In a season filled with flashy offensive numbers from a young squad, it was the Central College football defense that was able to secure a gritty, bone-chilling 24-21 victory in the season finale Saturday at the University of Dubuque.
Nursing that three-point lead as Dubuque started a potential game-winning drive with 4:15 left, strong safety Cameron Bannister (senior, State Center, West Marshall HS) picked off his fifth pass of the season to all but ice the win amid the snow flurries and 32-degree temperatures at Chalmers Field. The Spartans (6-4 overall, 6-2 American Rivers) then got one final shot with 47 seconds remaining, but the defense came through again as cornerback Ben Crist (senior, Elizabeth, Ill., River Ridge HS) recovered a fumble, lifting Central to 7-3 overall, and 5-3 in conference play. Dubuque, which was still entertaining hopes of a possible American Rivers title share, instead closes at 6-4 overall and 6-2 in the conference.
Central boasted the NCAA Division III's second-leading pass offense (346.3 yards per game) but saw its offense stall as a 17-0 second-quarter lead morphed into a 21-17 fourth-quarter deficit as multiple Dutch scoring opportunities veered off-course. But the Central defense, which had some uneven showings early in the year, this time had the answer.
"One of the things that we talked about was having each other's back," coach Jeff McMartin said. "Uncharacteristically, we didn't perform in the red zone as well as we normally do and we left some points out there. But I thought the defense did a really good job of having their back. And then when we did get some turnovers, the offense was able to answer and go on some drives."
While Central had two first-half touchdowns, three other trips inside the Dubuque 10-yard line yielded just three points and the Dutch also missed a field goal in the fourth quarter. But the Central offense also delivered when it mattered. Trailing 21-17 late in the third quarter, the Dutch drove 65 yards in 13 plays with Downs muscling his way into the end zone on a fourth-and-2 quarterback sneak with 13:14 left in the game.
"That was a really important fourth-quarter score, obviously," McMartin said.
And doing the legwork for Central's pass-heavy offense was the Dutch running game, specifically fifth-year running back Jason Hopp (Earlham). Hopp has endured an injury-riddled campaign and entered the day with 268 yards on 62 carries. But in his final game in a Central uniform, Hopp delivered a much-needed 135 yards on 29 bruising carries as Central rushed for 151 yards and two scores overall.
"I'm super-proud of Jason and happy for him," McMartin said. "Even though injuries have slowed him down, what he brought our team in leadership this year was immeasurable. He did a great job as a captain. He really has grown into that role and has come so far from his freshman year. We were a much better team because of him. All of our captains did a really good job this year."
While there were missed opportunities later, McMartin liked the offense's fast start. A 41-yard Cooper Downs (sophomore, Ames) strike to Ryan Neu (junior, West Des Moines, Valley HS) stretched Central's lead to 17-0 in the second quarter.
"We took what they gave us with our passing," he said. "We threw the ball well and distributed it well. We had a lot of short, intermediate passes and Cooper (Downs) ran with it a couple of times and that was good, too. We feel really good about how we've gotten off to a good start in almost every game since Wartburg (Oct. 8). That sets the tone."
Downs went the distance at quarterback for the first time this year, completing 23 of 37 passes for 289 yards with no interceptions and one touchdown. Team receptions leader Logan Mont (junior, Aurora, Ill., West Aurora HS) had 11 catches for 120 yards, giving him 69 receptions for 754 yards on the year, along with five TDs. Neu had four catches for 73 yards and for the season had 44 grabs and a team-high 881 yards and 12 touchdowns. It was a big year for Jeff Herbers (senior, Urbandale, Des Moines Christian HS) with 48 catches for 468 yards and seven touchdowns. He had two catches for 35 yards Saturday.
Isaiah Walk (senior, Buffalo Center, North Iowa HS) was the season rushing leader with 451 yards on 76 carries with one touchdown. Brady Ketchum (sophomore, Mount Vernon) finished as the passing leader, completing 113-of-187 passes for 1,460 yards with four interceptions and 17 touchdowns. Downs nearly matched him, hitting 124-of-202 for 1,438 yards with six picks and 16 TDs.
Central outgained Dubuque 440 yards to 328. The Spartans got 300 yards through the air, completing 28-of-44 passes for 300 yards. But after some early season struggles against the running game, the Dutch were rock solid Saturday, limiting Dubuque to just 28 yards on 22 carries while notching three sacks.
"We played better each week," McMartin said. "We saw some signs of improvement and growth. We still have work to do but we've got a good group of young players that are going to be back. I think we've learned a lot this year and there's reason to be optimistic."
Linebacker Nathan Rahn (senior, Chadwick, Ill., Milledgeville HS) had nine tackles including two for loss while Crist had seven stops and linebacker Reid Pakkebier (sophomore, Cedar Rapids, Kennedy HS) had six. For the year, Rahn led with 83 tackles while Pakkebier had 80. Linebacker Tate Hagen (junior, Britt, West Hancock HS) was the season sacks leader with 3.5. Cornerback Stevie Maddox Jr. (senior, Mesa, Ariz., Tempe HS), who was out of the lineup Saturday, joined Crist in sharing the team lead in season pass breakups with eight.
There will always be the what-ifs that the Dutch can ponder about the 2022 campaign, looking back at three one-score losses. Yet McMartin said his players should take pride in their sturdy finish and are left with much warmer feelings at 7-3 than 6-4 would have generated.
"You feel better about yourself at 7-3," he said. "You look at those three losses, they were close. You say to yourself that close doesn't really count, but if you learn from it and get better from it, than you know it can help you out down the road."
Admittedly, the charmed 2021 season, with an NCAA Division III quarterfinal appearance and a trophy case stuffed with hardware, was a tough act to follow, but McMartin liked what his young squad produced for the sequel.
"When you lose the (conference) player of the year on offense and defense, the leading receiver in the NCAA Division III and some of the other seniors that we did, we knew there were guys that were going to have to step up," he said. "And I think as the season wore on, they stepped into those roles better and better.
"We had a team that played really hard. The effort was always there. They wanted to be successful, and they were willing to work for it. So that's how I'll remember this team. They really wanted today to turn out the way that it did and it was nice to see that happen."
Fourth-quarter stops preserve Central win at Dubuque
/seasons/2022/boxscores/20221112_lm3m.xml
2022
Central
24
Dubuque
21
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central (7-3) | 7 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
| Dubuque (6-4) | 0 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 21 |
Nov 12, 2022