Hillsboro-Central Valley football coach Scott Olsen taking job at Mayville State
Jan. 16—HILLSBORO, N.D. — In his 12 seasons as head coach at Hillsboro-Central Valley, Scott Olsen won 105 games and North Dakota state championships at the Class A and Class AA levels.
Now, he's going to try his hand at college football.
Olsen has announced he's leaving the Burros program for a defensive assistant job at Mayville State.
"It's a time for a new chapter and a new challenge," Olsen said. "For now, I'm getting my feet wet. I'll be a defensive coach, and we'll figure out during spring ball where I best fit. No matter what level of college, college is different than high school. There'll be an adjustment time for that."
Olson, a 1999 Hillsboro graduate who played college football at Northland Community & Technical College, was an assistant for four seasons with the Burros before taking over as head coach in 2010.
In his time, the Burros went 105-31 and won state championships in 2019 and 2017 — both 12-0 seasons. Olsen's teams only had one losing season (2015) in his tenure.
Olsen's son, Riley, was a senior quarterback for HCV last season. He signed a letter of intent to play at Valley City State.
"In the back of my mind, it was wanting to coach my son (in high school) and now he's graduating and moving on," Olsen said. "I got to know (Mayville State coach Rocky Larson) and the rest of the staff the last couple of years at the Shrine Game. Mayville is 15 minutes away from me and Coach Larson is on his way to turning that program around, and I think I can help."
Olsen said Riley still plans to play at Valley City State.
"I let him take his time," Olsen said. "He was recruited by Mayville, Valley and Jamestown. That was his time to make that decision. He didn't know what my plan was but that was his decision. (Valley City State coaches) are great guys, and I'm excited to watch him grow."
Leaving the program he's helped build to an annual state championship contender was difficult.
"I'm born and raised Hillsboro," Olsen said. "I grew up watching, then playing for the program, then came back as assistant and then head coach. Where we started to where we finished, the level of play every year got higher and higher. We did it in 9-man, Class A and Class AA. We won championships in all three divisions. But it's about the kids. The wins were a byproduct of the hard work the kids put in."
Olsen said he hopes to utilize his North Dakota coaching connections in recruiting.
"From Hillsboro to Beach, I've made connections, and I'm already starting to reach out to some guys," Olsen said. "I appreciate the friendships I've had and continue to have with North Dakota kids. It's a coaching fraternity, and it's tough to leave."
Mayville State is coached by Rocky Larson, who joined the Comets in 2020. Mayville State was 3-8 in 2022.
Scott's brother, Jake Olsen, is a defensive assistant at Missouri.
