Burnsville opens season Aug. 29 at home versus Eastview
- By Tom Schardin, tschardin@swpub.com
- Aug 23, 2013
The Burnsville football team is hoping to take it the next level in Tyler Krebs’ third season as coach.
The Blaze won three games last year (3-6 overall), one better than in Krebs’ first season. The team is still looking for its playoff win since 2010.
“We’re excited,” said Krebs. “Our guys have been in our strength program for three years now. We’re bigger and faster than the previous two years. But we still don’t have the depth. We can’t afford to take any serious injuries.”
The Blaze has lost key players to injuries in Krebs’ first two seasons, which has derailed the team by playoff time. Senior running back DJ Fulton was having a big season last year before an injury in Week 5 ended his year. He had 21 catches for 247 yards in four-plus games and his big-play ability was missed down the stretch.
The Blaze was also minus three defensive starters in its 42-14 playoff loss to Eastview last fall. The Lightning, where Krebs was an assistant coach and defensive coordinator for 13 years, have ended Burnsville’s season the last two years.
So naturally, Burnsville gets Eastview in its first South Suburban Conference game this season at home Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. The Blaze was 3-5 in league play last year.
With Fulton down last year, the Blaze struggled to score points scoring just 35 in its last four games. With Fulton and senior quarterback Will Reger back, Burnsville has the chance to be pretty explosive offensively.
Reger is entering his second season as the starter. He also started three game as a sophomore. Last year, he completed just under 50 percent of his passes (47 percent), throwing for six touchdowns and running for five.
“Kyle is a dynamic playmaker,” said Krebs. “He can make plays with his feet and he’s improved as a passer. He’s also a great leader.
“DJ was our most dynamic offensive player last year,” added Krebs. “He’s a hybrid, he can run between the tackles and he’s really good out of the backfield. We expect big things from him.”
Junior Alex Davis and senior Ben Sherman are also expected to help the Blaze’s rushing attack. At receiver, junior Brett Shepley, a stalwart on defense, is expected to play some out wide, along with seniors Charlie Fredericks and Sam Guggemos and junior Camden Traetow.
Three tight ends will compete for time – seniors Tommy Pearboom and Jaron Holt and junior Jarrod Leake. Senior Nate Bowman also could play some there, but he will have a bigger impact on defense.
The offensive line will be anchored by senior Steven Christopherson. Others up front include seniors Alex Parkos, Matt Scharber and Ethan Morgel, junior Andy Grahn and sophomores Benn Olson and Cooper Smith.
“Steven has college potential,” said Krebs. “He’s really made a lot of improvements.”
Defensively, Shepley and Bowman are ones to watch. Shepley was named to the KARE 11’s preseason all-state team as a defensive back. But Krebs plans to move him up to linebacker so he can be more involved on all the defensive plays.
“We want him to be around the ball more,” said Krebs. “Bowman was our most dynamic defensive lineman last year. He really has a nose for the football and has a chance to play at a high level in college.”
Christopherson could also see time on the defensive front, along with senior Matt Mientkiewicz and juniors James Kearney, Aaron Berg and Nick Olson.
At linebacker, senior Brady Letson is back, along with Holt. Senior John Dahl will be move to linebacker after playing on the defensive line last year. Junior Isaac Buchholz and Robbie Scholl, senior Robbie Beerling and sophomore Michael Schiller will also play a role.
In the secondary will be senior Isaac Hove, Brian Novak and Shelly Johnson and juniors Drew Ehlers and Javhonta Wilson. Reger and Sherman could also play back there.
“We’re going to need some guys to play both ways,” said Krebs. “We just don’t have a ton of quality depth. We can’t take many injuries. That makes it tough having some of your top guys going both ways.
“We feel good about the guys we have,” added Krebs. “We’ll have our hands full in our conference and with Edina on our schedule. But we think we can compete in the upper half of our league. This is the best group we’ve had since I’ve been here.”
Since 2006 — the last time the Blaze won more than one playoff game in season, losing to Eden Prairie in the section game — the victories have been hard to come by. The program is just 1-6 in seven playoff games with the victory in 2010 (22-16 over Apple Valley).
The Blaze also hasn’t had a winning season since 2006. Over the last six years, Burnsville has a combined record of 12-43.
