# 2017 Wartburg Knights football team

The 2017 Wartburg Knights football team represented Wartburg College as a member of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 2017 NCAA Division III football season. Led by Rick Willis in his 19th season as head coach, the Knights compiled an overall record of 12–1 with a mark of 8–0 in conference play, winning IIAC title for the first time since 2014 and earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs. Wartburg lost in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs to the Wisconsin–Oshkosh. The team played home games at Walston-Hoover Stadium in Waverly, Iowa.

## Schedule

Wartburg's 2017 regular season scheduled consisted of six home and four away games.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 9 | 1:00 p.m. | Monmouth (IL)* | | Walston-Hoover StadiumWaverly, IA | W 36–13 | 3,451 |
| September 16 | 1:00 p.m. | Simpson | | Buxton StadiumIndianola, IA | W 40–31 | 3,100 |
| September 9 | 1:00 p.m. | Washington University* | | Walston-Hoover StadiumWaverly, IA | W 30–20 | 3,000 |
| September 30 | 1:00 p.m. | Coe | | Walston-Hoover StadiumWaverly, IA | W 34–7 | 4,112 |
| October 7 | 1:00 p.m. | at Central (IA) | | Schipper StadiumPella, IA | W 44–20 | 1,500 |
| October 14 | 12:30 p.m. | Loras | No. 22 | Walston-Hoover StadiumWaverly, IA | W 42–11 | 4,500 |
| October 21 | 12:00 p.m. | at Luther | No. 20 | Carlson StadiumDecorah, IA | W 41–16 | 1,850 |
| October 28 | 1:00 p.m. | Dubuque | No. 19 | Walston-Hoover StadiumWaverly, IA | W 23–0 | 1,957 |
| November 4 | 1:00 p.m. | at Buena Vista | No. 18 | J. Leslie RollinsStorm Lake, IA | W 56–14 | 1,230 |
| November 11 | 1:00 p.m. | Nebraska Wesleyan | No. 18 | Walston-Hoover StadiumWaverly, IA | W 41–20 | 1,950 |
| November 18 | 12:00 p.m. | Franklin* | No. 17 | Walston-Hoover StadiumWaverly, IA (NCAA Division III First Round) | W 35–34 | 2,008 |
| November 25 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 25 Trine* | No. 17 | Walston-Hoover StadiumWaverly, IA (NCAA Division III Second Round) | W 49–7 | 2,500 |
| November 25 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 3 Wisconsin–Oshkosh* | No. 17 | J. J. Keller FieldOshkosh, WI (NCAA Division III Quarterfinal) | L 27–41 | 1,902 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from D3Football.com Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||

## Awards and honors

Individual awards :
| Player | Award |
| Matt Sacia | Gagliardi Trophy Finalist IIAC Offensive Player of the year |
| Derek Schipper | D3football.com First-team All-American AFCA First-team All-American |
| Riley Brockway | D3football.com Second-team All-American AP Second-team All-American |
| Coach | Award |
| Rick Willis | IIAC Coach of the year AFCA Region 5 Coach of the year |
| Reference: ||
All-Conference :
| Player | Position | Team | Year |
| JoJo McNair | DB | 1 | Fr |
| Dillon Rademaker | DL | 1 | SR |
| Rob Rottler | LB | 1 | SR |
| Tony Anstoetter | LB | 1 | SR |
| Matt Sacia | QB | 1 | JR |
| Derek Shipper | OL | 1 | SR |
| Riley Brockway | WR | 1 | SR |
| Peyton Imhoff | DB | 2 | JR |
| Troy Heick | DL | 2 | SR |
| Hudson Johnston | OL | 2 | SR |
| Dylan Binion | RB | 2 | So |
| Jake Pisarik | P | 2 | Sr |
| Chris McNutt | DB | HM | Sr |
| Tyler Schager | OL | HM | Jr |
| Tom Schiffer | OL | HM | Sr |
| Griffin Brennecke | WR | HM | Sr |
| JoJo McNair | RS | HM | Fr |
| HM = Honorable mention. Reference: ||||