Playing time was plentiful for Central College's reserves in a 65-0 football cruise past Maranatha Baptist (Wis.) Saturday. It matches the sixth-highest victory margin in Central history.
Maranatha Baptist (0-3), in the midst of building its program, dressed just 30 players, mostly freshmen and sophomores. Consequently, Dutch coach Jeff McMartin tried to use the game as an opportunity for his younger players. Central brought its largest travel squad yet, with 75 players, and all saw action.
"We were able to work on some things and get better," McMartin said. "We saw some good plays."
Central rolled up 603 yards of offense with 298 on the ground on 43 carries and four touuchdowns while completing 18 of 27 passes for 305 passing yards and three scores.
Central, which rested most of its starters for the final three quarters, needed just two plays—and 54 seconds--to get on the board as defensive back Cael Halfman (senior, Manly, St. Ansgar HS) returned an interception 22 yards for a score. The Dutch led at intermission 31-0.
Among the new faces, freshman Pat Gray (West Des Moines, Waukee HS) returned the second-half kickoff 96 yards for a score. That's the first TD on a kickoff since Brett Doud had a 90-yard score at Wartburg Nov. 5, 2005.
"That was a nice run," McMartin said. "We had a couple of nice punt returns, too. And we made some good decisions. The wind was a factor and we did a good job of deciding when to make a fair catch and when to return it."
Cory Archer (sophomore, Fremont, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont HS) came off the bench to rush for a career-high 120 yards and two touchdowns on just seven carries, including a 75-yard TD sprint. Nathan Fitzgerald (freshman, Elkader, Central Elkader HS) ran for 60 yards and a score on 12 carries.
"We got some really good runs out of Max Barkalow (freshman, Forreston, Ill.), Nathan Fitzgerald and Cory Archer," McMartin said. "And we were able to play a lot of linemen. That's good for development and building some depth."
Starting quarterback Riley Gray (junior, West Des Moines, Waukee HS) completed 5-of-7 passes for 81 yards and a score. Kohle Helle (sophomore, Guttenberg, Clayton Ridge HS)connected on 6-of-9 for 100 yards and two touchdowns while Nate Boland (freshman, Iowa City, West HS) completed 7-of-11 for 124 yards.
"We were able to play four quarterbacks," McMartin said. "It was good to be able to do that, and see some young receivers."
Sam Markham (sophomore, Atlantic) topped the receiving charts with six catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns. Taylor Cox (senior, Pella) had three receptions for 72 yards and a touchdown.
Lacking depth in the secondary entering the season, Central moved some players there who gained some experience Saturday. Josiah Soderstrum (freshman, Story City, Roland-Story HS) had an interception as did Tate Jensen (sophomore, De Soto, ADM HS).
"Josiah made a nice interception," McMartin said. "We'd moved him from running back to safety and he's learning. We also moved Donny Groezinger (freshman, Lanark, Ill., Eastland HS)and he got a lot of reps and so did another player we moved from running back, Johnny Higgins (freshman, Elgin, Ill.)."
McMartin liked the defensive effort.
"We got a pick-six right away from Cael and that was a good start," McMartin said. "I thought our guys flew around pretty well. Once again, we were good against the run. The defensive line played very well. We asked the defense to make a lot of decisions, checking in and out of things, and I thought we did a good job of that.
Central has two weeks to prepare for the Iowa Conference opener against preseason title favorite Wartburg, at Waverly. The Knights took a 2-0 record into a Saturday evening game at Wis.-Stout.
Central's preparation begins immediately.
"We came out of today in one piece, now we need to go back to work and find ways to get better," McMartin said. "What we do Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week are very important in the scheme of the whole season."
But the Dutch will also use the off week as a time to recover.
"We'll probably take a few days off and let the players get their legs back," McMartin said. "If you can take a break anytime during the season, it's always a good thing."