PELLA— Looking to rally after a narrow road defeat last weekend, the Central College football will try to extend a long winning streak against Luther College Saturday.
           
Central (4-2, 2-2 American Rivers Conference) brings a 14-year winning streak against Luther (1-4, 0-3 conference) into Saturday's game. Central also hasn't lost consecutive games since 2018.
           
On the air and online—The Voice of the Dutch, Trevor Castle, calls the action on KRLS-FM (92.1), with Dutch 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. A live stream is available on the Central Dutch Network app or at https://www.centraldutchnetwork.com/centraldutchsports/
           
The Norse— Luther (1-4, 0-3 American Rivers Conference) has been outscored 175-20 in its first three conference games. The Norse were able to grind out a 9-6 home win over Anderson University (Ind.) on September 28. Of the 71 players on the Luther roster, only 15 are juniors or seniors.
           
"They're a young a team but they play hard, and they play for each other," coach Jeff McMartin said. "You can tell they're a tight-knit team."
           
Junior Aiden Damiani leads the team with 161 rushing yards through five games. The Norse have used multiple quarterbacks, but sophomore Brett Liljedahl leads the team with 478 yards through the air with a pair of touchdowns. Junior Nick Gonzalez leads the team with 16 catches and 194 yards.
           
Sophomore Tyler Ragan leads the team with 54 tackles, two pass break-ups and three fumble recoveries. Sophomore Bronson Knutson has 36 tackles and sophomore Jacob Whitehill has 2.5 tackles-for-loss.
           
"They're going to give you some different formations offensively," McMartin said. "They're also going to give you some different looks defensively and you have to be ready for it. It's important that we stay sharp and execute well and play to our standard.                                                          
           
Getting in the backfield – Central's defense continues to put up great numbers, recording a season-high six sacks against the Kohawks. They lead the American Rivers Conference with 3.33 sacks and 8.2 tackles-for-loss per game.
           
"We've done a good job of getting players in one-on-one scenarios and then winning those scenarios," McMartin said.                                                                                                                        
           
Defensive lineman Nick Bandy (senior, Dubuque, Wahlert HS) and outside linebacker Reid Pakkebier (senior, Cedar Rapids, Kennedy HS) each have 4.5 sacks on the season. Pakkebier had three alone against Coe and was named to D3football.com's Team of the Week.
           
"What we're asking Reid to do within our defense is perfect for him," McMartin said. "When he decides to blitz, it happens quickly and he's also good at covering in space. It's awesome to see a player continue to improve over four years."
           
Offense looking for fixes  – The Kohawks held Central to a season-low 225 yards of total offense with just 161 through the air. Central's offense piled up 500+ yards in three of its other games.
           
"We have to look at things we didn't do well and correct them," McMartin said. "A lot of it is execution. If you're going to be an effective organization, there must be a sense of accountability. And then with that accountability there's got to be a sense of improvement."
           
Notes— Central is 61-22-1 in all contests against Luther…The Dutch have a 14-game winning streak in the series and the Norse have not won in Pella since 1976…Last Saturday's double overtime loss to Coe was the 20th overtime game in program history. Central is now 14-6 in those games…It was only the fourth time the Dutch have played multiple overtimes in the same game and the first since 2007, a 37-34 triple overtime win against Dubuque.
 
Central College probable starters
 
OFFENSE
QB       18        Hunter Hoffman (6-1, 170, jr.)  
RB       31        Jase Grunder (5-7, 170, so.)                  
TE        23        Grant Nelson (6-0, 220, sr.)      
HB       12        Keegan Glover (6-2, 180, jr.)    
WR      80        Cam Schulte (6-3, 215, so.)                  
WR      13        Ryan Neu (6-0, 180, 5Y)                                  
LT        72        Tyler Harms (6-3, 270, jr.)                   
LG       71        Carson Zitlow (6-1, 275, sr.)                
C          70        Maximus Reitano (6-2, 295, jr.)            
RG       66        Levi Janssen (6-4, 290, sr.)                   
RT       51        Kade Tippet (6-2, 270, sr.)                   
 
DEFENSE      
DL       42        Derek Mueller (6-2, 230, 5Y)               
DL       34        Sebastian Duarte (5-11, 260, jr.)           
DL       15        Tate Hagen (6-0, 235, 5Y)                   
DL       2          Nick Bandy (6-2, 225, sr.)        
LB       30        Reid Pakkebier (6-2, 210, sr.)               
LB       32        Cole Clark (5-11, 225, jr.)        
LB       51        Cael Fiderlerin (5-11, 220, sr.)             
CB       5          Ben DeMeulenaere (6-4, 205, jr.)         
SS        4          Reece Miller (5-10, 190. 5Y)                
FS        1          Gavin Hierseman (6-2, 200, sr.)            
CB       21        Gavin Smith (6-0, 185, jr.)                   
 
SPECIALTY
K/PK    26        Logan Sunvold (5-10, 190, 5Y)             
P            3        Austin Burns (5-11, 200, 5Y)               
Ret.      19        Hunter Wilkinson (5-9, 180, 5Y)                       
LS        25        Josh Dennison (5-11, 200, sr.)                                      
H         19        Hunter Wilkinson (5-9, 180, 5Y)
 
2024 schedule
Sept. 7              Illinois Wesleyan          Pella                             W, 49-14
Sept. 14            Cal Lutheran                Thousand Oaks, Calif.  W, 35-10
Sept. 21            Wartburg                      Pella                             L, 10-6
Sept. 28            Buena Vista                 Storm Lake                  W, 52-0
Oct. 5               Simpson                       Pella                             W, 59-14
Homecoming
Oct. 12             Coe                              Cedar Rapids               L, 16-13 (2OT)
Oct. 19             Luther                          Pella                             1 p.m.
Oct. 26             Dubuque                      Dubuque                      1 p.m.
Nov. 2              Loras                           Pella                             1 p.m.
Nov. 16            Nebraska Wesleyan      Lincoln, Neb.               1 p.m.
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