2018 Wartburg Knights football team
2018 Wartburg Knights football team
The Wartburg Knights represented Wartburg College in the American Rivers Conference (ARC) during the 2018 NCAA Division III football season. They were led by head coach Rick Willis in his 20th year. The team finished 8–3 overall and 7–1 in ARC play, winning the ARC championship for the second year in a row. Their conference title earned them an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Playoffs. This was Wartburg’s 16th conference title and Willis’s 10th as head coach. The Knights lost in the first round of the playoffs to Bethel College (Minnesota). Home games were played at Walston-Hoover Stadium in Waverly, Iowa.
Schedule highlights
- Regular season: 10 games (5 at home, 5 away)
- Notable results: beat Greenville 73–13; lost at Monmouth (IL) 18–24; beat Buena Vista 63–0; beat Nebraska Wesleyan 42–14; OT loss to Simpson 36–37; beat Coe 31–19; beat Central (IA) 47–20; beat Loras 56–14; beat Luther 43–7; beat Dubuque 47–28
- Postseason: NCAA Division III First Round loss to Bethel (MN) 14–41
Awards and honors
- Matt Sacia was a finalist for the Gagliardi Trophy and earned ARC Offensive Player of the Year; he also received an honorable mention from D3football.com as an All-American.
- Dillon Rademaker earned D3football.com First-Team All-American.
- Several Wartburg players earned All-Conference honors, including JoJo McNair, Dillon Rademaker, Connor Frerichs, Matt Sacia, Nic Vetter, Hud Johnston, Cedric Dobbins, Marcus Johnson, Jason Fisher, Kolin Schulte, and Tyler Schager.
This page was last edited on 1 February 2026, at 22:28 (CET).