A first ever football meeting between Central College and 19th-ranked Randolf-Macon is on the docket today at Ron & Joyce Schipper Stadium in Pella.

The Yellow Jackets, from Virginia, play in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and are three-time defending league champions. They’re one of just four programs to make the Round of 16 in the Division III playoffs each of the last three seasons, and advanced as far as the semifinals in 2023.

Both teams are 1-0 this year, with Central holding on for a 27-18 win at Illinois Wesleyan, while Randolf-Macon beat Dickinson 48-34. In that game, the Yellow Jackets controlled the ball for 37:49, racking up 315 rushing yards on 54 carries. Dutch coach Jeff McMartin says that slowing down the ground game is a major focus today.

“They’ve got some great players in the running game – tailback, quarterback, offensive line. The quarterback also throws it well enough to hurt you in the passing game. If you can make them one dimensional, and that’s a big if, that’s the challenge, making them one dimensional. That will help us slow these guys down.”

McMartin says that the Dutch made too many mistakes in their week one win over Illinois Wesleyan, and they’ll have to clean those up and play a better overall game to compete today.

Kickoff is at 1:00, with pregame coverage scheduled for 12:35 on 92.1 KRLS and the Central Dutch Network.