Authoring a happy ending to the 2022 campaign story tops the week's agenda for the Central College football team.
           
The Dutch, who have won or shared the past two conference crowns but out of this year's race, take a 4-3 American Rivers record and 6-3 overall mark to the University of Dubuque Saturday for a 1 p.m. game at Chalmers Field. A Central win could also end any title-share hopes for Dubuque, which is tied for second in the conference at 6-1 and is 6-3 overall after a 27-20 overtime win over Loras College last week. But the Spartans would need help to share the top spot as Wartburg College is 7-0 heading into a regular-season finale at 6-1 Coe College.
           
Finishing the job won't come easily for Central.
           
"(Dubuque) is a really solid, talented football team," coach Jeff McMartin said. "They have speed and size and they utilize their players very well."
           
Central has 31 seniors and fifth-year players on this year's squad and McMartin said season and career finales tend to linger a bit longer in player memory banks than other games.
           
"You want to finish strong," he said. "That's kind of been a theme that we've used a lot in our program over the years. Sometimes it's not how you start things, it's how you finish—how you finish a game, how you finish a season or how you finish a career. So we want to do everything in our power to give these guys a great chance to be feeling good about everything they've done at the end of this game."
           
Falling out of the trophy chase has not altered Central's approach.
           
"We're going to give it everything we have," McMartin said. "Our guys have not quit. That's never even entered our thought process. We're going to go to Dubuque, play hard and try to do things the right way and take advantage of our opportunities. If you do those things, the score kind of takes care of itself."
           
Meanwhile, a win could propel a large and talented group of younger players into the off-season with a little extra juice as they train to return to the title hunt next fall.
           
"Just getting extra reps in practice is like making a deposit in the bank," McMartin said. "That compound interest really helps down the road."
           
After a 61-13 romp past Luther College Saturday, the four-year record for the Dutch seniors stands at 30-6. They've won a pair of American Rivers titles and made two NCAA Division III playoff appearances.
           
On the air and online—The Voice of the Dutch, Trevor Castle, calls the action on KRLS-FM (92.1), with Pella mayor and retired Central defensive coordinator 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 rolled past Dubuque at Pella last year, 56-7 but the Spartans were 28-7 winners at Pella in 2019. The Dutch hold a 59-21-2 advantage in the teams' series
           
The Spartans—Dubuque is outscoring opponents 38.6-18.6 and outgaining them 474.9 -323.9 yards.
           
Sophomore running back Kallion Buckner is second in the league in rushing with 101.9 yards per game and nine touchdowns. Sophomore quarterback Ben Gultig is second in passing with 250.6 yards per game, completing 129-of-197 passes (.655) with six interceptions and 17 touchdowns. Sophomore Wade Sheets is the conference's second-leading receiver with 42 receptions for 644 yards and seven touchdowns.
           
"They run zone concepts in the running game and do a great job of that," McMartin said. "Their quarterback does a really good job of throwing the football and they've got some big, tall wide receivers with a lot of speed who go out and get the ball."
           
Sophomore cornerback Elijah Diblich has five interceptions while junior cornerback Brock Carter has 11 pass breakups. Strong safety Dalton Wood has 38 tackles.
           
"They mostly operate out of a four-man front," McMartin said. "They've got some great size up front, their linebackers move around well and they're really talented in the secondary. They cover a lot of ground and can close on plays very well."
           
Dutch numbers—Central ranks second in the NCAA Division III in passing offense (346.3 yards per game), 10th in total offense (495.1) 13th in first downs (229) and 14th in scoring (43.2),
           
Logan Sunvold (junior, Monroe, Southeast Polk HS) is 13th in Division III in field goal percentage (.800, 8-10). Linebacker Tate Hagen (junior, Britt, West Hancock HS) and cornerback Stevie Maddox, Jr. (senior, Mesa, Ariz., Tempe HS) are tied for 17th in fumbles recovered (3). Receiver Ryan Neu (junior, West Des Moines, Valley HS) is ninth in TD catches (11) and 30th in receiving yards (808). Logan Mont (junior, Aurora, Ill., West Aurora HS) is 28th in receptions per game (6.4).
           
"When you look at what we're doing offensively, we still have big play capability," McMartin said. "Ryan Neu had a great game Saturday. His speed was on display. Carson Cummer (freshman, Dubuque, Wahlert Catholic HS) had a long touchdown pass and he's another big target with great speed.
           
"All of our wide receivers are blocking for each other, making catches and really performing at a high level."
           
McMartin also cited running back Jason Hopp (5th-year, Earlham) for his role in the passing game.
           
"It's great to have Jason back on the field," he said. "He brings a lot. He was downfield blocking on pass plays, helping other guys out. He's a strong runner and does some things really well that you want the other players to feed off of. I also thought the offensive line blocked very well on Saturday. We're continuing to improve."
           
Linebackers Reid Pakkebier (junior, Cedar Rapids, Kennedy HS) and Nathan Rahn (senior, Chadwick, Ill., Milledgeville HS) are Central's top tacklers with 74. Rahn has 10.5 tackles for loss with three pass breakups while Pakkebier has eight tackles for loss with 1.5 sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery. Rahn ranks fourth in the conference with 8.1 tackles per game in seven games.
           
"I thought Reid played maybe his best game of the season this past weekend as far as how he went through his reads, tracked the ball and got to the football," McMartin said. "He's got great speed and is someone that can go sideline to sideline. We need him to continue to improve each week because he plays a big part in our defense.
           
"And Nate's been tremendously solid. He's improved each week and is playing very physical, which we need him to do. He's been really disciplined in his drops and his coverage. It's really good to see these guys come through and make an impact."
           
Free safety Reece Miller (junior, Center Point, Center Point-Urbana HS) and strong safety Cameron Bannister (senior, State Center, West Marshall HS) each have four interceptions. Maddox has eight pass breakups.
           
Notes—Saturday's opening-play touchdown, a 30-yard Cooper Downs (sophomore, Ames) pass to Logan Mont (junior, Aurora, Ill., West Aurora HS) was one of the fastest scores in school history, giving Central a 7-0 lead with 14:51 left in the first quarter. That's 3 seconds quicker than the Dutch got on the board Nov. 5, 1977 in a 32-0 victory against Upper Iowa University. After a touchback on the opening kickoff, All-American tailback Don Taylor, who led the NCAA Division III in rushing that year, darted through a freeway-sized hole on the right side of the line and sprinted 80 yards untouched for a touchdown. Many Central fans also have memories of a 1998 game with preseason conference favorite Simpson College in which the Dutch struck on their first offensive play from scrimmage with a 72-yard Scott Koerselman play-action pass to a wide-open Chris Johnson that launched a 45-24 upset. However, that was after Central was on the field for a defensive series…Central hasn't had more than three losses in a season since 2015 when the squad was 6-4…There's no trophy for it but the Central junior varsity completed a 5-0 season with a 35-28 win Monday at Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge.