PELLA—An 11-game winning streak is history but there are still some lofty goals in reach for the Central College football team this season, which continues with a key American Rivers Conference game with Coe College Saturday.
           
It's the home-season finale for the Dutch, who carry a 7-1 record and remain in league title contention at 5-1 despite a 47-20 disappointment at Wartburg College last Saturday. Coe had the weekend off and brings a 3-4 record and 2-3 league mark to Ron and Joyce Schipper Stadium for the 1 p.m. game. Parents of the program's senior players will be recognized at halftime.
           
Central has a half-game advantage in the conference over Wartburg, Simpson College and the University of Dubuque, which are 4-1. The Dutch have two regular-season games remaining, getting next week off before closing the 2018 slate at Loras College Nov. 10.
           
On the air and online—The Voice of the Dutch, Trevor Castle, will call Saturday's action on KRLS-FM (92.1), with NFCA Hall of Fame softball coach George Wares providing the color. 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 plays host to McMartin on the KRLS Coaches' Corner at 7 p.m. Those broadcasts are also available on demand through www.kniakrls.com.
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/.
Twitter users can follow Saturday's action through @CentralDutch.
           
The series—Central defeated Coe 30-19 at Cedar Rapids last year and leads the teams' all-time series 17-9-2. They first met in 1925, but met only eight times before Coe joined the league in 1998.
           
Moving forward—Saturday's loss revealed many areas that need attention but McMartin isn't dwelling on the performance.
           
"There are a lot of things we need to improve on," he said. "Certainly, give Wartburg credit. They're a good football team and they played well. This week will be focused on regrouping and learning, and then moving on. I think that's really important. You can learn from the past but you don't want to live in it. We're focused on Coe and on getting better."
           
The improvement list is team-wide.
           
"We've got to work on our pass protection," McMartin said. "Clean up some (pass) routes. Defensively, working on stopping certain run plays will be really important this week. Making sure that everybody is assignment-sound on both sides of the ball."
           
The Dutch were peppered by injuries Saturday and wobbled after a 6-6 first quarter, getting outscored 41-0 in the next two periods before a steadier fourth quarter.
           
"I think the focus the whole game was to play hard, make plays and keep getting better," McMartin said. "We even talked about that at halftime--let's find out about ourselves. Every game you learn more about yourself. We had a chance to learn if we would continue to battle and play hard through the end of the game and I thought our guys did."
           
Lineup adjustments—Central lost some key starters Saturday due to injury, including quarterback Blaine Hawkins (sophomore, Ankeny), who went down in the first quarter. He returned briefly before giving way to backups Tanner Schminke (sophomore, Boone) and Brayden Egli (freshman, Saint Charles, I-35 HS). Egli played most of the second half and threw a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes. He completed 11 of 21 passes for 150 yards.
           
Hawkins is questionable for Saturday. If he can't go, Egli will likely make his first collegiate start, McMartin said.
           
The Kohawks—Coe boasts the league's No. 2-ranked defense, yielding 339.7 yards a game, including only 108.6 yards rushing. The Kohawks are strong up front, notching 18 sacks.
           
Senior linebacker Terrence Hall ranks ninth in the conference in tackles with 61, including 27 solos. Junior defensive back Hunter Semelroth is first in pass deflections with seven breakups and four interceptions for a league-best 1.57 per game.
           
Junior quarterback Quentin White has completed 127 of 206 passes for 1,293 yards with eight touchdowns and seven interceptions. He started against Central last year, completing 33 of 48 passes for 281 yards. But recently, the Kohawks started junior Max Ridenour, who threw for 252 yards in a 31-19 loss to Wartburg Oct. 13. 
           
"Both quarterbacks have done well," McMartin said.
           
Junior Colton White ranks second in the conference in receiving with 42 catches for 507 yards and three scores. Running back Mitch Stopko has rushed for 243 yards on 75 carries.
           
"They've got a lot of speed at running back," McMartin said. "They're very big up front. Their wide receivers have a lot of height and they've got some speed. And their tight end, Max Kopp, is very athletic. They get the ball to him quite a bit. He's a factor."
           
Coe is outscoring opponents 24.0-23.1.
           
"They've got a really physical defensive line," McMartin said. "They move well and their linebackers are some of the best in the conference. They blitz them and move them around. And their secondary has come up with a lot of big plays."
           
The Kohawks also have the benefit of a week off.
           
"They're coming in healthy," McMartin said. "Every week they've improved. They've played a lot of close games. They're a really solid, strong football team and always well-coached."
           
NCAA-leading boot-- Kicker Jon Alberts (junior, Huntley, Ill.) matched his career-long field goal with a 40-yarder in the first quarter at Wartburg Saturday, before blowing past it with a record 55-yard kick later in the period. That's the longest in the NCAA Division III this year. The all-time Division III record is 62 yards by Dom Antonini of Rowan (N.J.) (1976) and Matthew Aven of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.) (2013). Saturday's kick also topped the 36-year-old Central record of 52 yards set by Craig Wassenaar against Buena Vista Oct. 2, 1982.
           
McMartin said he had no hesitation opting for the long try.
           
"He probably could have kicked it further," he said.
           
With Saturday's strong winds, Alberts likely could have challenged the Division III mark, McMartin said. But his success is due more to ability than wind velocity.
           
"He works to master his craft," McMartin said. "Over the course of the week, he works on extra points like a basketball player works on free throws. He works on short field goals from all the hash marks, then he goes back and works on long field goals. He's one of those guys who you can point to, when you look at who he was as a freshman to where he is as now as a junior, and he is a completely different person, kicker and athlete. He has a strong leg, he is very competitive and through his work and his practice habits, he's developed great confidence in his abilities.
           
"He's one of our best pure athletes. He does a great job in the weight room. He's somebody that really values training and improvement. One of the things I really like about Jon is he's always working to get better. He's never satisfied."
           
Alberts was among 21 kickers on the Fred Mitchell Award September Watch List, and one of seven from Division III schools. He was named the conference special teams player of the week last week for the fourth time in two seasons. He's hit four of five field goal tries this year and ranks first in the league in extra-point percentage at 97.3, converting 36 of 37 kicks.
           
Dutch numbers—Central is fifth in the NCAA Division III in Red Zone offense, scoring on 96.6 percent of trips inside the opponent's 20-yard line. But the Dutch were stopped for the first time this season Saturday at Wartburg, failing to score on one of two opportunities. Central has converted on 28 of 29 overall, with 26 touchdowns and two field goals. Opponents have scored on 18 of 29 opportunities.
           
Central ranks 14th in kickoff returns, averaging 25.4 yards, and is 16th in first downs with 22 per game. Hawkins is ninth in completion percentage (68.3). He's completed 126 of 186 passes for 1,650 yards with four interceptions and 16 touchdowns. Strong safety Jordy Borman (junior, Eagan, Minn.) remains tied for second in interceptions with six.
           
Even with the defeat Saturday, Central is outscoring opponents 37.1-19.0. The Dutch are outgaining them 425.0 yards to 389.0.
           
Punting mark threatened--Late fall weather can make punting a challenge, but Cam Kiner (senior, Craig, Neb., Oakland-Craig HS) can make a run at the school season punting average mark of 41.8 yards set by Joel Buseman in 1996. Kiner is averaging 43.5 yards on 17 kicks. Tyler Bryant (senior, Donnellson, Central Lee HS) is averaging 35.0 yards on 20 kicks, seven of which he's dropped inside the opponent's 20-yard line.
           
Notes—Central dropped out of the AFCA Division III top 25 but is still receiving votes…Like Central, Coe has a young lineup. The Kohawks list just six seniors in the starting lineup…With just 14 games as a starter, Hawkins has already moved into seventh on Central's career touchdown passes list with 34. He's 10th in career pass completions with 243 and 10th in career passing yards with 3,341…Hawkins' pass efficiency rating of 392.1 in the Central's Sept. 29 win over Buena Vista is the highest single-game rating in Division III this season. He completed 16 of 17 passes for 206 yards and four touchdowns in the 62-20 victory…Prior to last week, the Dutch had won 11 straight since a 44-20 defeat at Pella against the Knights Oct. 7, 2017. Central has already matched last year's season wins total as that squad closed at 7-3...Coe defensive coordinator Cody Baethke will be on familiar turf Saturday. A former Dutch defensive back, Baethke graduated from Central in 2010 and became an assistant coach in 2013 before leaving last spring… Wassenaar, whose field goal record was broken Saturday, was also standout defensive end from 1980-83, a more common combination in those years. He was among the last Central starting field goal kickers to employ the traditional straight-on kicking style that seems to have vanished from the gridiron. Kevin Sanger, another defensive end and later a coach at Central and Athletics Hall of Honor member, employed the same style for the Dutch from 1989-92.