A blocked field goal and a fourth-and-goal stand highlighted a strong defensive second half for the Central College football team Saturday afternoon, as the Dutch closed out the season with a 37-14 victory at Simpson College.

Early on, it looked like Central would run away with the game, as the Dutch jumped out to a 21-0 lead midway through the second quarter. The Storm bounced back, though, scoring on a pair of fast-moving drives late in the quarter to pull the game to just 21-14 in favor of Central at halftime.

After stalling out on their opening drive of the third quarter, Central’s defense found themselves inside their own ten yard line with Simpson threatening to score. The Storm were forced to settle for a field goal, which was blocked to give Central back the football. Just minutes later, Simpson was back inside the Central ten, this time electing to go for the score on fourth-down-and goal. Freshman cornerback Spencer Boeyink batted down a pass in the end zone to end the threat, while Central’s offense responded with two more touchdowns and a field goal in the second half to put the game away.

Senior quarterback Nate Snead finished his storied career at Central with 188 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 19 carries; and completed 12-of-17 passes for 180 yards and another score to lead the Dutch. All of the touchdowns came from the Central backfield, as Ross Doerhmann and Josh Osborn each rushed for a score and Preston West caught a touchdown pass to round out the scoring. Linebacker Keith Rush led the Central defense with nine tackles and a sack.

The win over Simpson puts Central in a tie with Wartburg and Coe for second place in the Iowa Conference, with a 6-2 league record. Central finishes at 7-3 overall.

Tags: , , ,