Central’s football team will take the field in their toughest conference match of the season when nationally ranked Humboldt State University (HSU) comes to Tomlinson Stadium for Homecoming this Saturday at 1 pm.

The Jacks enter the game ranked 16th in the nation with a 5-1 record, their only loss coming last week against Midwestern State University–a non-conference opponent currently ranked 10th in the Division II coach’s poll.

Humboldt State boasts a dominant ground attack, led by Sophomore running back Ja’Quan Gardner.

Gardner, an early favorite for this season’s Harlon Hill trophy–given to Division II football’s best player–is leading the nation in rushing yards, averaging 206.5 per game. He’s carried the Jack’s offense this year, scoring an impressive 16 rushing touchdowns in just 6 games.

Head coach Ian Shoemaker said stopping Gardner will be one of the Wildcat’s top priorities Saturday afternoon.

“Obviously we have to make sure we get him tackled and get him to the ground,” Shoemaker said. “We’re going to try and disrupt his tracks a little bit and take him off of his game.”

The Wildcats are looking to rebound after a tough 31-25 loss last weekend at Western Oregon University (WOU), a game in which they allowed 213 rushing yards to the conference’s second worst rushing attack.

Central had an opportunity to win the game on the final drive of the 4th quarter, but the offense failed to convert on 4th and 1 when freshmen running back Quincy Carter was stuffed inside the red zone with 1:06 left on the clock.

The loss marks the third straight defeat for the Wildcats at McArthur Field

“It’s been tough to win down there in Monmouth,” Shoemaker said. “It’s frustrating when you have a chance to win and don’t get it done.”

The Wildcats will look to counter Gardner and Humboldt State with an offense led by quarterback Justin Lane.

The junior is coming off of a stellar game last week at WOU, where he threw for a career high 376 yards and 3 touchdowns.

The quarterback’s top target of the afternoon was wide receiver Jesse Zalk who recorded 148 yards and a touchdown. Zalk has now catapulted himself to the top of the GNAC leader board in receiving yards after 3 straight games with at least 100 yards.

With the loss of running back Jordan Todd due to a broken ankle, running back Arthur Burns has become the workhorse of the Wildcat’s backfield.

“It sucks it had to happen that way because Jordan is definitely one of my good friends.” Burns said. “When that happened it ignited something in me, like you know, alright I got the load on my back now.”

As a senior, Burns says he’s hoping for a big crowd to come out and support the team during his last homecoming game.

“It would mean so much,” Burns said. “When the crowd is there and they’re hype, it gets us hyped. It transfers all the way through from the stands to the field. Come out and support us, we’ll show you something.”