Wartburg defense turns away Central football bid
WAVERLY—Quarterback Hunter Hoffman (sophomore, Pecatonica, Ill.) threw for 267 yards but it was a one-dimensional Central College football attack and a bid for title contention was turned away by No. 3-ranked Wartburg College Saturday.
The Dutch (6-2 overall, 4-2 American Rivers) were limited to a season-low 25 yards on the ground on 21 carries by a unbeaten Wartburg, which ranks third in Division III in rushing defense. Hoffman scrambled for 20 yards but was sacked three times for a loss of 17.
Hoffman completed 34 of 47 passes and two touchdowns and was intercepted once. Meanwhile, Wartburg got 202 bruising yards from all-America 5th-year senior running back Hunter Clasen on 34 carries with two touchdowns as the Knights (9-0 overall, 7-0 conference) clinched at least a share of the conference crown. Wartburg outgained Central 436 yards to 271.
“They’re very solid in all phases with their secondary, the linebackers and especially up front,” coach Jeff McMartin said. “They’re really good at stopping the run.”
Wartburg scored on its opening drive but Central answered with a 10-play, 68-yard TD drive as Ryan Neu (senior, West Des Moines, Valley HS) made a leaping grab of a 9-yard Hoffman pass. Yet Central trailed 17-7 at halftime and didn’t score again until Hoffman hit Jeff Herbers (5th-year, Urbandale, Des Moines Christian HS) on a 17-yard touchdown pass with 6:08 left in the game to make it 24-14. The Dutch were still harboring comeback hopes but Wartburg stubbornly maintained possession to grind out the clock.
“We needed to get the ball back there to give ourselves a chance,” McMartin said.
But it was a day of missed opportunities, and Wartburg didn’t yield many.
“We gave ourselves chances to score points,” McMartin said.
The Dutch got a big stop on 4th-and-1 from the Central 25 in the third quarter when linebacker Cael Fiderlein (junior, West Branch) dropped Clasen for no gain. But Wartburg picked off a Hoffman pass five plays later.
“Our guys battled the whole game,” McMartin said. “But (Wartburg) is good up front and their running back is really good. He’s probably the best player in our conference. You don’t get a lot of second chances on him and he creates a lot of second chances for himself.”
Linebacker Cameron Bannister (5th-year, State Center, West Marshall HS) was credited with eight tackles, including seven solos, while linebacker Reece Miller (senior, Center Point, Center Point-Urbana HS) had seven with two pass breakups and Fiderlein made six stops.
Neu had nine catches for 92 yards and also returned a kickoff for 42 yards. Herbers had seven receptions for 52 yards and Logan Mont (senior, Aurora, Ill., West Aurora HS) had six catches for 40 yards.
While McMartin praised Central’s dogged effort, it was nonetheless an aching disappointment for his players.
“There’s not a lot of happy people in our locker room right now,” he said. “And it’s because they’ve made a major investment. They care about each other and they care about this program. And our goal is to win championships. Our goal is to have success on the field and also off the field. You train for these moments and when it doesn’t show on the scoreboard, it can hurt. But what we can do now is learn from this, get better and have a great last home game for the seniors. We want to create some special memories for the senior class and some momentum for the young guys as we continue to grow and build and create good things in the future.”
Central plays its home finale against Buena Vista University Saturday at 1 p.m. at Ron and Joyce Schipper Stadium. Buena Vista (1-7 overall, 1-5 conference) was outscored at home by Loras College Saturday
