PELLA — Another week, another Iowa Conference co-leader on the schedule for the Central College football team.
After suffering their first season defeat last week against the unbeaten University of Dubuque, the Dutch must travel to Cedar Rapids Saturday to take on unbeaten Coe College, which is coming off a pivotal victory over Iowa Conference co-favorite Wartburg College.
Game time is 1 p.m. at Clark Field in Cedar Rapids.
Central (4-1 overall, 2-1 conference) suffered through a six-turnover day in its 35-17 homecoming loss last week. Meanwhile, Coe (5-0 overall, 3-0 conference) got a late touchdown to knock off Wartburg, 37-34.
On the air and on the Web—The Voice of the Dutch, Trevor Castle, will call Saturday's action on KRLS-FM (92.1), along with Cory Houser and sideline reporter Libbie Randall, a Central junior. The KRLS pregame show will air at 12:35 p.m. The broadcast can also 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.
On Mondays, Castle also plays host to McMartin on the KRLS Coaches' Corner broadcast live from Fred's dining establishment inside Central's Maytag Student Center at 7 p.m. Those broadcasts are also available on demand through www.kniakrls.com. A live video stream of the show can be accessed via the Central athletics website at www.central.edu/athletics.
Twitter users can follow Saturday's action through the Central football account @CUI_Football.
Out of rankings--Central's loss dropped the Dutch out of the d3football.com Top 25. Dubuque debuted at No. 23 in this week's poll and moved up to No. 18 in the AFCA Division III Coaches' Poll. Coe and Central are among those receiving votes in both polls.
The series—Central was a 27-13 winner over Coe in Pella last year and holds a 16-8-2 record in the all-time series, which launched in 1925.
The Kohawks—The Dutch must deal with another high-powered offense, this one fueled by senior quarterback Gavin Glenn and senior running back Trevor Heitland, both among Division III's best statistically.
The Kohawks are 14th in overall pass efficiency (177.0), 15th in total offense (527.4 yards per game), 18th in first downs (114) and 22nd in turnover margin (plus 1.4 per game). They're tied for first in Red Zone scoring, getting points on all 21 trips to the Red Zone, including 15 touchdowns.
Coe is outgaining opponents 527.4 yards per game to 384.2, and outscoring them 45.6-17.4.
Heitland is the national leader in all-purpose yardage (229.2 yards per game), ranks 12th in rushing yards per game (144.2), 23rd in yards per carry (6.8) and 14th in scoring (12.0 points).
"Their running back is special," McMartin said. "He can beat you inside and he can run it outside. He's got an extra gear that I don't think we've seen from other running backs we've faced this year."
Glenn is ninth in Division III in passing efficiency (183.1), 20th in touchdown passes (12) and 23rd in passing yards (1,291). He's completed 72 of 118 passes (61.0 percent) for 1,291 yards with 12 touchdowns and two interceptions.
"He's very efficient," coach Jeff McMartin said. "He throws good passes and he's good under pressure."
Heitland is also the team's top receiver with 17 catches for 306 yards and three touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Colton Martin has 16 receptions for 145 yards and a score.
"Their receivers go up and get the ball, and take it away from the defensive backs," McMartin said. "(They) will throw quick outside and get one-on-one situations, then they'll take you deep. They've got a lot of speed."
Meanwhile, senior cornerback Dylan Stepleton is third nationally in interceptions (5) and 12th in passes defended (2.0 per game).
"Coe plays very good defense," McMartin said. "They're extremely physical. They're dominant up front on both sides of the ball.
"They don't give up big plays. They're tough and they're well coached. They make a lot of big plays with sacks, tipped balls and pick-sixes."
McMartin sees few holes in the Kohawk lineup.
"They're undefeated for a reason," he said.
Not the norm—While disappointed with Saturday's loss, McMartin said Dubuque earned the win.
"Give Dubuque credit," he said. "They made some big plays. They didn't make mistakes and, unfortunately, we did."
But it was hard to overlook Central's uncharacteristic six turnovers. The Dutch had just three turnovers in the previous four games combined.
"I never thought we'd turn the ball over six times," McMartin said. "That certainly was a surprise to me."
On the rebound—McMartin preaches keeping a laser-like focus on the next play and next game. That doesn't mean ignoring the previous week's mistakes.
"We have to learn from this," he said. "We've got to coach better and we've got to play better. But we also have to move on. We want to fix what we can fix and control what we can control. We can't wallow in the past too long. Learn from it and move on."
And reviewing the game did reveal areas of potential improvement.
"Certainly there were things we could have taken advantage of," McMartin said.
A running back revelation—Not all of Saturday's surprises were bad. Dutch fans previously heard little about sophomore Nathan Fitzgerald (Elkader, Central Elkader HS), who played eight-man football in high school and entered the preseason as Central's No. 4 running back. But injuries created an opportunity and Saturday he came off the bench to deliver an eye-popping 217 yards on 32 carries, almost all in the final three quarters. It was Central's first 200-yard rushing performance since Josh Osborn rolled up 254 yards against Dubuque in 2014.
But McMartin knew Fitzgerald was up to the task.
"Nathan's a very good player," he said. "He runs the ball hard. We felt like he was doing a good job on kickoff returns. He sort of made a name for himself there. And we'd seen him run the ball well last year. We knew he was definitely capable. He got his chance and made the most of it."
Fitzgerald is listed as this week's starter.
"He can get better, too," McMartin said. "That's the exciting thing."
Dutch numbers—Central's statistical numbers took a hit with last Saturday's setback but the Dutch are still the national leaders in first downs with 155, an average of 31 per game. The school season record is 246 in 2009. They're ninth in total offense with 540.6 yards per game, on pace to shatter the 1996 mark of 457.0 yards. And they're 16th in third-down conversions (50.6 percent, 43-85).
Individually, wide receiver Sam Markham (senior, Atlantic) is third in receptions per game (9.6) and 20th in receiving yards per game (113.8).
Free safety Zach Matter (senior, Ankeny) is 10th in passes defended (2.2 per game).
Tackle leaders—At the season's midpoint, senior linebacker Sam Norgaard (Naperville, Ill., Neuqua Valley HS) tops the Dutch tackle charts with 46, along with two pass breakups and an interception. Junior linebacker Chris Neeld (New Boston, Ill., Mercer County HS) has 36 stops and senior linebacker Drew Carlson (Ankeny) has 33.
Markham records—Markham increased his school career receptions record to 169 career catches Saturday and is second in career receiving yards with 2,199, 367 behind Chris Johnson (1995-98), who holds the all-time mark with 2,566 yards. Markham is averaging 113.8 yards through five games.
Markham is tied for 10th in school history in season receptions with 48. He's already on that list with the record of 69 set last season while his 52 catches in 2014 rank fourth.
Probable starters
Central College
Sat., Oct. 8
OFFENSE
QB 16 Riley Gray (6-1, 200, sr.)
RB 26 Nathan Fitzgerald (5-9, 190, so.)
SB 28 Kyle Gritsch (6-1, 205, jr.)
TE 88 Mitchell Boerm (6-5, 250, sr.)
WR 13 William Meredith (6-1, 185, sr.)
WR 5 Sam Markham (6-2, 170, sr.)
LT 75 Yaqoob Ahmad (6-3, 260, sr.)
LG 60 Kyle Pepper (6-1, 275, sr.)
C 57 Josh Brunk (6-1, 265, jr.)
RG 56 Cole Tanner (6-2, 275, sr.)
RT 76 Cal Smith (6-4, 290, jr.)
DEFENSE
DE 22 Edwin Etienne (5-9, 240, sr.)
NG 91 Wes Wheat (5-11, 265, jr.)
DE 78 Corbin Blythe (6-2, 265, sr.)
OLB 19 Drew Carlson (6-1, 220, sr.)
ILB 2 Tyler Olson (5-11, 215, jr.)
ILB 42 Sam Norgaard (6-1, 215, sr.)
OLB 48 Josh Scheible (5-9, 200, jr.)
CB 14 Danny Anderson (6-0, 175, fr.)
SS 9 Tate Jensen (5-11, 200, jr.)
FS 20 Zach Matter (6-0, 200, sr.)
CB 25 Trevor Smith (5-9, 170, so.)
SPECIALTY
K 32 Aaron Marcellus (5-9, 205, sr.)
P 87 Cam Kiner (6-4, 215, so.)
PR 11 Zack Martinelli (5-8, 185, sr.)
KR 11 Zack Martinelli (5-8, 185, sr.)
LS-K 83 P.J. Norem (6-2, 225, jr.)
LS-P 33 Carson Remick (5-10, 205, jr.)
H 2 P.J. Carey (6-0, 160, jr.)
