Wartburg puts smackdown on Coe, 31-21

Don't forget about Wartburg. There's really no way you can now.

"I think we found out that we're for real," Coach Rick Willis said after his team pounded Coe, 31-21, Saturday afternoon before a believed record crowd of 5,189 at Clark Field that included Buffalo Bills running back and Coe alum Fred Jackson. "We can play a little bit."

The Knights have been overshadowed in the Iowa Conference much of this season by national top-10s Coe and Central, but let the accolades flow Waverly way after this one. They're deserved.

"We're not concerned about the rankings," said Wartburg quarterback Dan Stiefel. "Just play our game."

Wartburg's game Saturday was power football. Everyone thought this matchup of unbeatens would be decided by Wartburg's top-ranked defense and Coe's top-ranked offense, but it was just the opposite.

The Knights manhandled Coe up front offensively, scoring on their first three possessions, producing a pair of 100-yard rushers in Reese Thompson (151) and Brandon Sims (107), providing Stiefel all the time he needed passing and playing a nifty little game of keep away. Wartburg had a time-of-possession advantage of almost 18 minutes, converting 10 of their first 13 third downs.

"It just boils down to getting a stop," said Coe Coach Steve Staker. "We couldn't get a stop when we needed a stop. Wartburg is a good football team. They're physical up front, and I would say our defense is not physical."

 "It's something that we've been battling all year," said Coe defensive lineman Nate Clear. "We thought that we could work it out over these last two weeks. There wasn't anything Wartburg ran that we weren't prepared for. It just didn't happen when it needed to happen."

The vast majority of the Knights' 283 rushing yards came on simple runs up the middle. Nothing special, just crash and bang, crash and bang.

"When we were watching film, we saw that we could have creases (in) our running game," said Thompson, the former Benton Community prep. "Our style of running fit what they were giving us (defensively) very well."

It wasn't as if Coe failed to move the ball on a Wartburg defense allowing just under six points per game. Quarterback Brad Boyle threw for 273 yards and a touchdown and ran for two, though he also had two interceptions, including a big one in the end zone near the end of the first half.

Wartburg built a 21-7 halftime edge, saw Coe close within seven on the initial possession of the second half, then responded with the next 10 points to all but put it away. The Knights (6-0) are definitely in the driver's seat in the IIAC with a 4-0 record.

Yes, they still have to play Central, but even a loss and a potential three-way tie for the title favors them considering Coe and Central qualified for the NCAA Division III playoffs last season. The league's tiebreaker for its automatic playoff bid favors the team that has gone the longest without a postseason berth.

Coe (5-1, 3-1) is left worrying about likely trying to snatch one of D-III's few at-large playoff berths again.

"We definitely have to win out," Staker said. "And let things fall where they may."

Here's a link to the game boxscore and a video interview with Thompson:

http://www.coeathletics.com/stats/2010-11/football/6-war.htm