Seven TD passes carry Central past Buena Vista
PELLA—Seven touchdown strikes helped keep the shine on an occasionally unsteady performance as the Central College football team put a bow on the home season with a 56-22 runaway over Buena Vista University Saturday.
Rolling up 525 yards of offense, the Dutch (7-2 overall, 5-2 American Rivers) nonetheless let Buena Vista hang uncomfortably close with four turnovers and some defensive miscues before a late three-touchdown flurry allowed fans to exhale.
“I’m happy with the win, I’m happy for our seniors to go out with a win at their last home game and excited that we’re 7-2,” coach Jeff McMartin said. “We only won seven games last year, so we have a chance to have a better season and that’s something to build on.
“Obviously, we made some critical mistakes. And I give Buena Vista a lot of credit. They did a good job of controlling the game at times. They were really good on third down and fourth down offensively and that made it tough.”
For the 11th consecutive game, receiver Ryan Neu (senior, West Des Moines, Valley HS) hauled in a scoring pass, getting the Dutch on the board on their opening drive with a 14-yard toss from Hunter Hoffman (sophomore, Pecatonica, Ill.). Hoffman had five first-half touchdown passes, hitting Jeff Herbers (5th-year, Urbandale, Des Moines Christian HS), tight end Nik Coble (senior, Crawfordsville, WACO HS), Cam Schulte (freshman, Pella) and then Logan Mont (senior, Aurora, Ill., West Aurora HS) on a 40-yard catch-and-run with just 12 seconds left in the half for a 35-6 halftime lead. But Hoffman also surrendered a 40-yard interception return for a score by Buena Vista defensive back Matthew Beisswenger, the first of his two pick-sixes on the day.
And Buena Vista (1-8 overall, 1-6 conference) refused to buckle in the second half. The Beavers chewed through much of the third quarter with an 18-play, 71-yard drive that resulted in a 36-yard field goal, the only points of the period. Beisswenger than picked off another pass, holding off a fast-closing Neu for a 90-yard touchdown with 12:38 left in the fourth quarter. Less than 4 minutes later, a Dutch fumble was quickly followed by a 53-yard Buena Vista touchdown pass when a Central defender tumbled to the turf.
Suddenly it was 35-22 with 8:47 remaining and the Beavers were within striking distance. But the Dutch defense stiffened. Central foiled a 2-point conversion pass play, then held Buena Vista to just one first down the rest of the way while also picking up an interception by linebacker Cael Fiderlein (junior, West Branch), who flashed some stop-and-start moves on a 26-yard return.
Quarterback Brady Ketchum (junior, Mount Vernon), meanwhile, helped steady the offensive ship. He tossed a 25-yard touchdown pass into Schulte’s waiting arms on a broken coverage with 6:33 left. Barely a minute later, Fiderlein’s pick set up a 6-yard Ketchum TD shuttle pass to tight end Grant Nelson (junior, Pella) and running back Josiah Villanueva (sophomore, Mesa, Ariz., Red Mountain HS) powered his way 13 yards to the end zone for the final score.
The closing kick let McMartin feel better about the finished product.
“I felt like we kind of refocused ourselves,” McMartin said. “We got into some lulls and maybe when you look at it on film, you find some areas that you don’t feel great about. But overall, we did finish well and it was good to see us do that. It was good to see us lock in, be in the moment and play the way we’re capable of playing. How that ended, that’s who we are. We just have to do that all the time.”
Linebacker Reid Pakkebier (senior, Cedar Rapids, Kennedy HS) had 11 tackles, including one for loss while strong safety Cameron Bannister (5th-year, State Center, West Marshall HS) had seven stops and an interception, as did Fiderlein. Cornerback Ben DeMeulenare (sophomore, Belle Plaine) also had an interception that he returned for 27 yards and two pass breakups. Buenan Vista completed 15 of 33 passes for 234 yards with three interceptions and was limited to just 43 rushing yards on 31 attempts.
Hoffman completed 21 of 32 passes for 258 yards and five touchdowns with three interceptions and three sacks. Ketchum was 6-of-7 for 72 yards and two scores. Herbers had seven receptions for 99 yards, while Neu had five catches for 80 yards. They were among 11 receivers Saturday while 12 Dutch players ran the ball for 160 yards. Villanueva had 39 yards rushing on six carries.
“(Offensive coordinator Ryan) Maiuri really did a nice job of mixing things up and getting people the ball in their hands, trying to get them to do what they do well,” McMartin said. “It was nice to see some of our seniors score touchdowns.”
Those seniors were among 21 honored Saturday and they’ll someday join the ranks of Central football alumni who were recognized as part of Legacy Day.
“There were a lot of alumni here supporting the team,” McMartin said. “It was fun to take a picture with them on the field at the end of the game. That’s what’s special about Central football. It’s bigger than just winning football games. It’s the connectedness and the standard that this team plays to. We’ve always been a team-first program that tries to do things the right way and have a sense of community. You can ask a guy from any era about the things that mean the most to them and it’s the relationships, and the relationships with our alumni in the past to the present. It’s a special day and always one of my favorite days of the year.”
The Dutch close out the season at Simpson College in Indianola next Saturday at 1 p.m. Simpson is 3-6 overall and 2-5 in conference action after absorbing an 82-16 defeat at Loras College in Dubuque.
