LINCOLN, Neb. – Central College scored on their first four offensive possessions of the game to jump out to a big first half lead and they continued their big offensive production in the second half as the Dutch defeated the Prairie Wolves 43-17 in IIAC football action on Saturday (Oct. 15) at Abel Stadium.
 
Dutch quarterback Riley Gray completed 30-40 passes for a career-high 343 yards with three touchdowns and ran for two more touchdowns to lead the high-powered Central offense.  The Dutch finished with 587 yards of total offense, rolling through the air and on the ground.
 
Nebraska Wesleyan trailed 22-3 at halftime and dropped to a 29-3 deficit in the 3^rd quarter as the Dutch took the first drive of the 2^nd half into the end zone.
 
The Prairie Wolves did mount a rally in the 3^rd quarter.  On their first possession of the second half, quarterback Ben Green found Ryan Schneider for a big 66-yard completion to put the Prairie Wolves in the redzone.  Joel Wiedel scored a 3-yard TD run on the next play making the score 29-10. 
 
After a quick three and out by the NWU defense, the Prairie Wolves took over at their own 42-yard line after a good punt return by Dakota Buss.  Green found Wiedel on two big pass plays to get inside the 10-yard line, then Green hit Schneider for a 7-yard TD catch as he made a great grab between defenders.
 
NWU did get another stop on defense but the offense couldn't convert giving the ball back to the Dutch.  This time Central cranked the offense back up scoring late in the 3^rd quarter.  Four interceptions in the 4^th quarter hurt any rally chances for the Prairie Wolves with Central scoring once more.
 
Nebraska Wesleyan did have their most productive day on offense this season with 460 total yards.  The Prairie Wolves passed for 342 yards and ran for 118.
 
Green threw for a career-high 323 yards completing 28-43 with a touchdown, but he did throw two late interceptions.  NWU had two different receivers go over 100 yards in the game, the first time that happened since 2014.
 
Ryan Schneider made five catches for 118 yards with a TD, while Wiedel caught 10 passes for 101 yards.  Wiedel also led the ground attack with 16 carries for 71 yards and a TD.  Crew Keller added seven recpetions for the NWU offense.
 
Central showed why they are one of the top offensive teams in the country.  The Dutch passed for 365 yards and rushed for 222 averaging 6.7 yards per play.
 
Nate Fitzgerald ran for 158 yards and  a TD, with four catches for 24 yards.  Sam Markham added to his conference leading receiving total with 10 catches for 101 yards and a TD.  Kyle Gritsch caught six passes for 62 yards with two TDs.
 
Three different players reached double figures in tackles for the Prairie Wolves led by Riley Shoemaker with 16.  Preston Franzen made 12 stops and Dakota Buss had 10.
 
NWU will now have their bye week before returning to action on Oct. 29 at Simpson College.