PELLA—Central College will host Wheaton College (Ill.) in an NCAA Division III Football Championships second-round game Saturday.
           
Game time is noon at Ron and Joyce Schipper Stadium in Pella. Tickets are $10 for adults, while tickets for seniors and students are $5. Children age 2 and under are admitted free. All tickets are general admission and transactions are cssh only. Tickets can be purchased at the gates when they open at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.  Advance tickets can be purchased Tuesday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Wednesday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. and Friday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. For more information call the athletics office at 641-628-5226.
           
Wheaton is 10-1 after thrashing Aurora University (Ill.) 63-31 at home Saturday. Central (11-0) advanced with a 61-35 victory over Bethel University (Minn.) at Schipper Stadium. Saturday's contest will be a rematch of a 2019 second-round game in which the Thunder rolled past Central 49-13.
           
Saturday's winner moves on to the Division III quarterfinal round the following Saturday, Dec. 4, against the winner of a matchup between the No. 3 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (11-0) and unranked DePauw University (Ind.) (9-2) at Whitewater, Wisconsin.
           
While Central is seeded ahead of Wheaton in the NCAA's regional rankings, the Thunder are rated No. 9 in the AFCA Division III Coaches' Poll and No. 6 in the D3football.com Top 25. Central is ranked No. 10 by the AFCA and No. 8 by D3football.com.
           
The Dutch claimed a record 32nd American Rivers Conference title and is making its 22nd NCAA playoff appearance.