Photo by Samantha Davis. The 2025 Murray County Central football team includes Brayden Gilb, Gabe Tentinger, Carter Hansen, Finn Schneider, Carson Lewis, Dane Hanson, Noah Frisk, Teague Meyer, Dugan Kluis, Max Mathiason, Parker Olson, Levi Kopperud, Dylan Gilbertson, Jordan Sturges, Vance Ahlers, Jacob Swart, Lucas Kuball, Henry Carlson, Jason Pearson, Caleb Rosenbrook, Luke Sweetman, Cade Berreau, Tristan Thompson, Noah Hanson, Kolten Nielsen, Josh Wolske, Quintin Lewis, Luke Iverson, Keagan Wiekeraad, Jaxon Wendorff, Gavin Johnson, Noah Matiowetz, Hudson Carlson, Adam Iverson, William Biren, Colton Olivier, Aubin Licht, Colby Kesteloot, Gabe Wolske, Evan Joens, Levi Kopperud, Kendall Gass, Daniel Navarro, Alex Hassara, Eli Baumgartner, Cyril Zenk, Gabe Jacobson, Jaybian Quintero, Xavier Mannon, Broox Platt, Austin Reese and Wyatt Thompson. The Rebels are lead by head coach Patrick Freeman, and assistants Tim Cariveau, Lucas Freeman and Brian Christiansen.

SLAYTON — The Murray County Central football team is coming off a deep playoff run from a year prior, and with a core group of returners, the Rebels look to find their way back into the section championship for the 2025 season. 

MCC had a successful 2024 campaign and was one win away from making its fourth state tournament appearance, and the first since 2021. The Rebels went 8-3 on the season, and made it to the Section 3A Championship, where they ultimately fell short to Springfield, 20-10. 

“We just want to keep going. We want to get back there [to the section championship], and we want to make it to Minneapolis [for the state tournament],” senior quarterback Teague Meyer said. “Play for a state championship, that’s the goal.” 

Earning the No. 3 in the tournament, MCC defeated Tracy-Milroy-Balaton in the quarterfinals, and upset second-seeded Adrian/Ellsworth 38-8 to ride the momentum to the title game. 

In the regular season, the Rebels’ only two losses came from Springfield, 28-18, in the second game of the season, and to Adrian/Ellsworth 13-11 on Sept. 20. 

“It [last season] was really fun. You could really feel like we grew every game as the season went on,” Meyer said. “We just want to keep getting better again every game this year.” 

Bringing back a large group of returners, MCC will look to adjust with the loss of running back and linebackers Gavin Gillette and Andrew Holm, and lineman Isaiah Wolske. The trio was a part of last year’s graduating class. 

Gillette led the Rebels last year with nine touchdowns off 400 rushing yards, and had a team-high 60 receiving yards on two catches with one touchdown. He also had 12 tackles and two interceptions on the defensive end. 

Holm was a large part of the team’s defensive identity, finishing last year with a team-high 32 tackles. He also had a trio of touchdowns off 58 receiving yards, and 440 rushing yards on 61 carries with four touchdowns. 

Wolske had a team-high three sacks on the season, along with his 13 tackles. 

“We lost some key pieces there, [but we got] some guys that stepped in. I think we got a good group,” MCC head coach Patrick Freeman said. 

But, MCC still returns a plethora of talent amongst its large roster of nearly 50, which holds 13 seniors. Meyer, alongside seniors Gabe Tentinger, Noah Mathiowetz, Colby Kesteloot and junior Carson Lewis, are a handful of significant returners.  

“I think we will all fit in nice,” Meyer said. “We’ve all, like almost all of us, been playing together for a long time, so we all know each other well.” 

Meyer returns as the Rebels’ starting quarterback for the third straight season. Last season, he had 11 complete passes on 21 attempts for 188 yards and three touchdowns, with one interception. 

“He’s [Meyer] going to be a guy that we rely on every single down. The way our offense works is that we put a lot of pressure on him to make the right read and to make the right throw,” Freeman said. “He is going to be a key piece within all this. I can’t say enough good things about him. He’s a hard worker, good kid and team captain.” 

Meyer also had 363 rushing yards with seven touchdowns, and a team-second best 25 tackles and two defensive interceptions. 

“I just try to lead by example, is my thing. I was a captain last year, so I had to take a step [in leading] with that, too,” Meyer said regarding his approach to the season. “Make sure everyone’s on the same page, knows what they’re doing and try to be a team leader.” 

Lewis will look to be another consistent outlet on the offensive end again this season, who led the team with 894 rushing yards last year, along with eight touchdowns. Freeman noted that he expects Lewis to remain as another key piece to the Rebels’ offense this year. 

Looking to lead MCC on defense and step into Holm’s role, Mathiowetz and Tentinger return after logging 19 and 18 tackles last year, respectively. Kesteloot had 15 tackles with a pair of sacks. Freeman also noted Broox Platt as another contributing player he will look to on defense. 

“Jordan Sturges is one that might come up this year. He played all defense, but I think he’ll play a little bit more offense,” Freeman added. “Brayden Gilb is a junior this year. I think you’re going to see him on the field a lot, on both the offensive and defensive side, and then Caleb Rosenbrook.” 

Senior linebacker Lucas Kuball will return this season, who missed all of last year due to a meniscus tear. Freeman said he expects Kuball to be a two-way starter and another key component. 

Quintin Lewis also returns this year from injury as an offensive and defensive lineman, and Freeman expressed excitement about getting both him and Kuball back. 

MCC opened the season yesterday at Dawson-Boyd, and will next take on Springfield in a 3A championship rematch next Friday on the road at 7 p.m. The Rebels’ home opener is slated for Sept. 12 when it hosts Sleepy Eye United, again with a 7 p.m. kick-off. 

“I think we got to take it one game at a time. We have a really tough schedule. We got Dawson Boyd and we got Springfield,” Freeman said. “A lot of it is, we want to stay healthy, number one. Number two, we got to get better every day. I know that’s a coach’s cliche, but if we have the mindset that we put in the work every single day, I think we can get to that spot again.”