PELLA — Stringing together 35 unanswered points in the second and third quarters, the Central College football conquered Buena Vista University for a 56-21 win Saturday.
Tied at 14-14, Central (4-3, 2-2 American Rivers Conference) completed an 11 play, 73-yard scoring drive with a three-yard
Tyler Fiala touchdown catch from
Brett Connolly (sophomore, Plainfield, Ill., Oswego HS) with 3:22 remaining in the opening half.
Buena Vista (1-6, 0-4 conference) went for it on fourth down from the Central 43-yardline but linebacker
Clay Saak (junior Grundy Center) stopped the running back short on a swing pass to give the Dutch another possession before the half.
Cody Klein's (junior, Newton) 10-yard rushing touchdown with 32 seconds left on the clock gave the Dutch a 28-14 halftime lead.
"It was nice to see
Clay Saak back today," coach
Jeff McMartin said. "He's one of our great leaders and the heartbeat of our defense. That was a huge stop right before halftime and then we put together a great drive."
Klein turned a short pass play into a 63-yard touchdown from Connolly on the opening play of the third quarter. On the ensuing kickoff,
Andrew Mohan (junior, Waverly, Waverly-Shell Rock HS) recovered his onside kick to give the Dutch the ball back.
Eli Rouse (junior, Huxley, Ballard HS) turned another short pass from Connolly into a 39-yard touchdown grab.
"We told the team we had to score coming out of the half to get space between us and Buena Vista," McMartin said. "We were confident the onside kick would be there and credit to Andrew for getting it. He kicked off well all day and made his extra points."
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Bobby Blackburn (sophomore, Gilbert, Ariz., Campo Verde HS) eight-yard rushing touchdown near the end of the quarter put Central in front 49-14 to complete the 35-point scoring run.
Central finished with 535 offensive yards on 70 total plays. Nine different ball carriers totaled 293 yards on the ground, led by 90 from
Jase Grunder (senior, Tampico, Ill., Prophetstown HS) and 69 from Klein. Klein finished with two rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown.
Ayden Williams (sophomore, Queen Creek, Ariz., ALA-Ironwood HS) also had a one-yard scoring plunge in the fourth quarter.
Through the air, Central completed 14 of 17 passes to nine different receivers.
Elam Parises (sophomore, tight end, Elizabeth, Colo., Mountain Vista HS) had three catches for 48 yards.
"We can be a very balanced offense," McMartin said. "A lot of people touched the ball for us and made plays and our offensive line did a really good job."
Safety
Cole K. Johnson (senior, Grinnell) led the Dutch defense with six total tackles. Safety
Peyton Ritzert (senior, Pella, Pella Christian HS) had five stops and a pass break-up. Linebacker
Jace Tippett (sophomore, Eldridge, North Scott HS) had four tackles and a forced fumble.
Owen Tomko (senior, Costa Mesa, Calif., Fountain Valley HS) returned an interception 26 yards.
Dom D'Aprile (junior, Davenport, Assumption HS) had a career-high five tackles and a diving interception on the last Buena Vista possession of the day.
"Anytime we win a football game, I'm happy," McMartin said. "It's another good, little momentum boost to feel like we're improving as a football team and to have confidence going into next week."
Central travels to Loras College next Saturday for a 1 p.m. game.
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