Some big-play strikes in quarterback Brady Ketchum's (sophomore, Mount Vernon) starting debut carried Central College to a 44-13 season-opening win over St. Olaf College (Minn.) Saturday.
It was the 18th consecutive regular-season victory for the Dutch, ranked No. 14 in the D3football.com preseason poll.
Yet Central (1-0) narrowly edged the Oles in total offense, 495 yards to 435, and was dominated in possession time, 39:46 to 20:14. The Dutch controlled the ball for just 3:34 in the first quarter. St. Olaf (0-1) also held a 26-23 advantage in first downs.
But Ketchum connected on 24 of 38 passes for 360 yards and four touchdowns, including a 70-yard toss to wide receiver Ryan Neu (junior, West Des Moines, Valley HS) that got Central on the board with 4:45 left in the first quarter.
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/jDBEbGOkyXU
"I thought Brady did a really good job," coach Jeff McMartin said. "There are a couple of things you want to clean up but they're teachable things. We'll watch the film but I thought he did well."
After forcing a quick three-and-out the Dutch quickly found the end zone again as Ketchum hit Logan Mont (junior, Aurora, Ill., West Aurora HS) on a 16-yard score with 3:20 left in the period.
It was 17-7 Central at halftime. Yet on a day when the Dutch defense sometimes had trouble getting off the field, the defenders came up big in a key spot early in the second half. St. Olaf took the kick and moved 75 yards in 13 plays, with a first down on the Central 1-yard line. But after stuffing an initial Jordan Embry rushing attempt for no gain, Central stopped Embry at the goal line again. Defensive end Hunter Olson (senior, Peoria, Ariz., Sunrise Mountain HS) forced a fumble that was recovered in the end zone by cornerback Benjamin Crist (senior, Elizabeth, Ill., River Ridge HS).
"I thought a lot of guys on defense showed a lot of grit and just be able to be in the moment," McMartin said. "That turnover in the end zone was a pivotal play. And that's guys never quitting, because they were kind of back against the wall there."
Neu then snagged a 44-yard TD pass to stretch the lead to 24-7 with 13:42 left in the third quarter. He finished with seven catches for a career-high 215 yards and two scores.
"Ryan really was one of the go-to guys today and he made some great catches," McMartin said. "I thought he did a good job on all levels and played really hard."
Mont was seeing his first action since suffering an injury at St. Olaf in last year's opener after making 14 catches. He came back with five receptions for 88 yards and a score Saturday.
"It's great to see him back out there," McMartin said. "We know what Logan can do and he'll do it every week. We just want to keep him healthy."
Central finished with 399 yards passing. Cooper Downs (sophomore, Ames) saw limited action in his Dutch debut completing 2-of-3 passes for 39 yards with one interception, Central's lone turnover of the day.
Dutch fans also caught a glimpse of highly regarded freshman quarterback Keegan Glover (Benton, Ill.). He entered in the waning moments as Central was running out the clock and burst free for a 41-yard touchdown. The rookie had just five carries but finished as Central's leading rusher with 68 yards as the rest of the Dutch were limited to 28 yards rushing on the day.
"He's got really good speed," McMartin said. "We have some really good quarterbacks and a lot of competition there. But one of his skills is he runs the ball extremely well and he displayed his running ability on that last drive."
The defense gave up 222 yards rushing and 254 through the air as the Oles completed 25 of 45 passes with one interception. Embry had a game-high 104 yards rushing for St. Olaf on 22 carries while Christian Graske ran for 77 yards on 15 carries.
"I thought both of them did a really good job," McMartin said. "One is more of a power back and the other maybe has a little more breakaway speed. They had a good scheme and put us in some tough situations."
Inside linebacker Reid Pakkebier (sophomore, Cedar Rapids, Kennedy HS) helped slow the St. Olaf momentum with a career-high 17 tackles, including three for loss, along with an interception.
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/UcV5DUDEkOQ
"This is a new position for him but he's fit in really nicely," McMartin said. "He's the center of our defense."
Free safety Brody Klein (junior, Rainier, Wash.) had 10 tackles with one for loss while outside linebacker Nathan Rahn (senior, Chadwick, Ill., Milledgeville HS) also had 10 stops.
All-conference kicker Logan Sunvold (junior, Monroe, Southeast Polk HS) had a flawless start, drilling field goals of 32, 43 and 36 yards while converting all five extra-point tries.
"In week one, you're always anticipating that it's not going to be a perfect game," McMartin said. "You have some new players that are going to do some good things and some things you maybe don't want. But they're going to have to learn, come out of that and find ways to deal with it. And if you can make some mistakes and also some good plays and get a win, that's great."
Central completes its non-conference slate with another home game next Saturday against the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire at 1 p.m. at Ron and Joyce Schipper Stadium. In the teams' only previous meeting, the Blugolds were 28-21 winners in a first-round NCAA Division III playoff game at Pella. Wis.-Eau Claire got a 24-yard TD pass from Harry Roubidoux to Nicholas Kudick with 24 seconds left Saturday to rally at home past Loras College 30-27.