PELLA—It's a season opener for the second week in a row as the Central College football team must prepare for a DePauw University's (Ind.) squad playing its first game in 2019.
           
After a bit of a slow start, Central (1-0) shook off the rust with a 42-12 conquest of the University of Northwestern-St. Paul (Minn.) Saturday, while DePauw was idle.
           
Game time is 1 p.m. Saturday 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), with retired Central defensive coordinator Don De Waard providing the color. Castle, now in his 19th season, received an Iowa Broadcast News Association sports play-by-play award last spring for his coverage of Dutch football.

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.

A video webcast of the action and live stats can be accessed via the Central athletics website at www.central.edu/athletics.

On Mondays, Castle plays host to coach Jeff McMartin on the KRLS Coaches' Corner at 7 p.m. Those broadcasts are also available on demand through www.kniakrls.com.
Twitter users can get updates through @CentralDutch.

Another opener-- Central emerged a 16-10 winner over DePauw in torrential rains at Greencastle, Indiana last year, the teams' first-ever meeting. DePauw returns 10 starters from a 4-6 club. Coaches abhor uncertainty, but with the Tigers making their season debut and so many new faces, McMartin must deal with the unexpected.

"We have no film on them," he said. "They could be a completely different team than they were last year. We're going off what they did last year but we have to be ready for anything. We know they'll be well-coached and they'll play hard."

Yet Central does have the advantage of game experience and anticipated improvement from week one.

"I'm glad that we have a game under our belt," McMartin said. "It's great that we got some experience. We can see some things on film and say, 'Here's where we have to get better. We've been in a game setting now, the lights were on, the crowd was in the stands, it was game day. We can say to the team, 'This is what you did and these are things we can improve,' and then work hard to grow in those areas."
           
Even last year's game is of limited benefit in preparation, given the heavy rain and wind.
           
"The play-calling, the score, everything was indicative of a game that was played under some really challenging conditions," McMartin said. "It was a very unusual game. There are some things you can take out of it but you have to keep it in context. "
           
McMartin's former team--There's some familiarity this week, however. McMartin spent four seasons (2000-03) as offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at DePauw before returning to Central in 2004. The Blackstock Stadium field is named for Nick Mourouzis, who served as DePauw head coach during McMartin's tenure there.
           
DePauw coach Bill Lynch is in his eighth season after serving as Indiana University head coach from 2007-10. He was head coach at Butler University from 1985-89 and at Ball State University from 1995-2002. He also served as an assistant at Butler, Northern Illinois and Indiana and spent a year as an assistant in Orlando in the USFL in 1985. He was head coach at DePauw in 2004 before leaving for Indiana, then returned in 2013. He's compiled a 47-23 record at DePauw.

The Tigers—An injury to DePauw's starting quarterback in the first half of Central's game changed the trajectory of its 2018 season. Junior Chase Andries eventually saw the most action at quarterback and is this year's starter. He completed 93 of 176 passes for 1,140 yards with 10 TDs and six interceptions. Andries was also the team's top rusher with 200 yards on 52 carries. Sophomore running back Noah Jones saw limited action as a rookie but has taken over the starting job this year.
           
"We've got to stop their running game and at least prepare for quarterback runs, which they've shown in the past," McMartin said. "If they go a different route, we've got to be ready for that. We've got to prepare for a lot of potential systems that could come at us. Some of it is going to be game-time adjustments."

The DePauw defensive identity is built on a run-smothering front. The Tigers yielded just 60.1 yards on the ground per game last year, ranking fifth in Division III.
           
"They're going to make it difficult for you to run the football and they'll really pressure you in the passing game," McMartin said. "They're going to really come after us. We're going to have to be really sound in our protection schemes and make good decisions with the football to take care of it. That's going to be a real key for us offensively.

Senior outside linebacker Brody Gude is the top returning tackler, with 49 stops, including 7.5 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks. But Joe Zanca, a 5-foot-11, 230-pound junior nose guard, is perhaps creating the most pregame angst for McMartin.

"He's an unbelievable player," he said. "You just don't see many players with a motor like that."

Film study—A review of Central's opener Saturday predictably revealed avenues for improvement.
           
"I felt like we had some missed assignments and missed tackles and some things, technique-wise, on both sides of the ball we weren't doing the way we need to do them to be successful," McMartin said. "We moved well and got around the field well, but we're really going to have to improve this week in all phases. There's a lot of growth opportunity here, and that's good."

After missing on five of his first seven pass attempts, quarterback Blaine Hawkins (junior, Ankeny) connected on 22 of his final 26 throws, finishing with 299 yards and a school-record six touchdown passes. He was named the American Rivers male athlete of the week.

Senior wide receiver Hunter Robinson (Lisbon) posted a career-high eight receptions for 78 yards and two touchdowns, including a leaping 18-yard grab for Central's first score. He also returned four punts for 52 yards. Junior Tanner Schminke (Boone) had seven catches for 110 yards and two scores.
           
"Hunter Robinson had a really good game," McMartin said. "He showed up early and often and was good as a returner as well. He was a difference-maker for us. He's somebody who's worked to get better each week. He got off to a great start as a senior. That first touchdown catch was big-time."
           
New faces—While Central has a veteran club, several new players saw action. Freshman running back Ben Crist (Elizabeth, Ill., River Ridge HS) received some notice with eight late carries for 33 yards.
           
"Ben showed some flashes of good things," McMartin said. "(Outside linebacker) Cody Wonderlich (junior, Pleasant Hill, Southeast Polk HS) looked good. (Free safety, a converted quarterback) Brayden Egli (sophomore, Saint Charles, Interstate 35 HS) played a very good game in his first start on defense."
           
A 6-foot-7 quarterback, freshman Drew Coffman (Grinnell) got some late snaps, completing six of 10 passes for 42 yards, enough for him to move up to second team on the depth chart this week.
           
Captains—The Dutch voted on 2019 team captains Friday night and named Hawkins, tight end Ross Norem (senior, Iowa Falls, Iowa Falls-Alden HS), linebacker Tate O'Tool (senior, Fort Dodge, St. Edmond HS) and center Jake Suggett (senior, Chula Vista, Calif., Eastlake HS).

Blaine bits—Hawkins' presence in the Central record book continues to grow in prominence.
           
His six TD strikes vaulted him into a tie for third with Riley Gray (2013-16) on career passing touchdowns with 42, 16 behind all-time leader Tim Connell (2004-07). His 24 completions are tied for eighth on the single-game charts and his 299 passing yards rank 21st. He's moved into eighth place in career passing yardage with 3,886, passing Mark VanderLinden (1974-77) and Chris Nelson (1969-72). He also passed Vander Linden and Nelson for eighth in career pass completions with 287.
           
Notes—Central is off next week before playing the next eight weeks against American Rivers foes, starting with a Sept. 28 homecoming contest against Loras College…The Dutch don't yet know what they have in the punting game. In his first start, Que Baker-McCauley (freshman, Mesa, Ariz., Tempe HS) punted only once, for 35 yards...A mishandled second-half snap bounced out of the end zone, resulting in a safety. It was the first safety recorded against the Dutch since Sept. 18, 2010…Central had 10 ball carriers and nine receivers against Northwestern-St. Paul…Prior to last year's meeting, Central had only twice played in Indiana.