Central opens league football slate against favorites
Central College
PELLA — The Central College football team will get a quick read on its standing in the Iowa Conference race Saturday, opening league play at preseason favorite Wartburg College.
Game time is 1:30 p.m. at Walston-Hoover Stadium in Waverly.
Defending league champ Wartburg, at 3-0, is ranked No. 6 in this week’s D3football.com poll while Central completed non-conference action at 2-1. Both teams were off last weekend.
“Wartburg will test every area of our football team,” coach Jeff McMartin said. “We’re going to have to earn every yard we get, and our defense and special teams will have to be very sound. But we’re excited to play.”
Wartburg outscored Central 35-14 at Pella last year, the only league season loss for the Dutch. Central leads the teams’ all-time series, 42-21.
On the air—“The Voice of the Dutch” Trevor Castle will call the action Saturday on KRLS-FM (92.1), with a pregame show airing at 12:35 p.m. He’ll be joined by Cory Houser. The broadcast can be accessed through www.kniakrls.com or directly at rdo.to/krls. It’s also accessible via mobile device with the KRLS app available through iTunes and other outlets.
Castle is featured with Central’s Jeff McMartin on the KRLS Coaches’ Corner broadcast live from Applebee’s restaurant in Pella, each Monday throughout the season at 7 p.m. The KRLS game broadcasts and Coaches’ Corner programs are also available on demand.
Televised live—Saturday’s game will be televised live on KCRG-TV of Cedar Rapids via digital channel 9.2. The channel is also carried on several cable systems throughout eastern Iowa. A complete list is available at http://www.kcrg.com/9point2. The telecast will also be streamed live through www.kcrg.com.
Through an agreement with the Iowa Conference, KCRG is televising a minimum of two league football games and two men’s and women’s basketball doubleheaders during 2015-16. KCRG is also carrying the Coe-Buena Vista football game Nov. 14.
The Knights—A veteran backfield fuels the Wartburg offense. Senior quarterback Logan Schrader earned third-team all-America honors last year. He’s completed 51 of 89 passes for 748 yards and four touchdowns with four interceptions in three challenging non-conference games as the Knights outlasted highly regarded Bethel (Minn.), Augsburg (Minn.) and Wis.-Stout. Also back is all-conference senior running back Brandon Domeyer, who’s already scored seven touchdowns, gaining 290 yards on 57 carries. All-league senior receiver Robbie Anstoetter has 20 receptions for 395 yards and two touchdowns.
“They’re picking up where they left off last year,” McMartin said. “Wartburg’s a very good football team. They’ve got an experienced quarterback who is very talented, an experienced running back and experienced wide receiver. They all have big-play capabilities.
“Their offensive line is big and athletic.”
Three Wartburg linebackers rank among the league’s top five tacklers. All-Conference senior Will Janssen has 30 while Rob Rottler has 29 and all-conference senior Gunner Tranel has 28.
Wartburg is outgaining opponents 429.0 yards to 370.3 per game. The Knights are gaining 252.7 yards passing and 176.3 yards rushing.
“Defensively they’re similar to past years,” McMartin said. “They’re very aggressive and move around a lot up front. They’ve got some lockdown cornerbacks who take away your outside receivers and their linebackers play well in space. They put a lot of pressure on you.”
Non-conference progress—McMartin saw some things he liked from his young squad during the non-conference season.
“The players are working very hard and continuing to get better,” he said. “Up front, the defensive line has played pretty well and our linebackers are doing the things they need to do. The defense is making good strides.”
The Dutch are yielding just 62.0 yards rushing per game but are giving up 202.7 passing yards. Linebackers Drew Carlson (junior, Ankeny), Jessie Peterson (junior, Coralville, Iowa City West HS) and Mitch Schroeder (senior, Lowden, North Cedar HS) top the Central tackle charts. Carlson and Peterson have 27 each while Schroeder has 20. Free safety Zach Matter (junior, Ankeny) has 14 tackles, two interceptions and two pass breakups.
On offense, quarterback Riley Gray (junior, West Des Moines, Waukee HS) has completed 41 of 66 passes (62.1 percent) for 557 yards and four touchdowns. Wide receiver Sam Markham (sophomore, Atlantic) has 21 receptions for 269 yards and two touchdowns while tight end Mitchell Boerm (junior, Traer, North Tama HS) has nine catches for 82 yards and a score.
“Offensively, Sam Markham and Mitchell Boerm are having good seasons and we’re taking care of the ball pretty well,” McMartin said. Central has thrown only one interception and has yet to lose a fumble through three games.
But McMartin isn’t spending much time thinking about the previous three games.
“We don’t want to look back too much,” he said. “I see some things we could have done better and some things we did pretty well. But right now, we’ve got to stay focused on Wartburg, because that’s our next opponent.”
Looking for balance–Uncharacteristically, Central is averaging 260.3 yards passing but only 157.0 yards rushing. Central’s rushing leader is back-up Corey Archer (sophomore, Fremont, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont HS), on the strength of his 110 yards on only seven carries in a 65-0 rout of Maranatha Baptist (Wis.) Sept. 19. He’s gained 119 yards on eight carries for the season with two touchdowns.
“For us to be a good football team, we need to be balanced,” McMartin said. “We’ve spent a lot of time on the running game the past two weeks. We’ve had some injuries but that’s no excuse. We’ve got to get better and I think we will be.”
Getting kicks—There are new faces in the kicking game but early results are encouraging. Freshman punter Cam Kiner (Craig, Neb., Oakland HS) is averaging 32.5 yards on 13 kicks, placing five inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. Kicker Aaron Marcellus (junior, Hudson) has hit two field goals from beyond 30 yards, including a game-tying 42-yarder at Monmouth (Ill.) at the end of regulation.
“Our punter has made good strides and we’re kicking well,” McMartin said. “We want to be sound in that area.”
Notes—Central has won six straight road games but the last defeat away from home was at Wartburg, a 16-14 setback Nov. 9, 2013. The last Dutch win in Waverly was in 2009…Three Central quarterbacks have recorded pass attempts and each has a completion rate above 60 percent…Central finally returns to Ron and Joyce Schipper Stadium for its homecoming contest with Luther Oct. 10. The 35-day gap between Central’s first and second home contests is likely the longest in school history. But after the Wartburg trip, three of Central’s next five contests are at home…Five of the eight league schools completed the non-conference slate with losing records but all have at least one win…McMartin said the Dutch are still dealing with some injuries but are nearing full strength.
