PELLA—Making its latest road-season debut in at least 60 years, the Central College football team travels to Nebraska Wesleyan University for an American Rivers game Saturday.
           
Game time is 1 p.m. at Abel Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.
           
The contest comes after a weekend off but can't arrive soon enough for the Dutch (2-1 overall, 0-1 conference), eager to atone for a 38-35 defeat against Loras College Sept. 17 that snapped the school's 19-game regular-season win streak.
           
Central, which spent all of September in Pella, is ranked No. 24 in the AFCA coaches' poll and No. 23 in the D3football.com top 25.
           
Nebraska Wesleyan (1-3 overall, 0-2 conference) surrendered three second-quarter touchdowns and was outlasted 49-31 at Loras last Saturday.
           
On the air and online—The Voice of the Dutch, Trevor Castle, will call the action on KRLS-FM (92.1), with Pella mayor and retired Dutch defensive coordinator Don De Waard 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 the show is available on demand online.
           
The series—Central outscored the Prairie Wolves 37-7 in Lincoln last year and holds a 10-0 lead in the teams' series.
           
The Prairie Wolves—A high-scoring Nebraska Wesleyan offense is averaging 29.7 points, with 406.3 yards total offense per game, ranking No. 8 in the NCAA Division III in passing offense, averaging 343.2. yards per game. But the Prairie Wolves have yielded 45.7 points and 558.5 yards.
           
"They have a lot of team speed and they've been very explosive," coach Jeff McMartin said. "They're a very dangerous football team."
           
Quarterback Terry Carter has completed 68 of 132 passes (.515) for 941 yards and 11 touchdowns with four interceptions. Receiver Trace Leners has 15 catches for 200 yards and three scores while running back Trystin Myers has nine receptions for 228 yards and a TD. Myers is the top rusher with 201 yards on 38 carries, a 5.3-yard average.
           
"They've thrown the ball a lot and that's been their strength but they're capable of running the ball as well," McMartin said. "They've got a veteran, experienced quarterback who moves well in the pocket and they've got some talented receivers that make it hard on you. They also throw to the running back quite a bit."
           
Linebacker Caleb Kyes has a team-high 29 tackles, including 14 solos while defensive lineman TJ Roybal has 24 stops with 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and a pass breakup.
           
"They've created some turnovers and they pressure the quarterback pretty well," McMartin said. "You have to make sure you take care of the ball and take advantage of your opportunities when you get them."
           
Eager for action—The Dutch coaching staff had plenty of talking points following the loss to Loras and the extra time off provided some valuable instructional time.
           
"There's a number of things we need to work on," McMartin said. "Taking care of the football is one of them. Tackling better, being in position to make plays on both sides of the ball, running better routes and also putting the ball where it needs to be. And we want to continue to be consistent in special teams.
           
"We want to do everything to a high standard. We've got to continue to grow some of these guys that don't have a lot of experience and put them in positions where they can be successful and help the team."
           
McMartin isn't looking at major lineup changes.
           
"I think we have some good players out there," he said. "We just have to make sure we don't beat ourselves. There were some turnovers that really hurt the team and not getting off the field on third down hurt the team. I don't want to take anything away from our opponent. They obviously did a good job, but I think we have to demand more of ourselves and make sure we're playing up to our capabilities."
           
The Dutch are anxious for a shot at returning to the win column.
           
"You have to take advantage of your opportunities and the opportunity we had in front of us was an extra week to prepare and improve," McMartin said. "Nobody likes to sit on a loss for two weeks. But after the first day last week, we turned all of our attention towards Nebraska Wesleyan and getting better."
           
Position switch—The Dutch did make one lineup change. Gavin Hierseman (sophomore, West Branch), who played quarterback last year and moved to wide receiver earlier this fall, has jumped to linebacker, where he's listed on the second team this week. Central has been without senior co-captain Gregory Ricketts (Rochelle, Ill., Rochelle Township HS) due to injury at that spot.
           
"We just wanted to bring more speed and athleticism," McMartin said. "He's a good football player and we feel like our job is to put the best people on the field regardless of position or side of the ball. We feel like Gavin is a quality football player that needs to see the field and think this is an opportunity to do that."
           
National leader— Receiver Ryan Neu (junior, West Des Moines, Valley HS) is the Division III leader in receiving yards per game (162.3), sixth in TD receptions (6), 15th in scoring (12.0 points per game) and 19th in yards per catch (25.6). Defensive back Cameron Bannister (senior, State Center, West Marshall HS) is fourth in interceptions per game with three in three games. Quarterback Brady Ketchum (sophomore, Mount Vernon) is fifth in completions per game (23.3), 10th in passing yards per game (320.7) and 14th in touchdown passes (11). while kicker Logan Sunvold (junior, Monroe, Southeast Polk HS) is eighth in field goals per game at 1.3
           
Central is 12th in Division III in passing offense with 333.7 yards per game.