Zach Ahrendt’s football season as a senior has been cut short due to Covid-19. The Luverne Cardinals will play a six-game regular season and a shortened section tournament with no plans for a state tournament.
This won’t be the last season Ahrendt gets to strap on the shoulder pads, however. The senior lineman for the Cardinals recently committed to continue his academic and football career at Southwest Minnesota State University.
“It means a lot knowing that there is a college that wants me to come and play for them,” said Ahrendt, son of Eric and Bobbi Ahrendt, Luverne. “They welcomed me like one of their own.”
The senior started his football career in middle school in the flag football league. Ahrendt’s first season at the high school level occurred when he was an eighth-grader. His first year on varsity came when he was a freshman.
Ahrendt said that playing football is something he fell in love with the first time he put those pads on.
“I love playing football,” Ahrendt said. “My most favorite part is spending time with my brothers (teammates) on and off the field. The bonds that are created with everyone is something you can’t have anywhere else.”
During his time as a Mustang, he’ll be playing offensive line, mainly the center position. In the classroom he’ll be majoring in exercise science.
“I’m going to major in exercise science,” Ahrendt said. “I’m going to focus on that so I can become an athletic director. I love being involved in sports.”
Ahrendt is a two-sport athlete for the Cardinals. In the fall he plays football and in the spring he’s a member of the track and field team, where he competes in the shot put.
He said the thing he’ll miss the most about being a Luverne Cardinal is the relationships he’s built.
“What I’ll miss most about being a Cardinal is getting to be with my brothers and friends during school,” Ahrendt said.
“It’s going to be hard to see everyone move on and do their own things in the world when we’ve all been together since kindergarten and up.”