Photo by Dan Vander Beek for Central College

The two co-champions of the 2019 American Rivers Conference football season square off today in Pella as Central plays host to Wartburg at Ron and Joyce Schipper Stadium.

The Knights are 2-1 under first year head coach Chris Winter, coming off of a 28-7 win over Coe last week in their conference opener.  Meanwhile, the Dutch are 4-0 overall and 2-0 the league after their record-setting 84-16 victory over Simpson.

Central boasts the best offense in Division III with over 654 yards per game and is in the top 10 in both passing yards and rushing yards per game.  Coach Jeff McMartin says that finding that balance today will be key against a tough Wartburg defense.

“You don’t want to be one dimensional because whenever a defense can get you into a place where you’re only doing one thing well, they’ve got you where they want you.  So that balance is going to be important.  We also need to execute.  When we throw the ball, our guys need to catch it and advance it.  And when we run the ball, our guys need to take care of it.”

Kickoff is today at 1:00 at The Schip.  Trevor Castle and George Wares will call the action live on 92.1 KRLS, and audio commentary will also be available with video at centraldutchnetwork.com.  Pregame starts at 12:35.