PELLA—More new faces will work their way onto the field for the Central College football team.
           
It's largely by necessity as injuries continue to batter the Dutch, but coach Jeff McMartin also sees great potential in his younger players and is looking for more progress in reducing mistakes when his club meets Simpson College for the 101st time here Saturday. Central (4-2 overall, 2-2 American Rivers) had an uneven performance before pulling away with a 52-27 victory at Buena Vista University last Saturday behind three interceptions by free safety Reece Miller (junior, Center Point, Center Point-Urbana HS). Simpson (0-6 overall, 0-4 conference) was defeated at home by Loras College 65-21.
           
Game time is 1 p.m. at Ron and Joyce Schipper Stadium.
           
On the air and online—The Voice of the Dutch, Trevor Castle, calls the 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 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.
Castle also hosts "Coaches' Corner" with coach Jeff McMartin each Monday at 6 p.m. on KRLS and is available on demand online.
           
The series—Central overwhelmed Simpson at Indianola a year ago, 84-16, and holds a 68-29-3 advantage in the teams' series. Simpson was last a winner in 2013 and last won in Pella in 2012. It's Central's oldest league rivalry with the teams first meeting in 1905.
           
Simpson--Simpson is second in the conference in passing offense with 308.3 yards per game. Reed Worth took over the receiving yardage lead from Central's Ryan Neu (junior, West Des Moines, Valley HS) with 129.3 yards per game, catching 40 passes for 776 yards and eight touchdowns. He's also the conference all-purpose yardage leader with 832 yards, picking up 37 yards rushing and 19 on punt returns.
           
Sophomore quarterback J Jensen III has completed 127 of 224 passes (.567) for 1,619 yards and 13 touchdowns with eight interceptions.
           
McMartin said the scoreboard has sometimes dictated that Simpson go to a pass-heavy attack but said the team is capable of running the ball as well. Senior running back Desmond Alexander has rushed for 338 yards on 104 carries.
           
"They've run the ball effectively in some games," he said. "Their tailback does a good job. They do both (run and pass) well."
           
Senior linebacker Wyatt Schaben is the defensive leader with 62 tackles, including 32 solos and 3.5 tackles for loss with a fumble recovery and an interception.
           
"They have a really big defensive line, their linebackers get around the field and make plays, and their secondary is improving each week," McMartin said. "We know they're going to be excited to play Central. It's a rivalry game and we know we're going to get Simpson's best effort every year."
           
Simpson is getting outscored 52.5-17.0 and outgained 516.8 yards to 383.8. It's a young squad with seven sophomore starters and three freshmen, including a pair in the offensive line, along with 10 senior starters.
           
Making corrections—McMartin found some talking points in the video from Saturday's win.
           
"Some things we didn't execute well really hurt us," he said. "Complementary football is about putting each other in good positions to be successful on offense and defense. There were times we didn't do that, like when we would have a defensive penalty, or we'd drop a pass or fumble a punt. Those types of plays limit your opportunities to be where you want to be. We feel like we can improve those things."
           
Getting flagged for a season-high 12 penalties didn't sit well with McMartin but he didn't see a consistent theme.
           
"There were some effort plays and there were a couple where we maybe just didin't have the type of focus that we needed to have," he said.
           
New faces, new places—Injuries have dictated some changes. It's given an opportunity for several young players to shine but also makes game preparation even more crucial.
           
"We've tried to communicate with our players that if you're out there, we believe in you, we know you can get the job done and we want to work with you," McMartin said. "We want to provide opportunities to learn with film, in the classroom and in practice so that they're prepared."
           
Among the new starters listed for this week are freshman cornerback Ben DeMeulenaere (Belle Plaine), junior outside linebacker Austin Burns (Williamsburg) and senior strong safety Dillon Hoit (Solon).
           
Quarterback option—Four Central players again saw action at quarterback at Buena Vista, with three seeing the bulk of the action. Cooper Downs (sophomore, Ames) is listed as the starter again this week after completing 11 of 16 passes for 64 yards. Brady Ketchum (sophomore, Mount Vernon), who started earlier in the season, connected on 14-of-22 for 142 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman Keegan Glover (Benton, Ill.) rushed for 37 yards and three touchdowns. He completed five of six passes for 65 yards. Hunter Hoffman (freshman, Pecatonica, Ill.) also appeared late in the game.
           
"When you watch film, all three of them executed and took our team down for scores," McMartin said. "It's a matter of continuing to play to their strengths and working to make sure they are executing the way that they're capable of executing."
           
Central had a more productive day on the ground than in the previous week with 178 yards.
           
"We did a good job of taking advantage of the opportunities we had," McMartin said. "BV is not an easy team to run the ball on because they bring a lot of pressures and there's a lot of movement that you have to pick up. I thought, for the most part, we did a lot of good things in that area on Saturday."
           
Dutch numbers—Central is 11th in Division III in passing offense (318.2 yards per game) and 24th in scoring offense (41.3). The Dutch are 18th in turnover margin at plus-1.33 per game.
           
Kicker Logan Sunvold (junior, Monroe, Southeast Polk HS) is eighth in field goals per game (1.0) while cornerback Stevie Maddox, Jr. (senior, Mesa, Ariz., Tempe HS) is 13th in fumbles recovered (2). Neu is ninth in touchdown receptions (7) and 21st in receiving yards (581). With three interceptions Saturday, Miller has tied cornerback Cameron Bannister (State Center, West Marshall HS) for 11th in interceptions per game (0.7).
           
Honor roll—Miller was named the American Rivers defensive player of the week and was tabbed for the D3football.com Team of the Week. Miller returned his third interception Saturday for 54 yards and game-securing fourth quarter touchdown. He also forced a fumble and had eight tackles, including five unassisted stops.
           
Miller's three interceptions were the most by a Central player in one game since Jordy Borman picked off three passes against the University of Northwestern-St. Paul (Minn.) Sept. 1, 2018.
           
Notes—Central has added a game to its junior varsity schedule after having an opponent cancel earlier. The Dutch will travel to Fort Dodge Nov. 7 to take on Iowa Central Community College…Simpson is the least penalized team in the conference with just 24 flags in six games. Central has been penalized 44 times for 399 yards…Dutch opponents have controlled the ball for an average of 33:38 of the game's 60 minutes, yet Central is outscoring them 41.3-21.0 and outgaining them 458.7 yards to 362.7.