DECORAH, Iowa – The No. 8/9-ranked Wartburg College football team (5-0, 3-0 A-R-C) extended its dominance in conference play Saturday afternoon, cruising past Luther College 36-3 at Carlson Stadium to notch its 29th consecutive American Rivers Conference victory.
The win ties the all-time conference record for consecutive league victories, matching Central College's mark set from 1983–1987.
Quarterback Josh Papesh led the charge with a career-high 196 passing yards on 21 completions, while Charlie Zimmerman came in late to complete all of his attempts for 27 yards and toss his first-career touchdown. Wide receiver Justis Bachman posted a career-best 92 receiving yards on five catches, and running backs Dawson Rud and Joey Anderson combined for 187 rushing yards and three scores.
Defensively, the Knights stifled Luther's offense, allowing just 126 total yards—including only 26 on the ground—while tallying three sacks, an interception, and a safety.
Papesh connected with Bachman for a 19-yard gain on Wartburg's second play of its opening drive to stick the ball at the Norse 12-yard line. A personal foul penalty by the Norse gifted the Knights with a first down, that later led to Joey Anderson's fourth rushing touchdown of the season with 11:01 to play.
Luther tried to convert on a fourth down midway through the opening quarter, but the stout Wartburg defense held its ground and took over on downs. Jaxson Hoppes put three more up on the board after chipping in a 24-yarder to make it a 10-0 lead with 5:33 left. Adam Link shot through the Norse offensive line and wrapped up quarterback Noah Millhouse in the endzone for a safety to make it 12-0 with still two minutes to play in the first.
In the second quarter, the Norse booted through a 51-yard field goal to cut it to 12-3 with 12:56 to play. Hoppes fired right back with a 24-yarder to retake the 12-point lead, 15-3 at 7:51. Wartburg had it at the one-yard line but fumbled to give it back to Luther with just over a minute left. The score remained 15-3 in the Knights' favor at end of the first half.
Papesh ended the half with 129 yards on 12-of-18 from the pocket, as Bachman reeled in three for 66 yards. Anderson rushed nine times in the first half for 47 yards and the Knights' only touchdown. The Wartburg defense allowed just 47 yards of total offense, recording a pair of sacks and safety.
Papesh was picked off for the second time on the Knights' opening drive of the second half. A short punt by Luther gave Wartburg excellent field position with 7:47 on the clock. Rud popped off for a nifty 16-yard touchdown run to extend its lead to 22-3.
Anderson made it 28-3 when he found the endzone with 9:37 to go in the game. Both Levi Pingel and Zimmerman saw action under center. Zimmerman tossed his first career touchdown pass to Sam Heither on an 18-yard score to hold a 36-3 win to the end.
Luther drops to 0-5 on the season with an 0-3 mark in the A-R-C. Wartburg wins its eight-straight, and 50th all-time win against Luther in the two programs' 81-year history.
UP NEXT
Wartburg plays host to the University of Dubuque Spartans for its annual homecoming game set for 1:30 p.m., on Saturday, Oct. 11 at Walston-Hoover Stadium.
No. 8/9 Wartburg matches A-R-C win streak record in 36-3 rout of Luther
/seasons/2025/boxscores/20251004_3omj.xml
2025
Wartburg
36
Luther
3
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 5 Wartburg (5-0) | 12 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 36 |
| Luther (0-5) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Oct 04, 2025