Saturday marks the end of the Central College football season but work remains as the Dutch travel to Simpson College.
Game time is 1 p.m. at Buxton Stadium.
Central is 7-2 overall and 5-2 in American Rivers play after a 56-22 win over Buena Vista University here last Saturday. Simpson (3-6 overall, 2-5 conference) was overwhelmed at Loras College 82-16.
"There's a lot to play for," coach Jeff McMartin said. "To finish the year with a win on the road would be a great thing for our seniors and for our program. And it's just a good way to go into the offseason and send our underclassmen into the weight room with a lot of good vibes and that sense of improvement and accomplishment. That's really important to us."
On the air and online—The Voice of the Dutch, Trevor Castle, calls Saturday's action on KRLS-FM (92.1), with retired Central defensive coordinator and newly re-elected Pella mayor Don DeWaard providing the color. The KRLS pregame show will air at 12:35 p.m. The broadcast can be accessed through www.kniakrls.com or directly at rdo.to/krls. It's also accessible via mobile device with the KRLS app available through iTunes and other outlets.
The series—Central erupted for 35 first-half points and was a 49-17 winner over Simpson at Pella a year ago. It's among Central's oldest rivalries with the teams first meeting in 1905, 13 years after Central's first recorded game. The Dutch hold a 69-29-3 advantage in the series and the most recent Simpson win was in 2013 at Indianola.
Simpson—First-year coach Reed Hoskins is a former Wartburg College player and spent the last seven seasons as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Illinois Wesleyan University after serving in a similar role for four years at Wisconsin-La Crosse. He's brought a new approach to the Simpson offense and defense.
"They're completely different in both areas," McMartin said. "They bring a lot of pressure on defense with a lot of man coverage and some zone mixed in. And offensively, they're throwing the ball about 70% of the time."
Junior quarterback J Jensen III has completed 246 of 398 attempts (.618) for 2,654 yards with 26 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. Senior receiver Reed Worth has 65 catches for 1,025 yards and 14 scores. He broke the school's career touchdown receptions mark with 34. Simpson is averaging 298.0 yards passing and 92.9 yards on the ground.
"They've got a very good quarterback with a quick release and some talented receivers," McMartin said.
Simpson is getting outgained 455.7 yards to 390.0.and outscored 41.8-26.2.
Course correction—Central made some uncharacteristic mistakes in Saturday's win, including four turnovers. McMartin said the Dutch are grateful for a chance this week to leave a more favorable final impression.
"You definitely don't want to end your season feeling like you could have played better," he said. "There were some really good moments on Saturday. We started off strong and we finished strong. We just had a point in the middle of the game where we weren't executing the way we're capable of. We have a high standard for how we want to play. Having another shot to finish off the season strong is going to be an important thing for our team."
One constant again this year for the Dutch is an enthusiastic fan base, McMartin said.
"I thought we had a really good crowd Saturday and I want people to know how much we appreciate all the support we get," he said. "We have great fans and great crowds every game and it means a lot to the players and coaches."
Senior moments—As the season winds down, McMartin carves out some practice time each night to give the 21 Dutch seniors the stage.
"One of the things we always do in the last week is give the seniors an opportunity to address the team to have some chances to reflect on things that have gone well and give the younger guys some insight and some advice," he said. "It's something everybody looks forward to. The players take it in and so do the coaches. I think it's good for everybody involved."
Moving up the charts—Wide receiver Ryan Neu (senior, West Des Moines, Valley HS), who caught a touchdown pass for the 11th consecutive game Saturday, passed Tanner Schminke, now a Dutch assistant coach, on the career charts with 30 TD catches. Schminke set the school season mark with 19 in 2021. Neu has 12 for the year, tied for fifth on the list. Jeff Herbers (5th-year, Urbandale, Des Moines Christian HS) is third in career pass receptions (173) and fifth in receiving yards (2,199).
Kicker Lance Sunvold (senior, Monroe, Southeast Polk HS) is bidding to become the third player in Central history to not miss an extra point conversion (minimum of 35 attempts). He's 43-of-43. All-American Jon Alberts was perfect on 59 tries in 2019 and Jake Viggers made all 44 attempts in 2010. Sunvold only missed once in 2022 (54-55) and has connected on 81 consecutive kicks. Alberts holds the school record with 96 in a row. Sunvold's career extra-point percentage of 97.93 (190-94) is narrowly ahead of the record of 97.91 (141-144) set by Kevin Sheldon (2011-14). Sunvold is second on the career field goals list with 36, two back of Jake Viggers (2007-10). He ranks third in career field goal percentage at 71.1 (27-38).
Quarterback Hunter Hoffman (sophomore, Pecatonica, Ill.) has thrown 271 passes, the sixth-most in a season in school history. He's tied for fifth in completions (173), is fifth in completion percentage (.638), fifth in TD passes (26), ninth in passing yards (1,743) and seventh in touchdowns responsible for (28).
Dutch numbers--Central is averaging 142.1 yards rushing and 275.8 yards passing. The Dutch are outgaining opponents 417.9 yards to 329.4 and outscoring them 39.8-16.4. Hoffman has completed 173 of 271 passes (.638) for 1,743 yards with eight interceptions and 26 touchdowns. Quarterback Keegan Glover (sophomore, Benton, Ill.) is the top rusher with 275 yards on 66 carries with two TDs. Herbers has taken over the team's pass receptions lead with 44 for 525 yards. Neu is tops in receiving yardage with 42 catches for 530 yards while Logan Mont (senior, Aurora, Ill., West Aurora HS) has 41 receptions for 391 yards. Linebacker Reid Pakkebier (junior, Cedar Rapids, Kennedy HS) has 71 tackles, including 31 unassisted with 7.5 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks. Cornerback Gavin Smith (sophomore, Audubon) has nine pass breakups. Defensive end Bradley Warren (sophomore, The Woodlands, Texas) has 5.0 sacks and linebacker Brody Klein (senior, Rainier, Wash.) has 51 tackles with 7.0 stops for loss.
NCAA numbers—Central is 19th in Division III in blocked kicks with five. The Dutch are sixth in interceptions (17), seventh in Division III in defensive touchdowns (4), 11th in turnovers gained (24) and 12th in fewest fumbles lost (2). Individually, Neu is 16th in receiving touchdowns (12) and 21st in total touchdowns (14).
Notes— Neu has caught at least one touchdown pass in his last 11 games...Central is bidding for its fifth eight-win season in the past 10 years and its first since going 12-1 in 2021. The Dutch were 7-3 a year ago…A victory Saturday would also secure third place in the American Rivers. Central has placed third or higher in the conference 56 times since 1961. The Dutch have the fifth-winningest NCAA college or university team in that span with a 493-130-3 (.778) record… McMartin said he was encouraged by the showing of the Central junior varsity squad. After three early losses, the Dutch closed with a big 34-19 win over Wartburg Oct. 30 and a 31-14 victory Iowa Central Monday night…Central is expected to return at least 10 starters next fall and possibly more. Dutch seniors have an extra season of eligibility granted by the NCAA as a result of the global pandemic that forced the postponement of the 2020 season. They're the last class to have that option as this year's juniors entered school in 2021.