Dutch ain't much, except 2-0
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Some glaring disparities jump off the page.
The Dutch defense allows 327 yards per game on the ground and more than 450 yards of total offense per game — including a school record 539 yards allowed to Bethel on Saturday.
Their opponents dominate the “first down” battle, 32-54.
Starting quarterback Tim Connell’s touchdown to interception ratio is 1-3.
Now go back and look at those first two lines of the stat sheet. You may have to blink a few times or rub your eyes a little bit. They’ve surprisingly outscored their opponents 54-45. They’re 2-0 and knocking on the door of the nation’s Top 25.
“We are very unorthodox,” second year head coach Jeff McMartin says. “No doubt about it.”
 Tim Connell's college experience was mostly JV before this year, though he did win a state title in high school. Photo by Ryan Coleman, D3football.com |
It worked. Connell’s plunge into the end zone sealed the victory and made a statement that he was the new leader of this team.
Not bad for a quarterback that McMartin says he probably wouldn’t even have recruited had he been coach two years ago.
“I’m not happy with the interceptions,” McMartin admitted of Connell’s ratio. “I would not have spent a lot of time recruiting him for that reason.”
Regardless, after his 2-yard scamper with under two minutes to play put the exclamation point on a 29-21 come-from-behind victory against Bethel, McMartin now knows the type of big game mentality his quarterback possesses.
“He’s a worker,” McMartin says. “He understands how to win.”
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Take punter Brant Ver Meer’s Saturday performance as Exhibit A. He averaged 47.9 yards on eight punts, pinning six of them, including a career-best 76-yarder, inside the Bethel 20-yard line.
For comparison’s sake, Bethel averaged 26.0 yards on three punts and took a first-half safety when an errant snap sailed over the punter’s head and out of the end zone.
Ver Meer never punted in high school and also plays linebacker. Brandon O'Neall is a perfect 1-for-1 on field goals and 5-for-5 on PATs.
This was McMartin’s mantra throughout training camp — “we are going to be very good on special teams.”
Similarly, The Dutch have benefited from half as many penalties and four times as many sacks as their opponents.
Nonetheless, McMartin knows his young team cannot continue to let opposing offenses put up the numbers they are currently posting.
“Numbers don’t lie,” McMartin said. “It will be very hard to continue our success if we continue to give up big numbers.”
With a challenging schedule of run-happy IIAC teams waiting to be the first to knock off Central, McMartin says the team needs to stay completely into what they are doing.
“I have faith in my players, I want them to have fun and I want to play to win,” McMartin says about his three main principles — three principles that have produced two big wins and gotten Central off to what could turn out to be one exciting season.
Week to week
Dubuque quarterback Jermarr Jackson may have had the biggest one week turnaround in this young D3 season. In Week 1, Jackson was a rag doll for the UW-Platteville defense as he was sacked 12 times and only threw for 146 yards and an interception in a 26-0 defeat.
On Saturday, Jackson amassed 398 yards of total offense and accounted for seven touchdowns in Dubuque’s 49-6 victory over Blackburn. He completed 27 of 43 passes for 358 yards and five touchdowns. He also rushed for 40 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries.
Led foot
In Macalester’s 44-14 defeat on Saturday to Oberlin, it was Yeoman kicker Mike Tomlinson that put on quite a show. He averaged 58.4 on eight kickoffs including five touchbacks. He was also 5-5 on PATs and 3-3 on field goals including 27, 30 and a whopping 55-yarder. Let the record show that winds were blowing 15-25 mph but since this isn’t Olympic track and field, that doesn’t really matter.
Déjà vu
For the second straight year, the “Battle of the Burgs” came down to a last second field goal and for the second straight year, Wartburg emerged victorious.
In 2004, Wartburg kicker Jordan Maus hit a 40-yard field goal as time expired to win the game 27-24. This time around, Augsburg kicker Nick Schlieman’s 44-yard field goal had the distance but sailed wide left preserving a 29-26 Wartburg victory.
Six for six
Two quarterbacks in the West Region threw six touchdown passes on Saturday in leading their teams to dominating victories. Linfield quarterback Brett Elliott led the Wildcats to a 49-7 victory over Western Oregon (Div. II) finding four different receivers for six touchdowns. All-American Casey Allen led the way with 100 yards receiving and three touchdowns.
UW-Eau Claire quarterback Jesse Krzyzanowski also threw six touchdowns in the Blugolds 46-0 victory over Illinois Wesleyan. The performance broke a 41-year-old school record. Garett Pankratz, who hauled in three of Krzyzanowski’s passes, tied the school record.
Oles unanswered
Last year, the St. Olaf Oles found themselves down 31-0 to Luther but managed to roll off 32 unanswered points to beat the Norse 32-31. This year, after a 7-7 tie, the Oles again ripped off 30 unanswered points to take a commanding lead before winning 37-14.
Pick hat trick
Loras junior defensive back Adam Laffey tied the school record with three interceptions in a losing effort against St. Ambrose (29-28). The three picks equaled the total of the entire secondary from a season ago and matched the team’s 2004 season leader.
Around the WIAC
UW-Stout dropped UW-Platteville 24-16 behind three catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns from John Henry Freeman. … UW-River Falls came up short 26-21 at Concordia-St. Paul. … UW-Whitewater beat up St. Xavier 34-20 behind 549 yards of total offense. … UW-Eau Claire shut out Illinois Wesleyan 46-0 behind six touchdown passes from Jesse Krzyzanowski, three of which went to Garett Pankratz. … UW-La Crosse hammered Howard Payne 34-6 after bursting to a 27-6 halftime score. … UW-Oshkosh thumped Concordia (Wis.) 41-13 behind 150 yards receiving and three touchdowns from Steve Stoltz.
Around the SCIAC
Cal Lutheran outlasted Pacific Lutheran 42-35 behind 250 yards and four touchdowns from quarterback Danny Jones. … CMS beat Kings Point 33-26 thanks to 166 yards rushing and two touchdowns from Adam Richter. … Whittier nipped Colorado College 29-26 spreading out four touchdowns amongst four players. … Occidental doubled up Chapman 40-20 thanks to quarterback Andy Collins’ 304 yards and four touchdowns.
Around the NWC
Whitworth beat up Redlands 35-21 fueled by 210 yards passing and four touchdowns from quarterback Joel Clark (two rushing, two passing). … Puget Sound beat Pomona-Pitzer 27-19 led by Rory Lee’s 219 yards rushing and one touchdown. … Willamette lost 45-24 to Mary Hardin-Baylor as they were unable to stop Freddie Rollins (123 yards rushing) and Jarvis Thrasher (104 yards). … Linfield crushed Western Oregon 49-7 thanks to six touchdowns and 361 yards from Brett Elliott.
Around the MIAC
St. Olaf blew out Luther 37-13 behind 169 yard of total offense and two touchdowns by Jay Higgins. … Hamline beat UM-Morris 24-8. … Gustavus Adolphus came up short against No. 21 Wheaton 23-16. … St. John’s crushed Northwestern 57-7 behind Chase Beaudry’s 128 yards rushing and two touchdowns. …
Around the IIAC
Loras came up short at St. Ambrose 29-28 as they were outgained 407-319 in total offense. … Cornell hung a donut against Iowa Wesleyan 13-0 with only 192 yards of total offense. … Coe outlasted St. Thomas 24-21 with a touchdown pass from Andy TeKippe to Jon Rife with 43 seconds remaining. … Central surprised Bethel 29-21 behind Tim Connell’s touchdown run with 1:55 to play. … Dubuque crushed Blackburn 49-6 behind seven touchdowns from Jermarr Jackson. …
Games to Watch
UW-Stevens Point at Linfield, McMinnville, Ore., 1:00 p.m.
Linfield earned a hard fought 46-35 victory on the road last year solidifying them as contenders for the Stagg trophy they eventually won. This year, the Pointers take on their second top 5 opponent after losing big to Hardin Simmons 38-12 on Sept 3. Look for a solid battle between two star quarterbacks in Brett Elliott and Brett Borchart.
Coe at Central, Pella, Iowa, 1:00 p.m.
Central will see if they are for real when they go up against 2004 IIAC co-champion Coe. Both teams made it through their non-conference schedules at 2-0 and both should be in the mix when the season ends. Both teams are coming off come from behind victories over MIAC foes and this one could go down to the wire as well. Central lost 16-13 at Coe in 2004.
Reminder
One guy covering five conferences means I could always use your help on story ideas. If you have feedback on a story, have a human interest story idea or want to email me for any other reason, I can be reached at adam.johnson@d3football.com.