It's said that relief pitchers need short memories and that's the prescription for the Central College football team Saturday as well as it tries to hit the reset button on its season, tackling traditional NCAA Division III playoff rival Augustana College (Ill.).
           
Game time is 1 p.m. at Ron and Joyce Schipper Stadium in Pella. It's the second of six home games on the 10-game Dutch slate.

Central (0-1) is moving on from a record-breaking 56-13 home-field setback against Northwest Conference powerhouse Whitworth University (Wash.).

Augustana also came away disappointed from its opener Saturday. The Vikings journeyed to Cortland, New York last Saturday and nearly pulled off a big road victory before yielding a 31-yard field goal with 18 seconds left to tumble 34-32 to SUNY-Cortland.

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.

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.

There's a precedent—Central has shown an ability to weather a season-opening setback. Before winning at Whitworth last year, the Dutch dropped four of the previous five openers, but were week two victors in each of those seasons.
"We've shown a lot of resiliency," McMartin said. "As coaches, we have to help the players forget the past and live in the present. It's a good life lesson. Our ability to do that will help us compete well on Saturday."

The series—Central holds a 9-4 advantage 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 1985 national semifinals at Rock Island, Illnois, but Central prevailed in overtime in the 1988 semifinals at Pella.

The Dutch won 45-17 at Augustana last year.

"It's been a great rivalry," McMartin said. "We play them in JV, too. It's a good program and we have a lot of respect for their coaches and team."

The Vikings—Third-year coach Steve Bell is 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.). Bell was Monmouth's coach when the Scots came to Pella and scored a 28-21 victory in 2014.

A youthful Augie squad endured a 3-7 campaign last year but 16 starters return. It's still a young squad, with just five seniors listed in this week's starting lineup. That youth showed Saturday as Augustana was hampered by 17 costly penalties for 146 yards.

"We're playing a really good football team," coach Jeff McMartin said. "They're very improved. They're young, but they're experienced and they're a year older. They're stronger, bigger and faster. They present a great challenge for us."

Junior quarterback Zachary Fuller, a part-time starter a year ago, completed 16 of 32 passes Saturday for 158 yards and a score with one interception. Junior Luke Bleyer, who shared time with Fuller last year, also returns. Junior running back Ryan Pitra rushed for 150 yards on 28 carries with three touchdowns while senior receiver Riley Donald came off the bench to catch four passes for 38 yards. Sophomore Ethan Jennings had three receptions for 43 yards.

Nine offensive starters are back from last year.

"They want to run the football," McMartin said. "They've got a big, strong quarterback who throws the ball well. Up front, they're very good. They're physical and tenacious. They will block you."

Junior linebacker Cassin Wolfe had a team-high nine tackles Saturday and also returned a fumble 58 yards. Sophomore safety Devin Haxby had seven stops.

"They moved some people on defense and they match up very well. They're very physical and active up front. They want to make you throw the football. They blitz and move around. They're a handful."

The Vikings were outgained 375-352 yards at Cortland but controlled the ball for 33:08 of the game's 60 minutes. They converted 10 of 18 third-down opportunities.

Coach McMartin—McMartin, in his 14th season, has a 101-36 (.742) record. He's piloted the Dutch to four conference titles and four NCAA Division III playoff berths and is one of two Division III coaches to serve on the American Football Coaches Association's board of trustees.

Bouncing back—McMartin said that while he wants his team focused on the game ahead, the Dutch need to first review Saturday's video.

"There's always a lot to learn from every game," he said. "Most teams get a lot better between the first and second game. We have to use Saturday's film as a learning experience and find ways to improve. There's a lot to look at and get better from.

"But once you're done looking at it, then you've got to get ready for the next game. You can't let it hang over you the rest of the week."

Whitworth firepower--That Whitworth's offense is explosive was not a revelation. Perhaps overlooked by many in assessing Saturday's one-sided loss is that the Dutch didn't exactly stymie Whitworth a year ago, either, yielding 49 points and 595 yards. There's plenty of improvement needed in all areas, McMartin stressed, but he noted that last year Central countered with 50 points. Saturday, however, Central was shut out for the game's first 37:41, finishing with just 13 points.

"We played a very good football team," McMartin said. "They made it tough on us. They made plays. But in some ways, we were in better position on some of those plays than we were last year. We just didn't respond offensively. Had that happened, I think we would be seeing this game very differently."

Reason for optimism--The game video was not a complete horror show, McMartin said.

"Some things went well, believe it or not," he said. "There are some things we can build on, individually and at some positions, but there are some other areas that have to get better."

Improvement involves more than tweaking X's and O's or lineup adjustments, although McMartin is open to any of that. But he's focused on helping each player make strides.

"There are things you can do and changes you can make," he said. "Personally, I feel like we know what we need the team to do differently. Our job as coaches is to get the players to do it."

One plus was that Central emerged healthy from the opener. That includes running back Pat Gray (junior, West Des Moines, Waukee HS), who missed all of 2016 following his second major injury. Gray rushed for a game-high 69 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. He also caught three passes for eight yeards. Donny Groezinger (junior, Sulphur Springs, Texas; Eastland, Ill. HS) rushed for 59 yards on nine attempts, including a 40-yard TD burst.

Streak-buster—Saturday snapped a string of five straight 100-yard receiving games for Markham. His five catches for 50 yards were his lowest number of receptions since a four-catch effort against Dubuque Oct. 1 and the fewest receiving yards since totaling 32 against Buena Vista Sept. 17. Markham led Division III last year, averaging 10.5 receptions per game. Kohle Helle (senior, Guttenberg, Clayton Ridge HS) was Central's receptions leader Saturday with six, but for only 21 yards.

After further review—Saturday's painful setback was, mercifully, unfamiliar territory for the Dutch. The 43-point defeat margin was Central's second-highest since 1940, not ever, as originally reported. On the all-time list, Saturday's margin ranks 11th. The all-time worst was a 58-0 shutout by now-defunct Parsons in 1916 while the largest since 1940 was a 61-6 loss to St. Ambrose in 1951.

???????Whitworth's 56 points were the most points Central has surrendered since a 58-26 loss to Dubuque in 2011.

And perspective--It was only the third 40-point defeat for the Dutch since 1940. They're far more accustomed to being on the opposite side of runaways, with a remarkable 58 40-point victories in that span. The most recent was a 65-0 romp past Maranatha Baptist (Wis.) Sept. 19, 2015. Central has scored 50 points or more four times in the past three seasons.

Central hasn't been shut out since Oct. 26, 2002, a 14-0 loss to Wartburg. The Dutch went on to share the Iowa Conference title that year.

Other Whitworth numbers—Whitworth's 561 passing yards, 48 completions and seven TD passes were all the most ever yielded by a Central defense. Whitworth already held the completions mark, with 40 a year ago. The most passing yards previously allowed were 505 by Wartburg in 2016.
Whitworth also tied the mark for most pass attempts by a Central opponent. Bethel (Minn.) (Sept. 11, 1993) and Dubuque (Sept. 29, 2012) also threw 61 passes.
Whitworth's 630 yards of total offense fell just shy of the 644 Wis.-Oshkosh put up (Sept. 1, 2012).
The big win launched the Pirates into the D3football.com top 25, as they debut in 24th. They're expected to scrap with No. 7 Linfield College (Ore.), a traditional powerhouse, for the Northwest Conference title. The teams will tangle at Linfield Sept. 30.

Notes— Cornerback Danny Anderson (sophomore, Boone) set a new career high with nine tackles Saturday while linebacker Tyler Olson (senior, Mapleton, Minn., Maple River HS) matched his best, also with nine. Each had four solos. Anderson also returned punts. Strong safety Jordan Borman (sophomore, Eagan, Minn.) made his first start and had a career-best six stops…The Dutch made no changes in their two-deep roster…Central controlled the ball for only 24:04 Saturday…One of the few school receiving records for Markham left to chase is the career TD receptions mark. He has 22, five shy of Randy Busscher's record (1971-74)…Iowa Conference play opens next week. The league was 4-4 in non-conference play last week.