ROCK ISLAND, ILL. — All it took was a spark.
Held to just a field goal in the first half Saturday after last week's 50-point explosion at Whitworth College (Wash.), the Central College football team racked up touchdowns on six consecutive possessions in a 42-point second half to overwhelm Augustana College (Ill.) 45-17.
Wide receiver Sam Markham (senior, Atlantic) helped fuel the outburst, breaking his own school mark with 14 receptions for 192 yards and two TDs. That tops the record of 13 catches he set last Oct. 17 at Loras, and moves him within seven of Chris Johnson's (1995-98) career mark of 151.
Quarterback Riley Gray (senior, West Des Moines, Waukee HS) completed 17 of 26 passes for 193 yards and two TDs and also rushed for 79 yards and a score on only eight carries. Running back Donny Groezinger (sophomore, Sulphur Springs, Texas; Eastland, Ill. HS) nearly reached the century mark again, rushing for 88 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries.
Central (2-0) mustered just 67 yards of total offense in the first quarter and 175 in the first half, but finished with 500 for a 551-yard two-game average.
"We had some dropped passes in the first half," coach Jeff McMartin said. "We had a punt block we didn't take advantage of. That's some of it. But this early, we don't have a ton of film to watch and be able to evaluate how they were going to play us. (Offensive coordinator) Ryan Maiuri did a really good job of making adjustments in calling the offense and (defensive coordinator) Nick Mulder did a good job with the defense. It was really important that the defense didn't let things get away."
The Dutch defense kept Augustana (1-1) under wraps most of the day. The Vikings were limited to 101 yards in the first half and 290 for the game. Central yielded just 34 rushing yards.
"I'm excited to see the film because I thought our defense really played well," McMartin said. "They ran a lot of screens but I thought Sam Norgaard (senior, Naperville, Ill., Neuqua Valley HS) and the other linebackers played the screen game well. Sam had a really good day."
Norgaard had a team-high eight tackles, including six solos.
After Central was stymied on its first two second-half drives, McMartin reinserted Gray, the starter, at quarterback after he sat out the second quarter. A shanked Augustana punt then lit the fuse, letting the Dutch take over on the Viking 33-yard-line. Gray rushed for eight yards on the next play and four plays later, Groezinger surged 2 yards for the game's first touchdown. That was followed by Gray's 1-yard TD run to complete a nine-play, 65-yard scoring drive.
"The fact that we got good field position really helped," McMartin said. "It seemed like the longer the offense played, the better it got.
"Riley (Gray) does a good job of running the football and he hit on some plays with Sam Markham. He really stepped up for us today."
A 43-yard Augustana pass play set up a 3-yard Viking TD that cut the lead to 17-10, but Central needed just four plays to answer. Gray hit Markham for a 32-yard score and suddenly the rout was on. A 21-yard Gray TD strike to Markham was followed by a 7-yard Groezinger score and Zack Martinelli (senior, Elburn, Ill., Kaneland HS) weaved his way to the end zone on a 76-yard punt, Central's sixth touchdown in a span of 14 minutes, 8 seconds. It was Central's first touchdown on a punt return since Guy Dierikx ran one back 45 yards against Luther Sept. 15, 2007.
"All of Zack's returns were outstanding," McMartin said. "On the touchdown, he was dragging people with him. Just give Zack some time and he's going to make something happen. That was one of the best plays I've seen in a long time."
With Central up 45-10 with 8:14 remaining, McMartin emptied the bench the rest of the way, with Augustana getting its final score against the reserves.
"It was great we got quite a few people in," he said. "You always wish you could get them all in. But some of our starters don't have much experience, either, so every snap you can give them is important."
The Dutch defense, minus two starters due to injury, was stifling after getting blitzed for 49 points by Whitworth's high-powered attack last week. Strong safety Tate Jensen (De Soto, ADM HS) followed Norgaard on the tackle chart with seven while linebacker Josh Scheible (junior, Kansas City, Mo., Liberty HS) and free safety Zach Matter (senior, Ankeny) each had six stops.
It was the kind of performance needed to prevail against another quality road opponent, McMartin said.
"Augustana is a well-coached football team," he said. "They've got some very talented young players. We knew the game would be a great challenge."
The Dutch finally make their home season debut next Saturday as Buena Vista University visits for the Iowa Conference opener at Ron and Joyce Schipper Stadium at 1 p.m. The Beavers (0-2) were outscored by No. 8-ranked St. John's (Minn.) 40-17 Saturday.
"When we looked at our schedule we said, 'Wow, our non-conference schedule is really challenging,'" McMartin said. "So to be 2-0 is great. We'll enjoy that today but then we've got to get ready for Buena Vista."
