by Jason Meyer
The Wartburg Knights rebounded from a two game losing streak against the University of Dubuque 41-14 last Saturday.
The Knights put together a strong running game with 245 rushing games. On their first drive of the game, Reese Thompson scored on a two yard run to give Wartburg an early 7-0 lead.
Wartburg struck again in the second quarter when quarterback Nick Yordi completed a 27 yard pass off of a play fake to Jason Roskam for the touchdown. The University of Dubuque would respond with a five yard touchdown run by Justin Spaulding to cut the lead in half.
The Knights responded with another Yordi pass, this one to Matt Gustafson who completed a 12 yard touchdown play. The Knights lead at halftime 21-7.
In the second half, the Wartburg defense stepped up on the first drive of the half with an interception by Jourdan Cousin which set the Knights on the Spartan 24 yard line. The Knights would capitalize on the turnover when freshman Kyle Winfrey scored on a nine yard touchdown run.
Winfrey would score again in the third quarter from 17 yards out for his second touchdown of the day. After 21 unanswered points, Dubuque responded in the fourth quarter off of a Colton Hansen three yard touchdown pass to David Farrey.
Winfrey would get one more touchdown, a one yard run to seal the win for Wartburg. The extra point attempt was missed.
The Knights (4-3 overall, 3-2 IIAC) were lead by Winfrey who had 149 rushing yards and three touchdowns and Yordi who completed 17 of 22 passes for 183 yards and two touchdowns. Head coach Rick Willis said after the win that their attention is now focused on their upcoming rivalry game with Luther.
“We’ll prepare like we prepare every week and make sure we are taking care of the things we control and get ready for a fun weekend over at Luther,” Willis said.
The Knights travel to Decorrah for a 1 p.m. kickoff against the Norse.