5/9/2023 0 Comments Bobby fink![]() The numbers were encouraging as he completed 43 of 58 passes (.741) for 433 yards with one interception and seven touchdowns. "But we're working to find a starting quarterback."īecause last year's Dutch typically put the game well out of reach by halftime, Brady Ketchum (sophomore, Mount Vernon) took more snaps than a typical back-up as a freshman. "We've done that kind of thing in the past and if that's what we have to do or if that's what serves our offense the best, then great," he said. Rotating quarterbacks isn't ideal, McMartin said, but he doesn't completely rule it out. "But we're going to get through camp and everything we do is going to be working towards understanding where we're at offensively, who should be on the field and getting those players the appropriate amount of reps so that when we get into game one, they will feel comfortable and we will have a good feel for what we can ask them to do." Yet he's not sure when he'll make a decision. ![]() "Obviously that's a position that's really paramount to finding answers for us," McMartin said. But while McMartin doesn't expect anyone to launch an immediate assault on Hawkins' records, he likes what he's seeing from his options. It's seldom a seamless transition when replacing one of the program's all-time greats and the best in Division III. It's the most asked and most glaring question of the off-season: Who will follow Hawkins at quarterback? McMartin isn't ready to answer. There are nine returning starters among the 42 letterwinners back, leaving the Dutch to identify six new starters on offense and seven on defense. And we have people who fit that identity." We know who we are on offense and defense. I think we've played to our strengths better every year. Our coaching staff has always held onto that mindset. And the best we can do is to really focus on this season and this team and play to the strengths of the guys that we have. Yes, we lost some talented football players, but we have a lot of talented football players coming back. "I think we're very focused on where we are. "I think our staff and our players are really focused on this season, we're not looking back," McMartin said. Yet as McMartin enters his 19th season, the American Rivers Conference's longest-tenured coach has his eyes firmly fixed on what lies ahead. The AFCA Board of Trustees member has posted a glossy 140-43 (.765) career record and is among Division III's winningest active coaches with six league titles and six NCAA playoff berths. Blaine Hawkins capped arguably the most prolific career of any quarterback in the program's rich history by receiving the Gagliardi Trophy as Division III's outstanding player and McMartin became the first at Central to receive the AFCA Division III Coach of the Year Award. Central reached the national quarterfinals en route to the school's 17th undefeated regular-season campaign and a 12-1 overall season that left the Dutch record book in ruins as 62 new school marks were established. To be sure, there are aspects of the 2021 season unlikely to soon be matched, as the Dutch roared to their record 32nd conference championship and 22nd NCAA Division III playoff berth. PELLA-Energized by the arrival of the largest freshman class in school history as well as the return of six American Rivers all-conference performers, coach Jeff McMartin sees last year's historic Central College football season as a springboard into 2022 and not a program peak.
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