PELLA — Ending a two-week layoff following one of the year's best performances, the Central College football team closes its abbreviated home season Saturday against Simpson College.
Game time is 1 p.m. at Ron and Joyce Schipper Stadium.
It's the final home-field appearance in a Central uniform for 23 seniors and the last of just four home games this year for the Dutch (6-2 overall, 4-2 Iowa Conference). They rolled up 616 yards total offense and scored 42 unanswered points in knocking off pre-season league co-favorite Wartburg College 51-37 at Pella Oct. 22. Coach Jeff McMartin called it Central's most complete performance of the year.
Simpson (3-5 overall, 2-4 conference) nearly pulled off a stunning comeback last Saturday in a 24-22 setback against Nebraska Wesleyan at Indianola. Down 24-9 late in the game, Simpson scored two touchdowns in the final two minutes, recovered two onside kicks and had a shot at the win but a 44-yard field goal sailed wide with one second remaining.
Aiming for 100 for Coach Mac—McMartin, in his 13th season at Central, has a 99-35 (.738) career mark. Another win would make him only the second Dutch coach to reach the century mark. College Football Hall of Fame coach Ron Schipper compiled a 287-67-3 (.808) record from 1961-96. McMartin is already Central's second-winningest coach, last year passing Richard "Babe" Tysseling, a charter member of the college's athletics hall of honor. Tysseling compiled 91 wins from 1938-60. McMartin currently stands second in career winning percentage as well, followed closely by Rich Kacmarynski (.712). Kacmarynski posted a 62-15 record from 1997-2003. Those four are Central's only head coaches in the past 78 years. The Dutch haven't had a losing season since 1960.
McMartin, a 1990 Central grad, has guided the Dutch to four conference titles and four NCAA Division III playoff berths. He entered the season ranked 12th among active NCAA Division III coaches in career winning percentage. The highly regarded mentor is one of just two Division III coaches serving on the board of trustees of the American Football Coaches Association.
On the air and on the Web—The Voice of the Dutch, Trevor Castle, will call the action Saturday on KRLS-FM (92.1), along with Dutch softball coach George Wares 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.
Video webcasts with Castle's play-by-play and live stats for all Dutch football home games can also be accessed via the Central athletics website at www.central.edu/athletics or directly at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/central/ .
On Mondays, Castle 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.
The series—Central was a 31-24 winner at Simpson a year ago and holds a 61-29-3 record in the series, which launched in 1905. The teams have split their past four meetings, with the Dutch winning the last two.
Simpson—Central's productive offense is averaging 38.9 points a game but must take on the league's second-best scoring defense as Simpson is allowing only 23.3, yielding 328.9 yards per game, including just 121.8 yards on the ground.
Under first-year coach Matt Jeter, Simpson is averaging 20.9 points and 328.9 yards offensively. The squad is efficient near the goal line, ranking fourth in Division III in Red Zone offense (25-27, .926).
Junior quarterback Caleb Frye has completed 101 of 194 passes (52.1 percent) for 1,320 yards with 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Junior wide receiver Jackson Redmond has 42 catches for 617 yards and four scores. Senior running back Jordan Beem is rushing for 83.6 yards a game while Frye is gaining 27.9. Beem is also the second-leading receiver with 17 catches for 134 yards.
"Their quarterback is very elusive," McMartin said. "He's a good runner and can throw the deep ball. They're big up front and their wide receivers all have big-play capability."
Senior defensive end Isaac Frazier is a force. He ranks eighth nationally with 10 sacks and is the conference leader in tackles for loss with 12.5. He has 43 stops overall with four forced fumbles and a pass breakup.
"He's an unbelievable football player," McMartin said. "He's one of the best players in the Iowa Conference."
Simpson starts three freshmen on defense and transfer defensive back Brendan Holmes is already the team's top tackler with 84. Senior linebackers Cole Cook and Ryan Sarver have 75 and 72 stops, respectively.
"They've got an excellent secondary," McMartin said. "They've done a good job of holding people down. It's a tough defense to move the ball on."
A break—Some Central players benefited from the week off.
"You get to the end of the year and you are kind of banged up," McMartin said. "Being able to rest a few guys was a good thing. With a weekend off, you should use it to your advantage and get healed up. Now we can get ready for the last two weeks of the season. It's going to be a great challenge."
Central is trying for a second-place league finish. Coe has clinched the title at 7-0 in conference play while Dubuque is 5-2, with Wartburg and Central at 4-2.
Dutch numbers—Central continues to put up big offensive numbers and still leads Division III in first downs with 242 (30.2 per game). The Dutch need just five more first downs to break the season mark of 246 from 2009.
Central is 14th in passing offense (328.1 yards per game) and 27th in completion percentage (64.5). The Dutch are 20th in fewest penalties per game (4.63).
Quarterback Riley Gray (senior, West Des Moines, Waukee HS) was the conference athlete of the week following the Wartburg win. He threw a school record-tying five touchdowns, all in the first half, completing a record-tying 29 of 43 passes for 327 yards and an interception in the game. It was his second consecutive 300-yard game. Gray also rushed for a career-high 87 yards on 18 carries.
"Riley's gotten better and better and continues to improve," McMartin said. "He's making some great throws and timely rushes."
Gray's 2,017 season passing yards rank third in school history. He needs just 41 yards to pass Mark Isaacson (2004) for second place behind Tim Connell's 3,084 yards in 2007. Gray ranks ninth in career passing yards with 3,526.
Gray has completed 168 of 261 passes with four interceptions and 22 touchdowns. He ranks third in school history in season pass completions and is tied for second all-time with Marc Poortinga. Connell had 35 in 2007. On the career charts, Gray is seventh in pass completions (284) and fifth in TD passes (35). He's also threatening the season completion percentage mark. Nathan Eighmy completed a record 62.3 percent in 1998. Gray stands at 64.4 percent. Nate Boland (sophomore, Iowa City, West HS) is also at 64.4 percent, connecting on 58 of 90 throws for 533 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
Gray has rushed 91 times for 390 yards and five touchdowns. He ranks 30th nationally in total offense (300.9 yards per game), 16th in points responsible for (162) and 27th in completion percentage.
Markham marks--Record-setting wide receiver Sam Markham (senior, Atlantic) is the target for many of those throws. He's the nation's leader with a school-record 83 catches (10.4 per game) and ranks sixth in Division III for average receiving yards (126.0) yards per game and seventh in receiving yards (1,008).
Markham broke the school career receiving yardage record against Wartburg with 2,638. His 204 career catches also are a record. His school season receptions record is up to 83 for 1,008 yards and 10 touchdowns.
"Our receivers—Sam Markham, Kohle Helle (junior, Guttenberg, Clayton Ridge HS), Zack Martinelli (senior, Elburn, Ill., Kaneland, Texas HS), Kyle Gritsch (junior, Brooklyn, BGM HS)and Mitchell Boerm (senior, Traer, North Tama HS) all create favorable match-ups for us," McMartin said.
Other components of the Dutch offense are clicking as well, he said.
"(Running back) Nathan Fitzgerald (sophomore, Elkader, Central Elkader HS) continues to improve each week and we've been able to protect the quarterback pretty well," he said.
McMartin also cites second-year offensive coordinator Ryan Maiuri.
"I need to credit Ryan," he said. "He's doing a great job of play-calling. He's put people in position to play their best. You have to have players, obviously, but Ryan has done a great job of seeing what those guys can do and maximizing it."
Central is outgaining opponents 540.9 yards to 453.5 and outscoring them 38.9-27.8. With 4,327 yards thus far, Central needs 337 in its final three games to break the school season total offense mark set in 2007 and 244 yards to break the season average record (457.0) set in 1996.
The Dutch are already assured of breaking the season mark for passing yards per game of 244.4 (2007). The worst they could average—barring negative passing yardage—would be 262.5.
The Dutch have scored 30 or more points in seven of eight games.
