A 24-point second-quarter eruption powered the Central College football team to a 45-10 homecoming victory over Luther College Saturday.
S-back Kyle Gritsch (sophomore, Brooklyn, BGM HS) snagged his first two career touchdown receptions to help Central (3-2 overall, 1-1 Iowa Conference) break on top and the Dutch went on to roll up 427 yards total offense while limiting Luther (2-3 overall, 0-2 conference) to 226 yards.
While Gritsch is rarely in the spotlight, coach Jeff McMartin likes what he's doing.
"Kyle's just had a great year so far," he said. "He gets in good position as a blocker and he's got great hands. He's a physical player and he moves well. He's a guy we want to continue to utilize each week."
Central took advantage of a fumble recovery by cornerback Cael Halfman (senior, Manly, St. Ansgar HS) on Luther's opening drive to set up Central's first score with 12:05 still left in the first period, a 29-yard Gritsch reception.
Quarterback Riley Gray (junior, West Des Moines, Waukee HS) hit Gritsch again on an 18-yard second quarter strike, then scored on a 1-yard second-quarter sneak and running back Pat Gray (freshman, West Des Moines, Waukee HS) sprinted 19 yards for a touchdown with 3:23 left in the half.
"We got off to a really good start," McMartin said. "I thought we threw the ball well. Any time you can do that in our offense, it can open up the running game."
The Dutch defense gave Central one more first-half shot which resulted in a 21-yard Aaron Marcellus (junior, Hudson) field goal with 12 seconds remaining.
But Central then yielded a 59-yard Christian Moore run that helped produce a 33-yard Luther field goal and it was 31-3 at the break.
Free safety Zach Matter (junior, Ankeny) nabbed his second interception of the day and fourth of the season on Luther's first second-half possession. Central followed with a 48-yard scoring drive with Riley Gray going in from the 5.
Another big Moore run of 62 yards set up his 4-yard rush for a late Luther TD with 6:34 remaining.
Three Central quarterbacks combined to complete 20 of 29 passes for 244 yards with one interception and two touchdowns while 11 rushers notched 183 yards on the ground.
"I thought our offensive line blocked really well," McMartin said. "We gave our quarterbacks time to throw and when we ran the ball, we were very effective at it."
Riley Gray hit on nine of 14 throws for 141 yards.
"He got off to a great start," McMartin said. "He threw a couple of touchdown passes early and he was on target. He made good decisions and he put the ball where it needed to be."
Wide receiver Sam Markham (sophomore, Atlantic) had seven catches for 129 yards. He's got a team-high 35 season receptions for 458 yards.
"He's been a great player for us and he just keeps getting better each week," McMartin said. "He's playing with a lot of confidence and he's able to make some plays. He made some great catches and he ran well after he caught it, too."
The Dutch reserves took over from there and running back Sam Archer (sophomore, Fremont, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont HS) completed Central's scoring with a 14-yard fourth-quarter dash.
Moore had 172 yards on 16 carries for Luther, which only mustered 23 additional rushing yards. The Norse completed just three of six passes for 31 yards with two interceptions.
"Our defense did a nice job," McMartin said. "They were very disciplined and they were physical up front. Coach (Don) De Waard and his staff put together a great game plan. They've been very good in game-planning against this type of offense historically and this was another good example of that."
Linebacker Sam Norgaard (junior, Naperville, Ill., Nequa Valley HS) topped the tackle charts with nine, including six solos and a half sack. Linebackers Jessie Peterson (junior, Coralville, Iowa City West HS) and Mitch Schroeder (senior, Lowden, North Cedar HS) had eight and five stops, respectively.
"Sam played great," McMartin said. "We need Sam to keep improving. We feel like we've got three really good inside linebackers with Sam, Jessie and Mitch."
Central forced four turnovers and is plus-10 on turnover margin for the season.
More than 90 Central players saw action.
"When you get a chance to play people and get them in a game, that's really nice," McMartin said. "I'm happy we could do that today."
Central, which was playing just its second home game of the season, is back on the road next Saturday, traveling to Dubuque to take on Loras College in a 1 p.m. league game. The Duhawks (2-3 overall, 1-1 conference) outscored Buena Vista 48-41 at Storm Lake Saturday.