With two state tournament trips in four seasons and an abundance of yards and touchdowns along the way, the 5-foot-9, 195-pound senior running back hasn’t let anyone stop him from jotting his name down atop the record books.

Each week during his prep football career, opposing coaches knew their game plan would always be centered around slowing down the elusive running back, but never stopping him.

“My motivation is probably just the love of the game,” Therkilsen said. “Football’s been my go-to thing ever since I was really little and I’m just really competitive. If I can find a way to get better, I’m gonna do that and try to make myself and the team better every day.”

Therkilsen did make himself better each day, something that helped him rack up a school record number of yards and TDs on the ground. For his career, Therkilsen finished with the RRC records in yards rushing (7,286), TD rushes (73) and carries (984).

File photo by Travis Rosenau Red Rock Central’s Carter Therkilsen recovers his helmet following a first-down run in a Nine-Player Football Tournament semifinals game against New Ulm Cathedral on Oct. 25 in Lamberton.

His senior season of football was also his best one yet as he set the school’s single-season record in yards rushing (2,721), TD rushes (31) and carries (288).

“It’s pretty amazing,” Therkilsen said when reflecting on his record-setting career. “Just from all the hard work from not only me, but our entire team has put in over the last number of years and the guys I’ve played with and the system I’m in. It’s just an amazing accomplishment and something that I’ll take with me the rest of my life.”

The Falcons ended this season with a 44-14 loss to the Hills-Beaver Creek Patriots on Nov. 6 in the first round of the Nine-Player State Football Tournament. The Patriots ended up going on to win the state championship 46-22 over Hillcrest Lutheran Academy, but like countless teams before they were still unable to keep Therkilsen from making his mark as he finished that first-round game with 193 yards and a score on 34 carries.

Therkilsen also made it to state with the Falcons as a freshman in 2022, a first-round loss to Wheaton Herman Norcross, but developing into a feared name on the gridiron didn’t happen right away and it didn’t come without the help of his teammates.

“They were both incredible runs with some incredible teammates,” Therkilsen said. “That freshman year, I was kind of coming into a new group of guys that I hadn’t really played a whole lot with. They put the work in and I got to reap the benefits of that, whereas the last one, I played with this group of guys and have been playing for a lot of years, and we put the work in together and we all got to see the benefits. I thought that was really cool. That freshman run, I got to learn a lot from the older guys.”

While he missed a couple of games during his sophomore season with an ankle injury, Therkilsen’s career full of success has come due to his durability and awareness.

“Making sure that we’re in good shape, lifting weights, staying strong, staying flexible,” he said. “I try not to get into too many positions that would be up bad, if you’ve got to go out of bounds and play another play. Just making sure we’re making the smart decisions on and off the field.”

As his football career at RRC came to an end at the hands of the eventual-state champs, Therkilsen knew a big chapter of his life had been completed, but he still wanted more.

“When that clock expired, it was … a couple things run through my head,” Therkilsen said. “That was the last time I was going to be able to ever play a game of football with that group of guys and I’ve been playing with them since fourth grade, so that was hard.

“And then every year after the football season, that’s my thing, so I’m kind of always looking to the next one, and now with that being the last, I kind of want more. But I’m happy with the way we played all year and I couldn’t ask for a group of better guys.”

As for wanting more, Therkilsen said he is currently keeping his college options open but has expressed interest in continuing his football career at the next level.