whitewater four-yard line, but a second fumble by Yordi turned possession back over to the Warhawks. A three-and-out gave the Wartburg offense the ball right back. A four-yard dive from Lamar Harvey made the score 17-10 with 1:35 left.
A quick seven play, 40-yard drive put Whitewater in range for a field goal to extend the lead to 10 right before the half.
Yordi found Matt Gustafson who sprinted 57 yards into the end zone to make the score 20-17.
A Kingery punt forced Whitewater to start its next drive at its own 2-yard line. A quick three-and-out, gave the ball right back to Wartburg on the Whitewater 31-yard line.
Yordi found Hoerner over the middle for 18 yards and a first down.
“Our game plan, was just to beat them in the cover two over the middle. I came off the field after a couple of series and said hey I’m beating them over the top. Nick found me a couple of times here and there and spread the ball to everyone, once (Justin) Vetter was done for the game we knew other people would have to step up,” Hoerner said.
The third quarter ended with Wartburg set-up with a first and 10 from the Whitewater 11-yard line. After three unsuccessful plays, Spencer Herzberg squared up for a 33-yard field goal.
Herzberg’s attempt was blocked and the momentum went to the Warhawks.
“We had the ball first-and-10 on the 11 and we didn’t get any points out of it, if we do get points there we can potentially take the lead or tie it up and we do change the momentum but coming away with nothing really changed that game,” head coach Rick Willis said.
The blocked field goal set-up Whitewater at the 50-yard line, all it took was three plays to extend the lead to 10 again.
“Momentum was on our side, it was kind of unfortunate that they made a great play on the field goal attempt and momentum swung the other way especially with the quick touchdown,” Jason Lansing said.
After trading drives twice, Wartburg took over on their own 35-yard line with 3:59 left. Yordi’s pass intended for Dan Bauder would again be intercepted and it would again be Jace Rindahl who this time rumbled 45 yards for a touchdown to put the game out of reach.
The Knights finished the day with 254 yards of offense while surrendering 282. Hoerner led the way for the Knights receiving corps catching 3 passes for 75 yards. Lamar Harvey had 8 carries for 23 yards which was the most for the Knights. Yordi finished 12 of 35 for 205 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
“This football team has had it’s back against the wall since mid-way in the season. We found a way to win 7 straight football games coming in to this game. So I thought our guys battled hard today and we put ourselves in a position to make a play here or there and win on the road in the weather against a great football team,” Willis said.
On the road to their historical season, the Knights first traveled to UW-Stevens Point two weeks ago for the first round of the NCAA tournament.
The Knights received the 7th seed for the region, while the Pointers were 3rd. In a thrilling came from behind fashion, the Knights won 26-21 on the road. Then, after trailing 28-14 at Monmouth (Ill.), the Knights rallied for a 30-28 second-round triumph. Nick Yordi threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Justin Vetter with seven seconds left. Wartburg had their back against the wall traveling every weekend playing highly nationally ranked opponents.
“I think we felt that way since they announced the pairings and it is something the guys used as motivation. We had to prove what kind of football we play and how we play in the Iowa conference, and I’m proud of the way they did that,” Willis said.
The storybook run that the Knights have taken on at the end of their season has come to an end, but a lot of memories, especially for the seniors are the best part of the season.
“We had 22 seniors this year and Wartburg was coming off three straight conference titles and that is what got most of us seniors here. It was something a lot of us wanted to get back to and we have had so many close games in the last three years we came up just short of the conference freshman, sophomore, junior and got second all those years and broke through this year and made a little run,” Lansing said.
Willis who has been to the playoffs four times before is no stranger to national attention but thinks this team has learned a lot more then just how fun upsetting opponents can be.
“Well the biggest thing is they became a team. They hung in there and battled especially when things got tough. They responded the way you hope a team responds. They cared about each other and took seriously the responsibility of representing Wartburg College and the Iowa Conference especially on a national level.”
After trading drives twice, Wartburg took over on their own 35-yard line with 3:59 left. Yordi’s pass intended for Dan Bauder was intercepted and Rindahl rumbled 45 yards for a touchdown to put the game out of reach.
The Knights finished the day with 254 yards of offense while surrendering 282. Hoerner led the Knights receiving corps catching three passes for 75 yards. Harvey had eight carries for 23 yards which was the most for the Knights. Yordi finished 12 of 35 for 205 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
“This football team has had it’s back against the wall since mid-way in the season. We found a way to win seven straight football games coming in to this game. I thought our guys battled hard today and we put ourselves in a position to make a play here or there and win on the road in the weather against a great football team,” Willis said.
On the road to their historical finish, the Knights first traveled to UW-Stevens Point two weeks ago for the first round of the NCAA tournament.
The Knights received the seventh seed for the region, while the Pointers were third. The Knights came from behind and won 26-21 on the road. Then, after trailing 28-14 at Monmouth (Ill.), the Knights rallied for a 30-28 second-round triumph. Nick Yordi threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Justin Vetter with seven seconds left. Wartburg went into every playoff game as the underdog.
“I think we felt that way since they announced the pairings and it is something the guys used as motivation. We had to prove what kind of football we play and how we play in the Iowa Conference, and I’m proud of the way they did that,” Willis said.
Willis who has been to the playoffs four times thinks this team has learned a lot.
“The biggest thing is they became a team. They hung in there and battled especially when things got tough. They responded the way you hope a team responds. They cared about each other and took seriously the responsibility of representing Wartburg College and the Iowa Conference especially on a national level.”