PELLA— Coming off a frustrating home loss to Wartburg College, the Central College football team is headed to Storm Lake Saturday for a game against Buena Vista University.
           
On the air and online—The Voice of the Dutch, Trevor Castle, calls the action on KRLS-FM (92.1), with Pella Mayor and former 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.
           
The Beavers — Buena Vista started 0-2 with non-conference losses against Benedictine University [Ill.] (34-7) and Wisconsin Lutheran College (44-13). The Beavers righted the ship with a 20-17 road win at Loras College last Saturday.
           
"They did a really good defensively against Loras," coach Jeff McMartin said. "Their four interceptions were the turning point of the game. They found ways to keep Loras out of the end zone. It's not easy to start your season 0-2 and keep believing and battling. I give them a lot of credit for that."
           
Starting quarterback Zach Herrera is 49-79 with 363 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions the season. Eman Alaniz is the team's leading rusher with 195 yards on 47 attempts. The Beavers are in the top 15 nationally with six interceptions.
           
"Their quarterback makes them go," McMartin said. "You must contain him. Defensively, they've got good secondary and linebackers."
           
Speed wins – Central held the defending conference champions without an offensive touchdown while limiting them to 272 yards despite being on the field for over 33 minutes of game play.
           
"Our defense did a lot of really good things," McMartin said. "Our team speed and how they work together was good. Coach Hodges put together a good game plan and our assistants did a really good job of teaching them."
           
After three turnovers by its offense, the Dutch defense generated three turnovers. Reece Miller (fifth year, Center Point, Center Point-Urbana HS) had his second interception of the season while Ben DeMeulenaere (junior, Chelsea, Belle Plaine HS) had his first. Gavin Hierseman (senior, West Branch) also forced and recovered a fumble. Miller and Gavin Smith (junior, Audubon) lead the team with four pass break-ups on the season. Central has a total of eight sacks and 27 tackles for loss with 19 pass break-ups. Linebacker Cael Fiderlein (senior, West Branch) has a team-high 26 tackles.
           
Converting on third – After starting the season by converting on 20 of 34 third-down attempts, the Dutch struggled with a 3-for-15 mark in that category Saturday. Central's offense started the second half with five consecutive drives that didn't yield a first down. The Dutch also had three first-half turnovers.
           
"We did not convert our third downs well at all," McMartin said. "Some of that is putting ourselves in a better position on third down but some of it is execution on third down. We just didn't make plays at critical times and you're going to have if you want first downs."
           
Central had just 264 yards of total offense, its lowest total since the 2019 loss to Wheaton College in the NCAA Division III playoffs, when the Dutch had 253 yards. It was also the first time Central had been held under 10 points since a 28-7 loss to the University of Dubuque in 2019.
           
"There were some bright spots offensively, but not enough of them," McMartin said. "We lacked consistency and had poorly timed penalties. Our execution hurt us at times. Turnovers and penalties get good teams beat. We've really got to work to eliminate some of those things."
           
Neu record – With his two-yard scoring catch in the second quarter against Wartburg, Dutch wide receiver Ryan Neu (fifth year, West Des Moines, Valley HS) took possession of the program's career receiving touchdown mark with 37.
           
"He's played a lot of football for us," McMartin said. "He's gotten more consistent each year and he's made a lot of big plays. He's someone we need to get the ball to. As we game plan each week, we work to find packages that are going to include him. He believes in himself and he's worked really hard to be successful."
           
JV team starts with a win — Central's junior varsity team started its five-game season on the road Monday night with a 17-14 win over Wartburg. Kicker Andrew Mohan (freshman, Waverly, Waverly-Shell Rock HS) started the scoring with a 27-yard field goal. Quarterback Cole Duty (freshman, Gonzales, Texas) had a one-yard rushing TD in the second quarter. A five-yard scoring pass from Brayden Ruskey (sophomore, Solon) to wide receiver Kelton Youngberg (sophomore, Davenport, West HS) Central on top for good. Cornerback Adam Cook (freshman, Cedar Rapids, Xavier HS) sealed the game with a fourth-quarter interception deep in Central territory.
           
Notes— The Dutch are playing in Storm Lake in the month of September for just the second time in McMartin's 21-year tenure. Central's last three trips came after October 15…Dating back to 1962, Central is 31-2 in Storm Lake. The most recent defeat was 39-38 in a 2017 overtime contest…The Dutch have scored at least 50 points in the last five games against Buena Vista, including 65 in a 2021 trip to Storm Lake…