The numbers continued to pile up and the records fall as Central College flexed a big-play offense in 52-33 homecoming football crowd-pleaser over Loras College Saturday.
Improving to 3-0 overall in their American Rivers opener, the Dutch rolled up 569 yards total offense.
Quarterback Blaine Hawkins (junior, Ankeny) misfired on three of his first four passes, but then connected on 17-of-18, including his final 11 attempts, blistering the Duhawks for 354 yards. That ranks second in school history, 13 yards shy of his own school mark set against Loras in 2017. He also matched his three-week-old school record with six TD strikes. He also had six scoring passes in the season opener against the University of Northwestern-St. Paul (Minn.) Sept. 7. Hawkins was 18-of-22 overall with one interception for an 81.6 completion percentage, matching the sixth-best in school history.
Senior Hunter Robinson (Lisbon) had four of the touchdown catches, including back-to-back first-quarter scoring grabs from 58 yards out. That tied Sam Markham's 2017 record. Robinson finished with five receptions for 179 yards. He also had 73 yards in punt and kick returns for 242 all-purpose yards, which ranks third on the school's all-time list.
"Take away the first couple passes and we got off to a really good start," coach Jeff McMartin said. "We hit some really long balls. Blaine (Hawkins), throughout his career, has proven to be a very talented quarterback and one of his great strengths is he throws the deep ball really well. Not every quarterback does that, they're better with the underneath stuff or whatever, but when you find a guy who can do that, it can really stretch the field and he did a great job of that today. And Hunter (Robinson) made some great catches so they were really working in tandem today."
Erik Knaack (junior, Reinbeck, Gladbrook-Reinbeck HS) had seven catches for 110 yards and one TD.
Central sprinted to a 14-0 first-quarter lead and was up 35-12 at intermission, adding 17 more third-quarter points before cooling the engines. The Dutch last played Sept. 14 and it was important to strike early, McMartin said.
"I didn't want us to get off to a slow start," he said. "I didn't want us to look like a team that had had a week off. I wanted us to get into a rhythm. Football is a game of rhythm and routine and if you can get in a good rhythm, that really helps."
The Dutch running game also showed encouraging signs. With early season starter Jason Hopp (sophomore, Earlham) limited by injury, converted wrestler Joey McIntyre (junior, Chicago, Ill., St. Viator HS) got his first collegiate start and notched a career-best 92 yards and a TD on 14 carries.
"Joey did a really good job," McMartin said. "Give our offensive line a lot of credit, too. We did a very good job up front. Defensively, they make it hard on you. For him to gain those yards, I think that's a really good day for him."
There was one significant blemish on Hawkins' performance as he threw a second-quarter interception that Loras lineman Josh Jones returned for a touchdown. And the Dutch defense yielded a season-high 448 yards. But McMartin noted that number was partly due to Central emptying the benches early as 100 Dutch players saw action.
"We played a lot of people," he said. "It's homecoming, we had a nice lead and we're going to play as many guys as we can. Sometimes we don't get everybody in but I think that's important. These guys work hard and are out there every day in practice. If we have a chance to get them out there and get them some reps, that's a good thing."
Linebacker Tate O'Tool (senior, Fort Dodge, St. Edmond HS) had eight tackles including 1.5 for loss while cornerback Tre Wilridge III (junior, Crowley, La., Tombstone, Ark. HS) had seven stops. Cornerback Danny Anderson (senior, Boone), strong safety Jordy Borman (senior, Eagan, Minn.) and freshman defensive back Jacob Graves (West Branch) each had interceptions while defensive lineman Martin Olson (senior, Kimballton, EHK-Exira HS) and linebacker Hunter Maddy (junior, Mystic, Centerville HS) recorded sacks.
A focus during Central's off week last week was improving the punting game. The Dutch used three punters Saturday but freshman Que Baker-McCaulay (Mesa, Ariz., Tempe HS) strengthened his hold on the job by lofting three high kicks for an average of 48.7 yards.
"He kicked really well," McMartin said. "After the first two games we opened it up and said every day is going to be a competition. He knew that he had to earn his spot and through the last two weeks, he did those things.
He's learned a lot over the last three weeks. He was willing to keep working and keep getting better and that's a credit to Que."
McMartin also cited new freshman long snapper Justin Thomas (freshman, Iowa City, West HS).
"Our snaps were really good," McMartin said. "He came in and I thought did a great job for us. I think that helped (Baker-McCaulay) punt better as well. We've had a lot more consistency."
Central finally makes its first road appearance next Saturday, traveling to Decorah to take on Luther College in a 1 p.m. league game. The Norse are 0-4 overall and 0-2 in the conference after dropping a 52-21 decision at Coe College Saturday. Central overwhelmed the Norse at Pella last year, 63-14, and holds a 57-21-1 advantage in the teams' all-time series.