Nate Snead pass Sept. 6, 2008

Young defense shuts out Lakeland in opener

PELLA—Many of the names were new but the result was familiar as Central College extended its regular-season winning streak to 28 games with a season-opening 41-0 shutout of Lakeland College (Wis.).    

A 24-point second-quarter broke things open as the Dutch captured their fourth straight season opener and posted their first shutout since Nov. 11, 2006. With a defensive unit that returned just two starters from last season, Central limited the Muskies to just 92 yards total offense, the lowest total by an opponent since the Dutch held Upper Iowa to 55 yards on Sept. 28, 2002.

“We have a young defense and we were happy about the opportunities and (repetitions) they were able to get,” said coach Jeff McMartin. “I think that will end up paying dividends down the road.

"We had a real presence from our defensive line today and they made some plays for us."

Dustin VeldhuizenAfter mustering only a 27-yard Jake Viggers (sophomore, Altoona, Southeast Polk HS) field goal in the first quarter, quarterback Nate Snead (sophomore, Altoona, Southeast Polk HS) squirmed his way through several would-be tacklers on a 14-yard scramble to the end zone to cap an 11-play, 81-yard drive with 13:07 left in the second quarter. Running back Dustin Veldhuizen (senior, Oskaloosa) burst free on a 7-yard run for the first of his two touchdowns to complete a 56-yard march and less than a minute later, defensive stinger Jarred Lackey (sophomore, Somerton, Ariz., Cibola HS) returned an interception 28 yards for a score. Viggers added a 38-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.

The Dutch eased off the throttle in the second half. Veldhuizen scored from 2 yards out in the third quarter and freshman quarterback Brandon Estabrok (Pella) sprinted 13 yards on a misdirection play for the game’s final score in the fourth quarter.

Central racked up 372 yards total offense, including 233 yards on the ground. Lakeland was limited to 33 yards rushing and 59 yards passing, completing 8 of 17 passes. Central dominated possession time, controlling the ball for 38:37 of the game’s 60 minutes.

Veldhuizen gained 67 yards on 14 carries while running back David Zachary (junior, Des Moines, Dowling HS) gained 44 yards on 16 rushes and S-back Nate Craft (senior, Princeton, Mo.) rushed for 42 yards on five attempts.Jake Viggers

"The backs carried the ball real well for us today and we were able to get them a lot of carries in the second half,” McMartin said.

Zack Bandow (sophomore, Manilla, IKM HS) earned the starting quarterback nod and completed 6 of 13 passes for 96 yards, overcoming a first-quarter interception. Snead was 2-of-5 for 19 yards and rushed seven times for 34 yards.

We started slowly today and faced a little adversity near the beginning which I think was good for us,” McMartin said. “But I think we handled the turnover real well and didn't let ourselves get distracted by it."

Tight end Jake Nero (senior, Chandler, Ariz., Corona Del Sol HS) had two receptions for 49 yards while Michael O’Rourke (sophomore, Williamsburg) had two catches for 27 yards and Cam Waugh (senior, Fort Collins, Colo., Loveland HS) had two catches for 10 yards.

Jarred LackeyAll-Iowa Conference punter Kurtis Brondyke (sophomore, Clinton) was in mid-season form, averaging 44.0 yards on two punts, including one inside the Lakeland 20-yard line.

A pair of new starters topped a balanced tackle chart. Linebacker Greg Best (sophomore, Clive, Valley HS) and stinger Shane Wong (sophomore, Des Moines, Southeast Polk HS) each had five stops. Wong had two sacks for 10 yards.

Lakeland’s all-region senior linebacker John Wagner had 13 tackles, including 10 solos.

Central has an early open date next week and begins preparing for a stern challenge in its Iowa Conference opener, taking on pre-season league title favorite Wartburg College in a 1 p.m. game Sept. 20 at Ron and Joyce Schipper Stadium.