PELLA—While there are encouraging signs on both sides of the football, Central College faces one of its biggest hurdles this week against a squad that's making a determined run at an Iowa Conference title.
           
Undefeated Wartburg College visits Pella Saturday. The Knights are 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the league, tied for the top spot with Luther College and among those schools receiving votes in the NCAA Division III rankings. Wartburg defeated Monmouth (Ill.) and Washington-St. Louis (Mo.) in non-conference play, while also winning at Simpson College before a decisive 34-7 victory over defending league champ Coe College last Saturday at Waverly.
           
Meanwhile Central (3-2 overall, 2-1 conference) rallied past Simpson at Indianola 35-17.
           
Game time is 1 p.m. at Ron and Joyce Schipper Stadium.                                      

On the air and online—The Voice of the Dutch, Trevor Castle, will call Saturday's action on KRLS-FM (92.1), along with hall of fame Central softball coach George Wares and sideline reporter Libbie Randall, a Central senior. 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 also plays host to coach Jeff 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.
Twitter users can follow Saturday's action through the Central football account @CUI_Football.

The series—Central outscored Wartburg 51-37 at Pella last year but Wartburg won the teams' previous three meetings. Central holds a 43-22 advantage in the series, which launched in 1945.

The Knights—It's a balanced Wartburg squad, which ranks second in the league in scoring (35.0 points per game) and first in scoring defense (17.8). The Knights are also first in total offense with 492.0 yards per game while allowing 364. They're especially stingy against the run, yielding just 68.8 yards. Wartburg ranks first in both pass efficiency offense and defense while leading in interceptions (12) and turnover margin (plus 11) as well.

Junior quarterback Matt Sacia has completed 93 of 132 passes (70.5 percent) for 1,124 yards and 11 touchdowns with just one interception. Sophomore running back Dylan Binion has gained 81.5 yards per game with two touchdowns, although he's listed as the backup for senior Connor Schrader.

"They do a great job of knowing who they are and what they're about," coach Jeff McMartin said. "They play to those strengths.

"Their quarterback does a great job and they've got a very strong running back."

Senior wide receiver Riley Brockway is the league leader with 34 catches for 458 yards and four touchdowns. But McMartin warns that senior Griffin Brennecke is also a threat.

"They look to him to make big plays," he said. "He hit us for a couple of touchdowns last year. Their slot guy, Brockway, is very fast and they also utilize him on some sweeps. Up front they continue to develop. Last year they were newer players but this year, they're all back."

Senior linebacker Rob Rottler is fourth in the conference in tackles with 40 while junior linebacker Connor Frerichs has 27. And the Knights boast four of the league's top five in passes defended. Freshman cornerback JoJo McNair is first with 10 breakups and three interceptions followed by junior cornerback Peyton Imhoff with six breakups and a league-best five interceptions.

"They use their speed and take away the things most teams want to do," McMartin said. "They take away the inside running game and force you out on the perimeter where they can match up because they run so well. They can do things on coverages that a lot of teams can't do. They make it tough on you."

Another step forward—After a bumpy start, Central had perhaps its most efficient overall performance Saturday, outscoring Simpson 21-3 over the last three quarters.

"It was our best game defensively this season," McMartin said. "We did some good things. We got better and now we want to get another week better against Wartburg. That has to be our goal every week because every team we play is good."

McMartin cited linebacker Sam Norgaard (senior, Naperville, Ill., Neuqua Valley HS), who again topped the tackle charts with 14 and was in on two key stops on the 1-yard line in a pivotal third-quarter series. A game-changing 99-yard Central touchdown drive followed. Norgaard is second in the league in tackles with 54, including 23 solos. McMartin also saw improvement from linebacker Tyler Olson (senior, Mapleton, Minn., Maple River HS) and defensive end Jared Keenan (senior, Grinnell). Defensive end Justin Dilks (senior, Mount Pleasant) had a big day with two sacks, moving into a tie for the league lead with 4.5 overall, and McMartin also credited nose guard Wesley Wheat (senior, Phoenix, Ariz., Phoenix Christian HS).

"Justin Dilks has been really good up front," McMartin said. "Our defensive line as a whole is getting better."

Also making strides is the pass defense, McMartin said, highlighting outside linebacker Tate O'Tool (sophomore, Fort Dodge, St. Edmond HS), free safety Collin Erickson (junior, Gilbert, Ariz., Dobson HS) and strong safety Tate Jensen (senior, DeSoto, ADM HS).
Quarterback Blaine Hawkins (freshman, Ankeny) solidified his hold on the position after making his starting debut. He completed 16 of 24 passes for 219 yards with two interceptions—one on a Hail Mary throw at the end of the first half--and a touchdown. He was also the game's leading rusher with 107 yards on 16 carries and three scores.

Hawkins needs to improve in every facet of the game but it won't happen all at once, McMartin said.

"Every (practice) rep he gets is a good rep for him and every snap is a good snap," he said. "It gets him more experience. He did a good job Saturday of doing what the defense gave him. Simpson made some changes in the second half and he did a good job of recognizing that and finding the places where we could attack."

That will be important against Wartburg as well.

"It's a different week because Wartburg plays a very different defense," McMartin said. "How well we adapt to that is going to be critical."
All-American receiver Sam Markham (senior, Atlantic) enjoyed his best day of the year with 10 catches for 175 yards and a score, including six receptions for 137 yards in the first quarter.

"You don't want to underutilize him yet you want to spread it around, too," McMartin said. "We were able to go to other people and let them make plays."

Central's offensive line continues to shine in pass protection. The Dutch have yet to yield a sack in five games. But the line will be challenged this week.
"Wartburg is going to bring a lot of pressure," McMartin said. "We've got to be ready to handle that. They'll bring pressure in both the running game and the passing game."

Dutch numbers—Central is outscoring opponents 34.2-32.2. They rank second in the conference in total offense with 484.6 yards, including 281.4 on the ground. The Dutch are allowing 437.6 yards, with just 101.4 rushing. Central leads the league in first downs (24.6) and in Red Zone offense (20-23 with 13 touchdowns).
The insertion of Hawkins at quarterback has boosted Markham's receiving numbers. He's got 34 catches for the year for 524 yards and four touchdowns although, at the season midpoint, is still well behind last year's record 105 receptions for 1,215 yards. He now has 26 career TD receptions, tying Chris Johnson (1995-98) for second on the all-time list, just one behind Randy Busscher (1971-74). Markham has 260 catches overall for 3,369 yards, both school marks.
           
Notes—Opening-game starter Nate Boland (junior, Iowa City, West HS), sidelined since by injury, was the most recent Central quarterback to start as a freshman, filling in for injured Riley Gray late in the 2015 season. But Hawkins is slated to start as a rookie for the second time in a row and that hasn't happened at Central since Shad Flynn won the job early in the 1990 season…It's the second year in a row that Central has faced Wartburg in Pella. The league schedule was redrawn for this season. Consequently, the Dutch also play host to Dubuque a second straight time Nov. 11, but must make second consecutive trips to Coe and Luther…Hawkins is among five freshmen listed in Central's two-deep lineup, including four on offense.