Photo by Dan Vander Beek for Central College

The Central College football has trekked north into Minnesota to open a 2021 season filled with sky-high expectations.  The 14th-ranked Dutch are in Northfield to battle St. Olaf.

Central finished the 2019 season with a 10-2 record and the program’s first playoff victory in more than a decade.  They added a 2-0 record this past spring in a season shortened significantly due to covid.  What has fans even more excited is that the vast majority of those clubs is back this fall, including 18 fifth year seniors.

Head Coach Jeff McMartin says that the Dutch can’t think too much about the big picture, and can’t get down if things aren’t going their way right out of the gate.  He says they have a 60-minute game to play and they need to focus on one play at a time.

“We are a team that the longer we play, the better we’re going to play, traditionally.  We’re going to try and wear people down, so some of the things we do well, we may not look good doing for a while.  We have to be patient, stay focused, and not watch the scoreboard.”

St. Olaf went 5-5 in 2019, and participated in just one joint scrimmage last year without playing any games.  Kickoff today between the Dutch and the Oles is at 1:00.  Trevor Castle and Don DeWaard will call all the action on 92.1 KRLS, www.kniakrls.com and the free KRLS mobile app, beginning with pregame at 12:35.