Jarred Lackey Nov. 8, 2008

Defense lifts Dutch past Buena Vista

 

STORM LAKE— Central College generated just 168 yards of offense but delivered the plays it needed to in spoiling Buena Vista’s Iowa Conference football title hopes, stealing a 23-14 victory on a bitterly cold afternoon on the shores of Storm Lake Saturday.

 

Buena Vista, which hasn’t defeated the Dutch in Storm Lake since 1959, entered the game in a virtual tie for the top spot but drops to 5-2 in league play (6-3 overall), giving Wartburg (7-1 conference) the outright conference title.

 Central (6-3 overall, 4-3 conference) clinched its 47th winning season since 1960.

After a futility-filled  first quarter against a fierce northwest wind, a 45-yard Jarred Lackey (sophomore, Somerton, Ariz., Cibola HS) touchdown pass to Kurtis Brondyke (sophomore, Clinton) let Central tie the game 7-7 with 11:55 left in the second quarter.

“That got us back in it,” coach Jeff McMartin said. “Then we got some huge defensive plays.”

Going against the wind in the third quarter, the Dutch got a game-changing play from freshman linebacker Nate Doeden (Newton), who picked off a Matt Pearey pass and returned it 14 yards to the Buena Vista 10-yard line. A pair of Lackey 5-yard runs gave Central the go-ahead touchdown with 12:51 left in the period.

With the quarter winding down, Buena Vista’s Cory Donscheski completed an eight-play, 39-yard drive with a 1-yard TD run.

But moving with the wind in the fourth quarter, Central drove 38 yards in 13 plays to set up a 37-yard Jake Viggers field goal with 8:40 left that proved to be the winner. The Dutch defense stymied Buena Vista the rest of the way. The Beavers were forced to go for it on fourth down from their own 2-yard line with just over 2 minutes remaining and were stopped. Two plays later Lackey dove into the end zone from the 1-yard line to nail it down.

“I’m very proud of our players,” McMartin said. “The guys played championship football. It all started with our mental approach. We had a great week of practice and stayed focused on the task at hand. We overcame a slow start again and we didn’t quit. We just kept banging away.”

Central was in the unfamiliar position of being out of the league race after three straight titles, but gave a championship effort, McMartin said.

“We talked about sending our seniors out the right way,” McMartin said. “We said we want to play every game like it’s a one-game season. We want to focus on the process. You have to play that way, even if you’re undefeated. The minute you don’t do that, you set yourself up to get beat.”

Buena Vista outgained Central 286-168. Pearey completed 21 of 45 passes for 216 yards for the Beavers but was intercepted twice.  Buena Vista was limited to 70 yards rushing.

“Our defensive coaches had a great game plan,” McMartin said. “We gave up some yards early and then made some defensive adjustments that paid big dividends. I give our defensive coaches a lot of credit.”

Lackey completed five of 15 passes for 73 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He was also Central’s top rusher with 44 yards and two scores on 19 carries. Running back Dustin Veldhuizen (senior, Oskaloosa) gained 40 yards on nine rushes.

Justin Ver SteegBrondyke, the league’s leading punter, saw his average decline after hitting 10 punts for 35.7 yards but had one of his best performances in battling the wind and cold. He landed three punts inside the 20-yard line, including a key fourth-quarter kick that pinned Buena Vista at its own 2. He also had a 59-yard boot against the wind. McMartin said he and Viggers, the Dutch placekicker, were especially important in the nasty conditions.

“We’ve got a great punter and a great kicker who were able to put us in good position,” he said.

Stinger Corben Schueler (junior, Granger, Woodward-Granger HS) had 12 tackles, including seven solos, and an interception. Linebackers Greg Best (sophomore, Clive, Valley HS) and Justin VerSteeg (senior, Pella) had eight stops and Doeden had seven tackles.

“Nate Doeden played unbelievably well,” McMartin said. “But so did our defensive line. Our defensive backs did a great job of coverage and our linebackers were able to get in their zones.

“It was not any one player. Everybody came through for each other. It was such a team effort.

“That’s the way we like to see football played.”

Central closes the season at home next Saturday, taking on Simpson College, which defeated Loras College 21-6 to improve to 6-3 overall and 4-3 in the league. Game time is 1 p.m. at Ron and Joyce Schipper Stadium.

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