Zack Bandow pass Sept. 27, 2008

Central defense holds on at Albion

ALBION, MICH.—Central College scored 13 points in a 4-minute span of the second quarter and made them stand up for a 13-12 non-conference win at Albion College (Mich.) Saturday. Ranked No. 23 in D3football.com, the Dutch (2-1) got a pair of touchdown passes from sophomore Zack Bandow (Manilla, IKM HS). Trailing 7-0, Bandow hit tight end Jake Nero (senior, Chandler, Ariz., Corona Del Sol HS) on a 13-yard TD pass with 14:55 left in the second quarter but the point after was blocked. The touchdown was set up by a 49-yard Bandow toss to Cam Waugh (senior, Fort Collins, Colo., Loveland HS), the other half of a two-play scoring drive.

Central followed with a six-play, 64-yard drive as Bandow found Matt VerMeer (senior, Montezuma) on a 10-yard scoring pass for a 13-7 lead with 11:02 left in the half.

A 30-yard Albion field goal by Mychal Galla made it 13-10, but perhaps the game’s pivotal play came with 4:24 remaining in the half. Dutch punter Kurtis Brondyke’s  (sophomore, Clinton) punt was blocked at the Central 4-yard line. But Brondyke alertly booted the loose ball out of the end zone for a safety, rather than risk an Albion recovery for a touchdown. Brondyke then bombed the free kick more than 65 yards to keep Albion out of scoring position. That left the Dutch up 13-12 and that’s the way it stayed through a scoreless second half.

“That was a very important play,” coach Jeff McMartin said. “We did a bad job of protecting but it could have turned out a lot worse.

“Kurtis followed it up with a great kick which helped from a field-position standpoint and field position was very important in this game,” McMartin said, noting that the Dutch also got significant help in that area from placekicker Jason Goulden (sophomore, Cedar Falls).

Central held a 282-208 yard edge in total offense and limited the Britons to 64 yards after intermission.

“The defense really stepped up in the second half,” McMartin said. “That was a critical component of the game today.”

Running back David Zachary (junior, Des Moines, Dowling HS) rushed for a career-high 95 yards on 15 carries while Dustin Veldhuizen (senior, Oskaloosa) added 43yards on nine carries.

“They both ran real hard,” McMartin said. “The offensive line did a good job of blocking. They were all very effective.”

Bandow completed 11 of 23 passes for 160 yards and two scores with no interceptions and one sack.

Aaron Dolkowski carried the load for Albion, rushing for 76 yards on 33 attempts—all but three of the team’s carries. Quarterback Donovan Dooley completed 19 of 31 passes for 154 yards and a score. He was sacked once and was intercepted on the game’s final play, a desperation heave that was picked off by Central stinger Corben Schueler (junior, Granger, Woodward-Granger HS).

Linebackers Justin Ver Steeg (senior, Pella) and Zach Van Arkel (junior, Malcom, Grinnell HS) each had 11 tackles. Another linebacker, Greg Best (sophomore, Clive, Valley HS), had six stops, including 1.5 tackles for loss and forced a fumble.

“They both played the run real well,” McMartin said. “Greg Best also brought a good spark. He maybe didn’t have as many tackles but he stood out with his energy level.”

Stinger Jarred Lackey (sophomore, Somerton, Ariz., Cibola HS) and defensive back Chad Eisenman (senior, Britt, West Hancock HS) each had nine tackles.

Central returns to Iowa Conference play next Saturday, traveling to Decorah to meet Luther College. The Norse (1-2 overall, 1-1 conference) were stopped at Simpson College Saturday, 28-9.