Nate Craft rush Oct. 28, 2008

Central, Loras seek to stay in race

PELLA—Central College will bid to clinch its 47th winning football season since 1960 when Loras College visits Saturday for an Iowa Conference encounter.    

The Dutch are 5-2 overall and 3-2 in league play after a dramatic 29-22 overtime comeback victory at Cornell College last week. Loras (4-3 overall, 3-2 conference) thumped the Univ. of Dubuque 42-6. Both clubs are a game behind Wartburg College and Buena Vista Univ. in the league loss column.

Game time is 1 p.m. at Ron and Joyce Schipper Stadium.

On the air, on the Web—A live video Webcast of the contest will be available through the Central athletics Web site at www.central.edu/athletics, with live stats also offered. Trevor Castle will call the play-by-play on KRLS-FM (92.1) and the broadcast can also be accessed through Central’s Web site or through www.kniakrls.com. A tape-delayed telecast will air in Pella on Mediacom cable channel 12 next Tuesday at 1 p.m. and Thursday at 7 p.m.

The series—Central escaped Loras 17-14 at Dubuque last season and holds a 25-4 advantage in the all-time series which began in 1932. The Duhawks last prevailed in 2003.

The Duhawks—Loras running back Alex McGrew rushed for 234 yards and five touchdowns on 29 carries against Dubuque. His scoring runs included one for 80 yards and he averaged 8.1 yards per carry. McGrew, a 5-foot-11, 190-pound senior, is averaging a league-best 159.9 yards a game, rushing for 1,119 yards and 16 touchdowns in seven contests. McGrew is also first in the league in all-purpose yardage with 231.7 yards per game and leads in scoring with 14.0 points.

Central will try to counter with a defense that’s yielding 103.4 yards rushing per game.

Freshman quarterback Vaughn Gesing has completed 75 of 148 passes for 891 yards with six touchdowns and eight interceptions. Ben McMahon is second in the conference in receiving yards (28 catches, 461 yards, 65.9 avg.).

Loras is second in the league in scoring with 26.0 points per game. The Duhawk defense ranks first in rushing defense (80.1 yards), sacks (22) and fewest first downs by opponents (13.9 per game). Loras is second in total defense (263.0 yards). Loras defensive end Kenny Kikilas is second in the league in sacks (6) and third in tackles for loss (12).

“They’ve got a great running back, a very good wide receiver and the offensive line looks really good,” coach Jeff McMartin said. “They’ll be tough on offense and really fly to the ball on defense. We have to be ready to play good football.”

Conference leaders—Punter Kurtis Brondyke (sophomore, Clinton) remains the Iowa Conference punting leader with a 43.5-yard average. That’s up from 43.1 yards a week ago when he ranked sixth in the NCAA Division III. The school season record is 41.8 yards by Joel Buseman in 1995.

Freshman defensive back Ryan Schmidt (Keswick, Tri-County HS) shares the league interceptions lead with 0.5 per game. He made his third pick of the season Saturday.

Defensive stinger Shane Wong (sophomore, Pleasant Hill, Southeast Polk HS) is the conference sacks leader with nine, an average of 1.3. He was tied for 20th in Division III last week with a 1.0 average.

Bandow to the rescue—Quarterback Zack Bandow (sophomore, Manilla, IKM HS), Central’s starter in the season’s first four games, came off the bench to spark the Dutch in the second half at Cornell. Trailing 22-6 midway through the third quarter, Central used three Bandow touchdown passes to surge past the Rams for an overtime win. He completed 10 of 19 passes for 151 yards. Jarred Lackey (sophomore, Somerton, Ariz., Cibola HS), making his third start since moving back to quarterback from defensive stinger, completed four of eight passes for 22 yards and also tossed a completion on a crucial two-point conversion that let Central tie the game 22-22 with 2:32 remaining.

McMartin was delighted with how Bandow responded to the challenge after spending most of the previous two weeks on the sidelines.

“We were down 16 points and felt like we needed to change things up,” he said. “In baseball terms, sometimes you change a pitcher just to give a little different look.”

Wide receiver Matt VerMeer (senior, Montezuma) also drew McMartin’s praise. He made three catches for 61 yards and two touchdowns and also caught the game-tying two-point conversion pass.

“Matt really came through on some big plays,” McMartin said. “That’s a testimony to his mental toughness and his ability to be a playmaker.”

Never a dull moment--The overtime contest provided support for McMartin’s mantra that there are no easy games in the Iowa Conference. Cornell, 0-8, hadn’t won a conference game since 2005. But McMartin and his squad knew the Rams had a talented team.

“We did not take Cornell for granted,” he said. “Cornell executed very well. In the Iowa Conference, every week is a big week. You’ve got to make plays or you’re going to get beat.

“You can’t look at comparative scores. That will drive a person crazy. You’d better come ready to play every week.”

Running from behind--The Dutch threw for 173 yards while rushing for only 68, but McMartin called the numbers a bit misleading, noting that Central relied on the passing game for the second-half comeback after a lethargic first half on both sides of the ball.

“When you’re down 22-6 in the second half, it isn’t a time to work on your inside running game,” he said. “You’d better get the ball down the field.”

Dutch numbers—Central is outgaining opponents on the ground 129.0-103.4 yards but opponents have the edge in passing 196.1-180.0 yards. Running back David Zachary (junior, Des Moines, Dowling HS), who had a 21-yard touchdown run Saturday, is averaging 53.6 yards a game and 4.2 yards a carry. Dustin Veldhuizen (senior, Oskaloosa) is close behind at 47.3 yards a game and 4.5 yards per attempt. Bandow has completed 66 of 145 passes for 912 yards with four interceptions and six touchdowns, averaging 152.0 yards a game. VerMeer has 27 pass receptions for 404 yards and five touchdowns.

Linebacker Greg Best (sophomore, Clive, Valley HS) is the team tackles leader with 50 while linebacker Justin VerSteeg (senior, Pella) has 47. Wong has 40, including 12 tackles for loss.

Notes—Central hasn’t had a losing season since 1960 but the Dutch were .500 in 2003, posting a 5-5 mark…Compounding Central’s inexperience this year is a barrage of injuries. At least five likely starters are watching from the sidelines this week…Since Central’s football stadium was renamed in honor of Ron and Joyce Schipper in 2006, the Dutch are 12-1 in home regular-season games and 14-3 at home overall. Since the stadium was opened in 1977, Central is 139-29 at home…Brondyke’s 5-yard touchdown reception Saturday was his first collegiate score. He was a first-team all-conference selection as a punter in 2007. Twelve Central players have scored touchdowns this year.