Nate Snead Sept. 12, 2009

Fourth and goal--Central knocks off Pointers

PELLA—Facing fourth-and-inches at the goal line, it was no secret what was coming next for the Central College football team.  

Quarterback Nate Snead (sophomore, Altoona, Southeast Polk HS), whose running rallied the Dutch from an 11-point deficit in the game’s final 6 minutes, muscled his way into the end zone with1:05 remaining and No. 25-ranked Central (2-0) knocked off No. 7 Wis.-Stevens Point 22-21Saturday.

“That fourth down we had a power call and they knew it was coming, but our offensive line and fullback got down in there and blocked,” Snead said.

“There was a lot of pressure out there but right when I got the ball, I knew our guys were holding the line and I knew I was going to get in.”

Wis.-Stevens Point (0-1) has a veteran club and played like it, particularly in the first half, outgaining Central 193 yards to 69 and leading 7-0 at intermission. The Dutch were limited to just nine yards rushing.

Coach Jeff McMartin knew what Central had to do.

“Nate (Snead) runs the ball very well and we felt like we needed to use him more in the second half to keep the defense off balance,” he said.

Kevin GoodSnead, who rushed for 90 yards in a 40-17 rout of Lakeland College (Wis.) last week, finished with 90 again Saturday, including 84 yards on 19 second-half carries with three touchdowns.

Snead’s one-yard rush capped a four-play, 50-yard drive on Central’s first drive of the half to make it 7-7. Then a 40-yard Jake Viggers (junior, Altoona, Southeast Polk HS) field goal with 6:49 left in the third quarter gave Central a 10-7 lead.

But strong-armed Wis.-Stevens Point quarterback Jared Beckwith responded with some offense of his own. His 5-yard TD pass to Jared Jenkins completed an 11-play, 65-yard drive with 1:05 left in the third quarter.

Then Beckwith struck again with a 63-yard scoring pass to Jenkins with just 10:34 remaining in the game, seemingly putting the game in firm command with a 21-10 lead.

But Central came back with an 11-play, 56-yard drive with Snead scoring from three yards out with 5:06 left.

The Dutch defense gave Central a final shot at its own 41-yard line with 3:14 remaining. A 30-yard strike from Snead to his brother Jeremy Snead (sophomore, Altoona, Southeast Polk HS) was the pivotal play of the drive, giving the Dutch first down at the 8-yard line.

“That was a huge play,” Nate Snead said. “Right when I threw it I got hit and so I didn’t see him catch it, but I heard the crowd roar and knew he had come down with it.”

Jon McWilliamsFollowing Snead’s touchdown, Wis.-Stevens Point drove to the Central 37 but under heavy pressure, Beckwith’s final pass fell incomplete as time ran out.

Central was still outgained for the game, 377 yards to 260. The Dutch had 146 yards on the ground as running back David Zachary (senior, Des Moines, Dowling HS) added 64 yards on 14 carries. Snead and Zack Bandow (junior, Manilla, IKM HS) completed 9 of 18 passes for 114 yards with one interception.

Beckwith hit on 22-of-37 for 254 yards and three scores for Wis.-Stevens Point, which also gained 108 yards rushing.

Linebacker Zach Van Arkel (senior, Malcolm, Grinnell HS) had nine tackles for Central, including eight solos. Sophomore defensive back Adam Petz (Williamsburg), making his first collegiate start, had eight stops and junior defensive back Cody Baethke (Williamsburg) had seven. Defensive lineman Shane Wong (junior, Pleasant Hill, Southeast Polk HS), last year’s Iowa Conference sacks leader, had two more, giving him four for the season.

McMartin liked the way the Dutch kept their poise in overcoming the fourth-quarter deficit.

“We talk about reloading and staying focused all the time,” he said. “The most important play is the next one.

“It’s a great win for our program and great for our conference. (Wis.-Stevens Point) is a great football team, top to bottom. They have excellent athletes and they’re very well-coached. (A win like this) gives you some sparks of momentum and lets your kids believe. There have been some signature victories for this program over the past five years that have really allowed our kids to believe in themselves and I hope this is one of them.”

McMartin said the Dutch wouldn’t have won without significant contributions from all areas of the squad.

“This was a complete victory,” he said. “We did some really good things on special teams with our returns. The first half, our defense did a great job of keeping us in it. They deserve a lot of credit. Then, in the second half, they made the plays they had to and our offense got going and got into a good rhythm that allowed us to catch up.”

Central opens Iowa Conference play on the road next Saturday, traveling to the Univ. of Dubuque for a 1 p.m. game.