Adjust and execute.
The Central College football team did some of both in the second half of a 38-14 American Rivers victory at Loras College Saturday.
Some missed chances on offense and a late-first half Loras touchdown drive left the Dutch frustrated and tied at intermission 14-14. A year ago at Pella, Loras knocked off the Dutch and a whiff of another upset was in the air.
But the Dutch (5-1 overall, 3-1 conference) provided the emphatic response, needing just six plays at the start of the third quarter to reach the end zone en route to a 24-0 second half.
"We had a good opening series drive," coach Jeff McMartin said. "We made some critical plays and then got a touchdown, that's a momentum thing that makes a statement. It's kind of what we should have been doing the whole first half and what we're capable of."
Loras quarterback Evan England completed 41-of-57 passes for 372 yards but was intercepted twice and sacked six times, all in the second half.
"We did adjust some things with coverages and also talked a lot about some different looks and stunts that we wanted to run," McMartin said. "I think that helped a lot."
One of the interceptions was a 40-yard pick-six by Dutch cornerback Ben DeMuelenaere (sophomore, Belle Plaine). Central also got a blocked punt from freshman Cam Schulte (Pella) that set up the third score of the day by Ryan Neu (senior, West Des Moines, Valley HS) on a 5-yard jet sweep. Earlier Neu snagged TD passes of 33 and 7 yards.
Schulte's block was recovered by defensive lineman Evan Schroeder (sophomore, Garnavillo, Central Elkader HS), who returned it 22 yards.
"We had a return on, but we felt like Cam Schulte's got good speed and he's long," McMartin said. "It was just a matter of him getting the opportunity and he made the most of it. And Evan Schroeder almost returned for a touchdown. He was back in his high school running back days. It was great that he recovered it because we felt like he'd have a chance to run it in."
Loras brought relentless defensive pressure in the first half and Central failed to take advantage.
"There were some key opportunities in the first half that we just didn't execute the way we needed to, so I think we had a lot of hope and confidence we could improve that in the second half," McMartin said. "And the defense did a really good job the whole game of feeding us opportunities."
Quarterback Hunter Hoffman (sophomore, Pecatonica, Ill.) was 20-of-36 for 241 yards with one interception and three touchdowns as Central passed for 265 yards overall. Logan Mont (senior, Aurora, Ill., West Aurora HS) had five catches for 16 yards, Jeff Herbers (5th-year, Urbandale, Des Moines Christian HS) had four receptions for 76 yards and a score and Neu grabbed four passes for 67 yards.
Central was limited to 50 rushing yards on 35 carries with running back Jordan Rusch (senior, Johnston) gaining 50 on 10 carries.
Central was actually outgained 398 yards to 350, but limited Loras to two second-quarter scores. McMartin said the sacks came in the second half but Central's pass rush was relentless throughout the game.
"We felt like we were close in the first half," he said. "We just continued to battle and we made some adjustments on coverages which forced them to hold the ball a bit more. And then I think we actually wore them down a little bit."
Linebacker Brody Klein (senior, Rainier, Wash.) made 12 tackles, including seven solos, along with a pass breakup. Cornerback Gavin Smith (sophomore, Audubon) had nine solo tackles and two breakups and linebacker Reid Pakkebier (junior, Cedar Rapids, Kennedy HS) made seven tops. Defensive end Bradley Warren (sophomore, The Woodlands, Texas) notched three of Central's six sacks, all in the fourth quarter.
"(Warren) is playing really well," McMartin said. "He had some really good pressures last week against Dubuque and also against Luther. He's improving each week and becoming a factor for us."
Strong safety Cameron Bannister (5th-year, State Center, West Marshall HS) made his team-high third interception.
"Cam came back for his fifth year and you always want to see guys excel who make that commitment," McMartin said. "We've got some good DBs and guys that are playmakers. Cam is one of them. He's having a great year."
Central is off next week and returns to action Oct. 21 with a home contest against Nebraska Wesleyan University.
"Week five is typically when you start to kind of get beat-up a little bit so it will be good to let a few people heal up," McMartin said. "And you just want to keep the momentum going and keep getting better. I feel like we are improving as a football team."
24-0 second half carries Central to 38-14 road win
/seasons/2023/boxscores/20231007_ibuj.xml
2023
Central
38
Loras
14
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central (5-1) | 7 | 7 | 21 | 3 | 38 |
| Loras (2-3) | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
Oct 07, 2023