SCOUTING REPORT: CENTRAL
Led by Jeff McMartin in his 14th season, Central enters week eight with a 4-3 overall record and is coming off its bye week. Last time out, the Dutch handed Coe a 30-19 setback thanks to a 20-point second quarter performance. Central's offense is led by freshman Blaine Hawkins who took over the quarterback duties in week four after beginning the year third on the depth chart. Since then, he's completed 62 percent of his passes for 859 yards and eight touchdowns, five of which have gone to All-American wideout Sam Markham. The senior from Atlantic, Iowa is well on his way to another standout season and has 49 catches for 759 yards this season and six touchdowns. For his career, Markham has over 3,600 yards of receiving and 28 touchdowns, averaging 100.1 yards per game.

Defensively, the struggles have come in the secondary where opponents average 309.6 yards per game for a total of 2,167 yards, more than 700 more than the Dutch have offensively. The run defense enters holding opponents to 143.3 yards per game and 1,0003 yards through seven weeks. Sam Norgaard anchors the defensive line and leads the team in both solo and assisted tackles with 36 and 56, respectively. Tyler Olson leads Central with four interceptions and is third on the team with 58 tackles.

The Special Teams game is where Central has held an advantage over its opponents. Jon Alberts is a perfect 11-for-11 on field goals and has kicked at least one in three of four wins for the Dutch. In a non-conference win against Augustana, Alberts made four field goals, a mark that is tied for third nationally.

WEEK EIGHT RECAP
In what can only be described as a wild game in the Rock Bowl, Loras prevailed over Coe in week eight to improve to 4-3 this year. It all started with a 100-yard kickoff return by junior Walter Ollie and ended with a defensive stand in the end zone in which sophomore Riley Larson knocked away what would've been the game-tying touchdown. What happened in between was 76 points headlined by a 385-yard aerial performance by senior Bob Kelly and three touchdown catches by senior Josh Schulte. Larson finished with 16 tackles while Ollie nearly matched his output with 15.

KEYS TO THE GAME
In weeks  one through four, Loras racked up 739 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground, providing an significant complement to the passing game. Since then, the running attack has flatlined, accumulating 341 yards over the last four weeks. In order to aid Kelly and the air game, the Duhawks need to win the battle in the trenches and open running lanes for senior Ike Cloward and junior Cody Mighell to run through. Defensively, Loras will need to fight their way into the backfield and disrupt the timing of Central's Hawkins. With as talented of a receiver as Markham is for the Dutch, Loras will need to find a way to take him and his quarterback out of their comfort zones.

LARSON NAMED TO D3FOOTBALL.COM TEAM OF THE WEEK
Following his 16-tackle performance against Coe, Larson was named to the D3Football.com Team of the Week on Tuesday. Larson became the the 12th player in program history to be named to the D3Football.com Team of the Week and first since 2015. He's also the first defensive player since 2014 to receive the national recognition. With two games remaining, Larson has matched his tackle total from his freshman year and surpassed last year's total for pass break-ups.

A MAN OF MANY TALENTS
The Eastland-Pearl City prep opened Saturday's game with a bang, taking the opening kickoff 100 yards for the touchdown. Ollie's century scamper was the 84th in the history of Division III football, first in the Iowa Conference since 1999 and third in the history of the IIAC. In the process, the Pearl City, Ill. native broke the single-season school record for kick return yards, kick return touchdowns in a season and kick return touchdowns in a career. Heading into week eight, Ollie is tied for first in the NCAA with two kick return touchdowns and leads the nation in kick return yardage with 864. When he wasn't returning kicks against Coe, Ollie hawked to the ball carrier, totaling 15 tackles, second only to Larson's 16.

FINDING HIS RHYTHM
Senior gunslinger Bob Kelly led a spirited Duhawk offense on Saturday against Coe, finishing with 385 yards of passing on 23 completions and four touchdowns, three of which went to senior Josh Schulte. Kelly elevated his season passing totals to 2,081 yards and 14 touchdowns on 155 completions. The St. Laurence prep is completing passes at a 63 percent clip, which ranks second in the Iowa Conference, and is averaging 297.3 yards per game, good for third in the IIAC. Kelly is the first Loras football student-athlete to win IIAC Player of the Week honors for Offense since Zach Minch on October 25, 2015. With two games remaining, Kelly needs 474 yards to reach the single-season school record set in 2015.