LINCOLN, Neb. – Nebraska Wesleyan pushed 23^rd-ranked Central College all the way to the end but the Dutch were able to make a key stop and convert offensively late to remain unbeaten with a 35-29 victory over the Prairie Wolves on Homecoming Saturday (Oct. 6) in American Rivers Conference football action.
 
Trailing by three scores in the 4^th quarter, Nebraska Wesleyan scored back to back touchdowns to pull within six points midway through the final period.  NWU came up with a big defensive stand to give the Prairie Wolves the ball back with five minutes to play.
 
Offensively, NWU managed just one first down and were forced to give the ball back to Central.  With just over two minutes left, Central quarterback Blaine Hawkins rushed around right end for seven yards to convert a 3^rd & 4 that sealed the victory for the Dutch.
 
NWU scored the opening points of the game as Jacob Romsa converted a 22-yard field goal that was setup by an interception from Heath Hovendick.  Central responded right away scoring on the first play of the 2^nd quarter on a 1-yard run from Nathan Fitzgerald.
 
The Prairie Wolves regained the lead in the 2^nd quarter as Shaka Taylor broke free for a 29-yard touchdown run right up the middle. Romsa's PAT attempt was blocked giving NWU a 9-7 lead.  Late in the first half, Central went ahead again on a 4-yard TD pass from Hawkins.
 
To start the second half, both teams scored on their opening possessions.  Central took the second half kick and went 62 yards on eight plays capped by an 8-yard run from Hawkins.
 
Nebraska Wesleyan also scored the first time they had the ball in the second half.  The Prairie Wolves marched 75 yards on nine plays and scored on a beautiful back shoulder 5-yard catch by Derrick Curtis from Jonathan Curti.
 
Central got their offense on a roll in the third quarter scoring on two straight possessions.  Fitzgerald caught a 4-yard TD pass to go ahead by 12 points, then Hawkins found Caleb Schlatter for a 5-yard TD pass to get the biggest lead of the game at 35-16.
 
NWU did not quit and made a valiant effort in the fourth quarter scoring a pair of touchdowns.  Bradley Pelkey caught two touchdown passes from Curti in the final period.  He made a 12-yard TD catch with 13:28 left in the game, then caught a 2-yard back shoulder pass from Curti with 7:17 remaining.  It was the second straight game that Pelkey caught two touchdowns in a game.
 
The Prairie Wolves finished with 478 yards of total offense, one yard more than Central who finished with 477.  Central ran for 287 and passed for 190, while NWU had 283 through the air and 195 on the ground.
 
Jonathan Curti was 23-39 for 283 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions for a fourth straight game.  Curti also ran for a career-high 72 yards on nine carries.
 
Shaka Taylor went over 100 yards rushing for the third time this season, getting 123 yards on 18 carries with a TD.  He caught six passes for 96 yards, including a 57-yard pass in the fourth quarter that was the longest play of the game.  He moved up to third on the NWU all-time career rushing charts.
 
Derrick Curtis returned from injury to make six catches for 73 yards with a TD, while Bradley Pelkey had five catches for 57 yards with two touchdowns.
 
On defense, three Prairie Wolves players finished with double digits in tackles led by Jacob Garnas who had 15 tackles with a sack.  Alex Kruse made 12 tackles with an interception and Micah Dexter had 11 tackles.
 
NWU will go for their first conference win next Saturday with a trip to Dubuque, Iowa to face Loras College.