PELLA — Coach Jeff McMartin is hoping that the plane that brought the Central College football team back to Iowa Sunday also brought the victorious Dutch back to earth as they turn their attention to Saturday's foe, resurgent Augustana College (Ill.).
Central was flying high after an epic 50-49 overtime victory over 19th-ranked Whitworth University (Wash.) at Spokane, Wash. Saturday. Augustana also is off to a 1-0 start after a solid 21-10 road victory at Mount St. Joseph (Ohio) Saturday.
"We have to look at it as a game that could have gone either way," McMartin said. "It was a nice win, but we have to get our focus on Augustana."
Game time Saturday is 1 p.m. in Rock Island, Ill. at the recently refurbished Knowlton Outdoor Athletics Complex/Lindberg Stadium. It's Augustana's home opener.
On the air and on the Web—The Voice of the Dutch, Trevor Castle, will call the action on KRLS-FM (92.1) with Cory Houser returning for his season debut as color analyst.
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.
Castle also plays host to McMartin on the KRLS Coaches' Corner broadcast live from Fred's dining establishment inside Central's Maytag Student Center each Monday throughout the season 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.
The series—Central holds an 8-4 edge in the all-time series between the two iconic Division III programs. Augustana won four NCAA titles in the 1980s and met the Dutch in the playoffs three times in that decade. The Vikings were winners in the Stagg Bowl where the teams clashed in 1984 at Mason, Ohio and in the national semifinals at Rock Island, Ill. in 1985, but Central prevailed in overtime in the 1988 national semifinals at Pella. The teams last met in 2013 in Rock Island, a 38-14 Dutch triumph.
Augustana has made 15 NCAA Division III playoff appearances, most recently in 2005. Central has gained 20 NCAA berths and was last selected in 2009. The teams have a combined eight Stagg Bowl appearances.
"Over the years, it's been a good rivalry," said McMartin, who was a part of the Dutch program in the late '80s. "We're not that far away, so we know a lot about each other. It will be a big game for us and one that we're excited to play. We're going to have to be at our best on every play."
The Vikings—Second-year coach Steve Bell is well on his way to returning Augustana to title contender status. He posted a 112-44 mark over 14 seasons in building one of the Midwest Conference's top programs at Monmouth College (Ill.). Augustana was 4-6 in his debut season last fall, but Saturday's win signaled the program's course change. Bell was Monmouth's coach when the Scots came to Pella and scored a 28-21 victory in 2014.
"I thought they were really well-coached," McMartin recalled.
While Whitworth boasts a powerhouse offense, Augustana unveiled a fierce defense Saturday. Mount St. Joseph's 10 points were the fewest it had mustered since 2013. The lone Lions touchdown came with just 1:44 left in the game.
Under Bell, it's been a dramatic transformation for the defense, which was peppered for an average of 51.7 points in last year's first three games last year before stiffening to yield just 19.7 games in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) play. The Vikings led the league in pass defense, allowing 142.3 yards in seven conference games.
McMartin was impressed with what he saw in his initial viewing of Augustana video.
"It looks like they use a three-man (defensive) front a lot," he said. "We saw some three-man last week. They're physical and fast. They've got great team speed."
Eighteen of 22 starters return. Senior safety Frank Kalble was Augustana's defensive MVP last year and an all-CCIW selection, recording 81 tackles with two interceptions. Senior Danny Lattner is the top returning receiver with 45 catches for 672 yards and five touchdowns in 2015.
But younger players are making an impact. Augustana's sophomore quarterback, Zachary Fuller, was an efficient 17-of-29 for 196 yards with one touchdown and one interception Saturday.
"He's a very capable quarterback," McMartin said. "He's a big kid (6-foot-5, 220) and a good athlete."
Sophomore running back Ryan Pittra gained 62 yards on 18 carries. Sophomore wide receiver Ryan Hennessy had a team-high seven catches for 49 yards.
"They run some pro-style sets," McMartin said. "They're going to want to run the ball, but they'll pass it, too, with some play-action and dropback."
The Dutch will need to make adjustments.
"It's a little different style than what we saw last week," he said. "We're going to match up differently."
Sending mixed signal-callers—Conventional wisdom dictates that successful teams utilize multiple players at most positions, but only one quarterback. McMartin is typically in that camp as well, but finding it hard to argue with the offense being generated by two and, sometimes, three Central quarterbacks. The Dutch went into the Whitworth game intending to use both returning starter Riley Gray (senior, West Des Moines, Waukee HS) and Nate Boland (sophomore, Iowa City, West HS) while inserting receiver Kohle Helle (junior, Guttenberg, Clayton Ridge HS) at quarterback situationally.
They stuck to that script Saturday. Gray played the first two-and-a-half quarters, He completed 21 of 34 passes for 257 yards and three touchdowns and also rushed 12 times for 41 yards and a score. Then Boland entered and hit on 17-of-21 for 149 yards and two touchdowns. And Helle entered on the game's final play, a do-or-die two-point conversion try in overtime in which he squirmed past a defender and inside the pylon for the winning score.
Keeping the balance—Central passed for a record 406 yards while rushing for 196 Saturday. McMartin said the Dutch need to excel in both aspects of the offense, but won't pre-determine a ratio.
"I don't know that we went in (Saturday) thinking one way one way or the other," he said. "You have to take advantage of whatever opportunity is there. It might be in some games we'll run the ball more and in others we'll pass more. We feel we've got good running backs and we've got very good players at quarterback, wide receiver and tight end, so I don't see us being one-dimensional."
Record numbers—Saturday's shootout made a dent in the Central record book. In addition to throwing for 406 yards, breaking the school team record for most passing yards of 383 set against Wartburg in 1972, Central's 24 first downs gained by passing shattered the school mark of 19 set at Buena Vista in 2012. The 56 Dutch pass attempts matched the school record set against Coe in 2003 and at Luther in 2008, while the 38 completions were one short of the most allowed. Central's 602 yards of total offense equal the fourth-highest output in school history.
Whitworth made its name into the Central records as well. The Pirates' 49 points allowed are the most ever yielded in a Central win. And, after Whitworth reported a couple of corrections to statistics it released earlier, set marks for a Central opponent with 40 pass completions and 473 passing yards. Whitworth's 97 plays were just three shy of matching the most run by a Central opponent.
Dutch receiver Sam Markham (junior, Atlantic) was held without a catch in the first half Saturday, but grabbed nine for 87 yards and two touchdowns in the second half, along with a two-point conversion toss. That pushed him into second place on the school career receptions list with 130. He passed Jeremy Snead (2008-11) and now trails only Chris Johnson (1995-98), who had 151 catches. Markham also inched ahead of Jamie Arendt (1991-94) into fifth place in career receiving yards with 1,717. He's 68 yards shy of Jeremy Snead (2008-11), who's in fourth. Johnson holds that mark as well with 2,566 yards.
Captains—McMartin announced the team's captains just prior to last Saturday's game. Serving this season are Gray, linebacker Jessie Peterson (senior, Coralville, Iowa City West HS), defensive lineman Corbin Blythe (senior, Williamsburg) and safety Zach Matter (senior, Ankeny). Gray also served as a captain last year.
Getting better—While it was an important win, as is typical following season openers, the coaching staff left with a lengthy to-do list of things to work on.
"We saw a lot of things on film we need to get better at," McMartin said. "In the first game, you always make mistakes. You hope you can correct those. We need to clean up assignments and there are a lot of fundamentals on both sides of the ball that we need to work through in practice.
"But I liked our effort. We played hard and we focused on one play at a time."
Poll watchers—Central's victory knocked Whitworth out of this week's D3football.com top 25, although the Pirates remain among those schools receiving votes. For the first time in 2016, Central is among those receiving votes as well, along with Iowa Conference rivals Wartburg and Dubuque. Mount Union (Ohio) is in its familiar perch at No. 1 with Wis.-Whitewater at No. 2, one of three Wisconsin public universities in the top 10. Two schools from Augustana's league, the CCIW, are also in the top 10.
The sport has changed, continued—More evidence of football's evolution: The 49 points Central gave up Saturday are six more than the Dutch yielded in the entire 1964 season.
Overtime is Central Time—Central is now 12-3 in overtime games, winning eight of its past nine. Central's last overtime game prior to Saturday was a 23-17 victory at Monmouth (Ill.) last September. Prior to that, the Dutch hadn't played an extra period in nearly seven years.
Saturday marked the third time Central met a Northwest Conference opponent and all three were overtime affairs. The Dutch prevailed in the "Miracle in the Mud" at Linfield (Ore.) in 2000, but stumbled at home the following year against Pacific Lutheran (Wash.). Both were NCAA Division III playoff games.
Notes— After controlling the ball for just 4:45 of the game's first 15 minutes Saturday, Central dominated time of possession the rest of the way and held a 32:31 to 27:29 clock advantage overall…Central is the only team not named Linfield that has defeated Whitworth since 2014 and the first to win on Whitworth's home field since Sept. 27, 2014, snapping an eight-game Pirate streak…Central doesn't make its home season debut until Sept. 17, when Buena Vista University comes to Ron and Joyce Schipper Stadium to start conference play. The Dutch are on the road for five of the season's first seven games and are only home for four games overall. They must journey beyond the Iowa border for three of their six road games.
