Central College’s American Rivers Conference football title hopes hang in the balance today as the Dutch travel to Waverly for a matchup against third-ranked Wartburg.

The Dutch are 6-1 overall and 4-1 in the ARC, while the Knights are 8-0 and 6-0. A Wartburg win would wrap up back-to-back league titles, but Central would pull into a tie with a victory of their own.

This is the one game that fans of both teams circle on their calendars, and everyone involved knows the stakes. However, Central coach Jeff McMartin has tried to downplay the hype and focus his team on doing what it takes to get the outcome they desire.

“If there’s a great crowd there or a small crowd there, there’s still a football game to be played. We have to stay focused on what’s happening on the field, that gives us our best chance as players and coaches. If you let the crowd or the announcer or the scoreboard really get you distracted, that’s a recipe for disaster.”

Wartburg is coming off of a trip to the national semifinals a year ago and has picked up right where they left off in 2022, bringing the number seven scoring defense and number 12 scoring offense in the country into today’s game. Central counters with an opportunistic defense that is fifth in takeaways and third in defensive touchdowns this season.

Kickoff is at 1:00 at Walston-Hoover Stadium, the first trip to Waverly for Central since 2018. Trevor Castle and Don DeWaard will call the action live on 92.1 KRLS, beginning with pregame coverage at 12:35.