SAINT PETER, MINN.— Unable to find its groove on offense, the Central College football team started its season with a 29-3 loss against Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.) Saturday.
The Dutch (0-1) suffered a season-opening loss for the first time since 2017.
"We didn't execute how we needed to," coach
Jeff McMartin said. "Our guys played hard all day on both sides of the ball. It wasn't a lack of effort, it just really come down to execution."
Six of Central's 10 offensive possessions ended with a turnover on downs, including four in the second half. Central had consecutive drives end on the Gustavus 25, 23, 32 and 7-yard lines.
"We just got to a point where we felt like the down and distances were favorable on fourth," McMartin said." We needed to stay on the field offensively and needed to create some plays and we couldn't make those things happen."
A 23-yard field goal by
Andrew Mohan (junior, Waverly, Waverly-Shell Rock HS) at the end of the first half was the only points of the day for the Dutch.
"There were some things we can build on, especially our special teams" McMartin said. "We punted very well. We had some good returns and our kick coverage was pretty good. Those were some positives."
Cody Klein (junior, Newton) was Central's top rusher, netting 51 yards on seven carries. Quarterback
Colin Kerndt (sophomore, Pella) was 10-18 for 138 yards through the air. Tight end
Elam Praises (Elizabeth, Colo., Mountain Vista HS) had three catches for 66 yards and
Tate Jirovsky (junior, Grundy Center) had three grabs for 44 yards.
Linebacker
Clay Saak (junior, Grundy Center) was Central's leading tackler with seven, including 1.5 tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry. Safety
Peyton Ritzert (senior, Pella, Pella Christian HS) and linebacker
Ty Alcott (sophomore, Belle Plaine) each had six tackles as well.
The Gusties took advantage of good field possession, scoring three of their four touchdowns on drives that started in Central territory.
"Our defense got a number of stops in some tough situations," McMartin said. "They got put in a lot of hard situations today."
The Dutch go back to Minnesota next Saturday for a 6 p.m. contest against the University of Northwestern – St. Paul (Minn.).
