Sam Reyes, left, helps anchor the Wartburg line at his right guard spot. Photo by Caleb Williams, d3photography.com

By Greg Thomas
D3football.com

The national semifinal round is a place of rarified air in Division III football. Defending national champion Mary Hardin-Baylor has been in four of the last five semifinals. North Central in each of the last three. Mount Union, of course, sets the standard having qualified for the semifinals in 24 of the last 25 tournaments. 

Meanwhile, Mount Union’s opponent on Saturday, Wartburg, has crashed the party. The Knights will make their first semifinal appearance in program history. 

The Knights have long been one of the division’s best teams, but were unable to break through the quarterfinal round, losing in their previous four games in the round of eight. Saturday’s 42-10 win over Aurora ended that streak, propelling the Knights into the final four for the first time while setting a new program high for wins in a season (13). 

Coming off of a 7-3 season in 2021, Wartburg’s 2022 season might come as a surprise. That 7-3 season might also have been a catalyst for the team’s current success. Senior guard Sam Reyes returned to Wartburg for a fifth year in part because of that season. “In  2018 and 2019, we won the conference in both of those years. The first season back in 2021 (following the suspended 2020 season), was a little bit of a let down here for us because 7-3 that's not really where we expect our program to be,” Reyes said. 

“I felt like that just wasn't the right time for me to leave since I still had that year of eligibility from Covid. I felt like the team we had really was bought in and this year we definitely had something special that we could do.”

Wartburg coach Chris Winter credits his players' bonding for the leap the team took from 2021 to 2022. “I think the biggest thing that happened here during the season is we took that talent and we brought that talent together and it's a family and it's tight.

“There's no egos involved in this thing right now – all these guys play for each other every week, they compete for each other every week. I really think that's what's taking us over the top right now; it's just the team unity and togetherness.”

The road is where teams often find those bonding moments. Wartburg will have that chance to travel as a team this weekend, but the Knights have taken care of most of their most challenging business on the road this year. The Knights have had to win at Monmouth, at Central, and at Coe to secure their undefeated regular season and American Rivers Conference championship. The second round of these playoffs, the Knights eliminated top-seeded St. John’s at storied Clemens Stadium. 

The opening week game at Monmouth had a late start, exacerbated by a lengthy weather delay as senior running back Hunter Clasen recalls. “Our first game at Monmouth is a late game. We didn't care what time we played, we just wanted to play a game no matter what. Getting to play at one o'clock in the morning you know some teams might not be able to do that. Our team was ready, our pads were on, we were laying at the door just ready to get out there.  Coming out with that win on the road to Monmouth, that's a huge start to the season and that got us amped up for what this season is going to bring us.”

The opening week 34-7 win at Monmouth launched a season filled with excellence on both sides of the ball.  Wartburg has collected five shutouts in 2022 while the offense has scored more than 40 points six times. Compleimentary football is a requisite for semifinalists, and Wartburg has found the formula, despite the offense reaching the quarterfinal round with uncertainty at the quarterback position. Late in the third quarter against St. John’s senior quarterback Nile McLaughlin left the contest with what appeared to be a significant injury to his ankle. After a week of physical therapy and a positive reaction to pregame workouts on Saturday, McLaughlin made the start against Aurora. 

Early in the week, test results came back positive for McLaughlin, which made his chances to play very good. “We'd be good to go as long as I was able to tolerate the pain. You know working throughout the week with him (the team trainer) for four hours a day was a little bit of a grind and got a little tough on the mind,” McLaughlin said. “Just sticking with it and knowing that I didn't want to miss out on an opportunity to play an elite eight game at home with my best friends so I'm doing whatever I could to be able to be out there with them.”

As if playing to be the first Wartburg football team to reach the final four wasn’t motivation enough, McLaughlin’s teammates found added inspiration by his toughness on Saturday, especially from his protectors on the offensive line. “He's stepping up and gritting that out, just gives some emphasis that, hey, we gotta keep this guy clean,” Reyes said. “If he's gonna put his body on the line like that, we’ve got to step up and make sure we're doing our jobs, giving all we can to keep him clean. He’s sacrificing so much for us that we've gotta give that right back.”

CLasen, who leads all postseason running backs with 455 rushing yards in the tournament, also knew that his role would have added importance. “I knew that we were going to probably run the ball just a little bit more andI knew that my protection would have to step up,” he said.  “My key goal there was just try to keep Nile protected and whenever I get the ball try to make a good play and try to get the ball in the end zone. Protection wise we just try to keep everyone off of Nile.  This next week you know I'm going to  try to keep doing that same thing with our offensive line. We’re just going to try to protect him as well as we can and I know he's going to keep getting better with that ankle.” Clasen added.  

Junior wide receiver Thor Maakestad was also among the Knights thrilled to see McLaughlin return to the lineup against Aurora, noting the chemistry he and McLaughlin have developed during the course of the season. “You know I have confidence in all of our players and even with our second string (Carter Markham) being there he was always ready the whole week, he was amped up and ready and as you can see he stepped in against St. John's and did a great job. So I have all the confidence in both of them but it's always nice to have your starter back in.” 

As the newcomer to this select group of four teams, it might be easy for Wartburg to have an awestruck moment. Staying focused on themselves and not on the accomplishments and histories of their opponents has helped the Knights reach this level. “Just because they've had a couple national championships doesn't mean that we can't play with those guys,” Clasen stated. 

“We can sit back and look at  how these guys have won all these trophies and get intimidated by that. But right now it's nameless, faceless opponents. It's a final four; anything can happen and as long as we go up there and prepare this week the best that we can and just go play Warburg football, we can come out with that win and move on to the next round.”