Record day for Markham sparks Central football comeback

Central College

Central College

DUBUQUE — This time, the Central College football team had an answer.

A year ago, the Dutch couldn’t slow Loras College’s spread offense in tumbling at Dubuque 55-48. But after giving up 304 first-half yards and trailing again late in the third quarter Saturday, Central used a record-setting day by wide receiver Sam Markham (senior, Atlantic) and a pair of pivotal interceptions to rally for a 42-34 Iowa Conference victory.

Central, ranked No. 25 by D3football.com, improved to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in league play.

Markham entered the day needing just two receptions to break the school career mark, but shattered his own single-game record for the second time as well. His 15 catches for 201 yards and two touchdowns topped the school standard of 14 receptions he set against Augustana College (Ill.) Sept. 10. He now has 165 career catches, racing past Chris Johnson’s (1995-98) record of 151. His 201 receiving yards Saturday were the fourth-most in school history.

“Sam had a really good game,” coach Jeff McMartin said. “His last two touchdown catches were unbelievable, with how high he can jump and his speed. But what he’s gotten better at is catching the ball in traffic. He’s going up with a defender in the face and going after the ball.”

A year ago at Loras, Markham also had a banner day, getting a record 13 catches for 206 yards, yet Central faltered by surrendering four fourth-quarter touchdowns. But Saturday the Dutch defense stiffened in the second half, thanks in part to picks by cornerback Trevor Smith (sophomore, Audubon) and free safety Zach Matter (senior, Ankeny). Central yielded just 169 second-half yards.

“We just got a little more pressure, we were able to stop their running game and we got those turnovers,” McMartin said. “You want to keep things in front of you and don’t give up big plays. If you do that, eventually you have a chance to make some big plays and we finally did. And we had a chance for a couple more.”

The teams traded first-quarter touchdowns, with S-back Kyle Gritsch (junior, Brooklyn, BGM HS) making a leaping one-handed grab in the end zone on a 10-yard Riley Gray (senior, West Des Moines, Waukee HS) pass.

Quarterback Nate Boland (sophomore, Iowa City, West HS) completed a nine-play, 74-yard drive with a 2-yard TD push behind the Dutch offensive line for a 14-7 advantage with 14:24 left in the half. But then Loras surged ahead with a pair of scores and a two-point conversion and Central needed an 8-yard Boland scoring pass to tight end Mitchell Boerm (senior, Traer, North Tama HS) with 47 seconds left in the half to climb within 22-21 at the break.

Loras extended its lead to 28-21 with 7:29 left in the third quarter but the point after was swatted away by defensive lineman Justin Dilks (junior, Mount Pleasant). Still, the Duhawks appeared poised to pull the upset for the second straight season.

“You try not to focus on past years because it doesn’t help you,” McMartin said. “But some things were eerily familiar, with a back-and-forth game and both teams moving the ball pretty successfully.”

Gray, who returned at quarterback to start the third period, engineered a 58-yard drive, hitting Markham from 9 yards out to tie it 28-28 heading into the fourth quarter.

Three plays later, Smith came up big with his first career interception, giving Central the ball at the Loras 31. From there, Gray needed just three plays, hitting Markham for a 21-yard go-ahead score.

A 53-yard Loras drive ended with Matter’s interception. Central again converted, using a 30-yard Boerm reception to set up Gray’s 7-yard touchdown scamper and a 42-28 lead.

“Zach (Matter) did a good job on a tipped ball and Trevor’s (Smith) play was really big,” McMartin said. “That got us going.”

Loras got its final score with 4:12 remaining but missed the extra point and never saw the ball again.

“We did a good job of finishing the game,” McMartin said. “That was huge. That’s something we hadn’t done in some previous games.”

Some of the much-needed Dutch defensive juice came from linebacker Sam Norgaard (senior, Naperville, Ill., Neuqua Valley HS), who had a career-high 17 tackles, including six solos with a tackle for loss and a pass breakup. No Central player has exceeded 17 stops since Zach Van Arkel recorded 19 against Mary Hardin Baylor (Texas) in 2009. Norgaard’s previous best was 10 tackles.

“I thought Sam had one of his best games,” McMartin said. “He was all over the place. He keeps getting better each week.”

Smith and linebacker Drew Carlson (senior, Ankeny) each had 13 tackles. That was a career high for Smith and matched Carlson’s previous best. Smith added an interception and pass breakup while Carlson had 2.5 tackles for loss. Linebacker Jessie Peterson (senior, Coralville, Iowa City West HS) had nine stops.

Central outgained Loras 588 yards to 473, running 101 plays. The Dutch passed for 345 yards and rushed for 243. Gray completed 23 of 35 passes for 266 yards and three TDs. He was also Central’s top rusher with 74 yards on 13 carries and no sacks. Boland connected on five of 11 passes for 79 yards and a score while running for 60 yards on eight carries with a touchdown.

“Riley (Gray) had a nice game,” McMartin said. “He did a good job of moving the team and so did Nate (Boland). (Loras) was really trying to take away our running back and both of our quarterbacks had big runs at key times.”

Wide receiver Kohle Helle (junior, Guttenberg, Clayton Ridge HS) had six catches for 36 yards.

Loras (0-4 overall, 0-2 conference) didn’t look like a winless team, McMartin said, and predicted that lopsided conference wins will continue to be rare for the Dutch.

“Loras is a good football team,” he said. “They had chances to win the game. I think we’ll be in a battle every week.”

Central, home just once in the season’s first four games, is at Ron and Joyce Schipper Stadium next Saturday for a 1 p.m. homecoming matchup with the conference co-favorite, the University of Dubuque. The Spartans are ranked No. 21 in the AFCA Division III Coaches’ Poll and improved to 4-0 with a 30-17 victory at Luther College Saturday. Dubuque outscored the Dutch 38-16 at Dubuque last year in the regular-season finale to wrap up the league crown.

Posted by on Sep 24 2016. Filed under College Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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