The #5 (1A) Dike-New Hartford football team will be at Central Springs for its first district road game Friday night, and they’ll do so after recording the program’s 250th win. Head Coach Don Betts has been a coach for each of those wins as either the head coach or an assistant since the first season of the program in 1992.
“To be a part of this when it came together, I never could imagine I would have been here all these years,” Betts says. “I really tip my hat to all of the players who’ve gone through and all the coaches who’ve gone through and contributed to that. There’s a lot of kids who’ve put in a lot of time and effort for our football program to get to that 250 wins. Numbers are just numbers, but that’s an average of almost eight wins a year over 33 years. That’s really kind of special, I think. And like I say, I’m humbled to be a part of this program for that many years and to get to work with those outstanding young men and those great coaches that we’ve had here.”
The Wolverines (3-1, 1-0 1A-3) defeated Sumner-Fredericksburg 46-6 at home for the milestone win, where they took control behind a 225-yard rushing performance by Noah Borcherding. With 7.5 tackles, Tyson Bennett led a defensive effort that held the Cougars to just 75 yards of offense.
Central Springs (3-1, 0-1 1A-3) has already recorded its most wins in a season since 2019 with an undefeated non-district schedule. However, they were held in check in a 34-12 loss at Denver in last week’s district opener. The Panthers have tied for the most touchdowns in the district with 18, and lead the district in rushing and all-purpose yards. Avery Gregoire has 494 rushing yards, the second-most in the district. Betts on how his team is preparing for the matchup.
“Central Springs has had a nice start to the season. They kind of took it on the chin a little bit from Denver, but they’ve had a really nice start to the season. I know they’re excited about this group of kids. They generally are a wing-t type team. We’re going to have to focus on getting better, taking the next step for us. Road trips are road trips, and you’ve got to be able to play on the road if you’re going to do anything in the postseason. So we’ll be dialed in and focused.”
DNH is 6-0 in the all-time series with Central Springs, including a 55-0 home win last year. The kickoff will be at 7:00 p.m. in Manly.
