There's a reason coaches preach about avoiding mistakes.
Central College played mostly error-free football while jumping on multiple Illinois Wesleyan University to outdistance the Titans Saturday, 38-13.
Central (2-0) had a 5-0 advantage in the turnover battle and picked up 96 yards on 11 penalties while getting flagged just twice.
"We were opportunistic," said coach Jeff McMartin, standing on the familiar turf of Tucci Stadium, where he was an assistant for the Titans from 1992-93. "It's funny, we talked about this at the beginning of the week, how important it is to take care of the football and use your opportunities. We did that."
And Illinois Wesleyan (0-1) didn't, with too many opening-game stumbles.
The Dutch had some early red zone frustration, however. A Cam Bannister (5th-year, State Center, West Marshall HS) interception set up Central's initial score, a 2-yard Hunter Hoffman (sophomore, Pecatonica, Ill.) toss to tight end Nik Coble (senior, Crawfordsville, WACO HS) before Central had to settle for field goal tries on its next two opportunities. Logan Sunvold (senior, Monroe, Southeast Polk HS) converted a 26-yarder with 14:10 left in the second quarter before misfiring from 40 yards.
Still leading 10-0 as the half wound down, the Dutch found themselves facing 4th-and-goal from the 9-yard line. McMartin sensed it was time for Central to convert, calling timeout and waving off the field goal team. Receiver Ryan Neu (senior, West Des Moines, Valley HS) made a leaping grab of a 9-yard TD pass from quarterback Keegan Glover (sophomore, Benton, Ill.). That made it 17-0 at halftime and McMartin was breathing easier.
"I was thinking about kicking the field goal, but we needed points," he said. "I felt like we were playing great on defense but as the game wears on, maybe things change and when you have opportunities you have to get convert in the end zone. That was a really big play, a big pass and a really big catch."
Jeff Herbers (5th-year, Urbandale, Des Moines Christian HS) caught a 3-yard Herbers TD pass in the third quarter. And Central seemingly put the game away with a bit of thievery by linebacker Austin Burns (senior, Williamsburg), who stripped an Illinois Wesleyan ballcarrier and raced 48 yards for a TD that made it 31-6.
Illinois Wesleyan had the immediate but short-lived response as Seth Albin raced 99 yards with the ensuing kickoff, the first return Central allowed for a score since Nov. 11, 2017.
But the issue was finally settled when Glover muscled his way to a 1-yard touchdown run with just 2:55 left.
Central outgained Illinois Wesleyan 267 yards to 230.
"Some of the yardage totals are a little deceiving because we had a number of turnovers inside the 50 so we had short fields," McMartin said.
Even with the quick drives, Central held a 32:19-27:41 advantage in possession time.
Hoffman completed 19-of-28 passes for 117 yards and two scores while Glover was 10-of-12 for 80 yards and a TD. Central mustered just 70 yards on the round. Running back Kyle Norton (sophomore, Vancouver, Wash., Evergreen HS) had 26 yards on seven carries.
But this was a day for the Dutch defense to shine. Illinois Wesleyan completed 29 of 40 passes for 208 yards with two interceptions while being limited to only 22 yards rushing on 22 attempts.
"I really thought (defensive coordinator Mitch Shepherd) had a very good game plan that our guys executed well," McMartin said.
Linebacker Reid Pakkebier (junior, Cedar Rapids, Kennedy HS) had eight tackles, with two tackles for loss, a sack and a fumble recovery. Linebacker Brody Klein (senior, Rainier, Wash.) had seven stops and linebacker Josh Dennison (junior, Romeoville, Ill.) had an interception.
Central makes its home debut Saturday with its American Rivers opener against Coe College. The Kohawks (2-0) blasted the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire 44-13 Saturday.