Wartburg looks to get back into the playoffs

There are high hopes in Waverly where the Wartburg football team returns 16 starters from last year’s team that grabbed a share of the Iowa Conference title and advanced to the second round of the N-C-A-A division-three playoffs. Wartburg coach Rick Willis says the veteran nature of the team has them looking forward to the season. He says it will be one of the strongest senior classes in terms of numbers and talent that they’ve ever had. The Knights are ranked as high as 11th in the pre-season polls but Willis says they are not satisfied with what they accomplished in 2002. He says they got into the playoffs and won one game before a resounding loss. He says they’ve seen what it’s like to be in that situation and have learned from it. Wartburg opens at home September sixth with a night game against Peru State.