Five first-half rushing touchdowns and three Jordy Borman (junior, Eagan, Minn.) interceptions powered the Central College football team to a 49-3 season-opening non-conference triumph at the University of Northwestern-St. Paul (Minn.) Saturday evening.
Blaine Hawkins (sophomore, Ankeny) ran for two TDs and also threw for one, completing 14 of 21 passes for 130 yards. Running back Nathan Fitzgerald (senior, Elkader, Central HS) was Central's top rusher with 89 yards and two TDs on 18 carries.
A blocked punt put Central in early scoring position, with Hawkins going in from the 2-yard line with 10:34 left in the first quarter. Running back Pat Gray (senior, West Des Moines, Waukee HS) followed with a 5-yard run and Fitzgerald scored from the 12 for a 21-0 first quarter lead.
"We got off to a good start and won the field position battle," coach Jeff McMartin said. "The blocked punt was really big. And then we didn't make the kinds of mistakes that hurt omentum after that. We didn't have a lot of penalties or dropped passes."
TD runs of six and four yards by Hawkins and Fitzgerald, respectively, stretched the advantage to 35-3 at halftime.
Hawkins hit wide receiver Erik Knaack (sophomore, Reinbeck, Gladbrook-Reinbeck HS) on a 15-yard scoring pass, Knaack's first collegiate TD reception, with 9:12 left in the third quarter before Central's reserves took over.
"We can get better in the passing game," McMartin said. "But as the game wore on, we learned a lot about ourselves in that area."
Tanner Schminke (sophomore, Boone), who moved to defensive back last year but is providing back-up help at quarterback this year as well as lining up at wide receiver, made his debut under center and sprinted 48 yards for his first career TD with 11:09 remaining in the game. That completed the scoring.
Borman, a strong safety playing a few miles from his hometown, became the first Central player to record three interceptions since Jacob Edleman notched three against Loras, Oct. 18, 2014. Borman had two picks last year. Free safety Collin Erickson (senior, Gilbert, Ariz., Dobson HS) also had an interception.
"Jordy almost had a fourth interception," McMartin said. "He was really excited to be playing up here in the Twin Cities and he definitely made the most of his opportunity. It's nice to have somebody back there who can make those kinds of plays."
Linebacker Cade Humphries (sophomore, Geneseo, Ill.) had 6.5 tackles while cornerback Trevor Smith (junior, Audubon) had six stops.
The Dutch outgained Northwestern 426 yards to 251, gaining 300 on the ground.
"We did a great job of stopping their running game," McMartin said. "And we didn't allow a lot of big plays. We got stops when we needed to."
Central shined in the kicking game as well, getting strong showings from two punters. Cam Kiner (senior, Craig, Neb., Oakland-Craig HS), back after missing a year with injury, unleashed a 64-yard punt and averaged 58.0 yards on two boots, both of which landed inside the 15-yard line. Tyler Bryant (senior, Donnellson, Central Lee HS) averaged 44.5 yards on two kicks with one inside the 20.
"It's not often you can say this, but our punters were special," McMartin said. "They both punted about as well as you possibly could. They were amazing."
The Dutch coaching staff was able to take a good look at many of its top young players.
"We got to play a lot of guys," McMartin said. "We want to get better from week one to week two and we told the guys we're going to watch this film with a very critical eye because we want to improve."
Central embarks on another long trip next Saturday with a first-ever meeting with DePauw University (Ind.) in Greencastle, Indiana. It will be the season opener for the Tigers, 8-2 a year ago. They're among those receiving votes in the d3football.com top 25. Game time is 1 p.m. Eastern Time.
"DePauw is very good," McMartin said. "We've got a big task in front of us."