When the Central College football team takes the field Saturday for a rivalry game at Simpson, the Dutch will be starting their third different quarterback in their fifth game of the season.

Freshman Blaine Hawkins has been named the starter after coming off the bench last Saturday to lead the Dutch to a come-from-behind 52-27 win over Nebraska Wesleyan.

Coach Jeff McMartin says that he has a lot of confidence in the skill set that Hawkins brings to the table for his team.

“He makes good decisions, number one. He can run the zone-read very well – he’s very deceptive and he had a touchdown on that play (on Saturday). There are certain routes that he can throw pretty well, and he can think his way around the field pretty decent. He’s from Ankeny High School and he’s played in other big games. This isn’t the first big game he’s ever been in. He’s also a multi-sport athlete, so he’s also been competitive and competing.

Hawkins was a two year starter for Ankeny, throwing for nearly 3,400 yards and rushing for over 1,000. He led the Hawks to the second round of the playoffs during his junior season.

Last Saturday in the win over the Prairie Wolves, Hawkins threw for 253 yards and two scores and ran for 93 and two more scores.

You can hear Hawkins and the Dutch against the rival Storm this Saturday on both KNIA & KRLS, with kickoff at 1:00 from Bill Buxton Stadium in Indianola.