The Central College football team forced turnovers on the final four UW-Eau Claire possessions Saturday afternoon and held on for a 31-13 non-conference victory in a game heard live on 92.1 KRLS.

The first half was played in an off-and-on drizzle, and the offenses struggled in a scoreless first quarter. The 13th-ranked Dutch finally found their stride in the second, with sophomore quarterback Brady Ketchum throwing touchdown passes on three straight drives to take a 21-0 lead.

While the Blugolds didn’t muster much offense in the first half, they were able to pull within 21-7 just before intermission after recovering a fumble on a muffed punt. The drizzle turned to a downpour in the second half, and Eau Claire made it a one score game with an early fourth quarter touchdown run.

Central punted on the ensuing driving, giving the Blugolds the ball with a chance to tie. That was as close as it got. The Dutch recovered a fumbled snap two plays later, then extended their lead on a 33-yard Logan Sunvold field goal. Forced to throw into the wind in miserable conditions, Eau Claire quarterback Harry Roubidoux was intercepted on the next three drives, twice by Cameron Bannister, and Jason Hopp’s touchdown run iced it.

Ketchum was 19-of-30 for 236 yards, with Neu snagging three catches for 85 yards and two touchdowns. The Dutch plodded through the rain for 130 rushing yards and limited the Blugolds to just 219 yards of total offense for the day.

Central is 2-0 after winning their 19th straight regular season contest. They’ll open defense of their American Rivers Conference championship next weekend in Pella, hosting Loras. The Duhawks are 0-2 after losing 48-26 to Benedictine Saturday night in Illinois.

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