The Blaze celebrated the life of former coach Dick Hanson, who left his mark on the program before passing in January.
Matthew Davis, SportsEngine09/09/16, 12:45PM CDT
Burnsville senior defensive back Jake Shepley grew accustomed to the team’s weekly meals with former Blaze coach Dick Hanson.
“Every Thursday before game day, we’d go to Olive Garden, and last year and the year before that I would… I would say ‘Hi’ to him, shake his hand, talk to him,” Shepley said. “He’d give our whole team a message.”
The former Blaze coach spent regular time each fall with Burnsville teams, and last season, players visited Hanson weekly while he was in an assisted living facility. Hanson passed away from Parkinson’s disease on Jan. 26.
“This year and toward the end of last year, it’s just really different not having him here,” Shepley said.
It all gave the Blaze something extra to play for Friday night, when Burnsville alumni, families, fans, coaches, players and Hanson’s family honored the former coach’s life with a tribute at halftime and then watched the Blaze defeat Lakeville South 14-7 in overtime.
A winner of five state titles in nearly three decades of coaching, Hanson also taught at Burnsville High School and took runner-up for National Teacher of the Year in 1969. His wife, Phyllis, preceded him death in 2014 after 60 years of marriage.
Current Burnsville head football coach Tyler Krebs, who played for Lakeville High School when Hanson last led the Blaze, invited the former coach to team meals in recent years.
“I was fortunate to get to know him a little bit,” Coach Krebs said. “Just a complete class act, the epitome of what you want in a teacher, a coach, a husband [and] a grandfather.”
After the halftime presentation, the East Metro District White Division rivals took the field to finish a grueling 7-7 football game. Shepley, who had two interceptions in regulation, ended the defensive battle in overtime with a pick.
The Cougars started strong on their overtime drive with a 5-yard run, but defensive push back by the Blaze put Lakeville South in passing mode for the final play.
“It was just really exhilarating,” Shepley said about the play. “I knew (the receiver) was either going to do a fade or a come-back in.”
Senior running back Jackson Martens capped the Blaze’s winning drive with a 4-yard touchdown run on the first possession of the extra period. Martens picked up 84-yards on 12 rushes in the contest.
“We’ve been running the same play all game for power, and I just saw the crease open up and it was right there, so I hit it hard,” Martens said. “There is nothing I can do but thank my blockers for it.”
Lakeville South maintained its defense up the middle until the Blaze broke through late. Cougars senior defensive lineman Nick Cuddigan led the team with five solo tackles while junior linebacker Peter Eklund finished with four. Bryce Beck, a senior defensive lineman, finished with three tackles and senior defensive back Tony Mussehi tallied four.
“Lakeville South is a very disciplined, hard-working team,” Blaze senior running back Stephan Olson Jr. said. “We knew that we were going to have to battle and fight for every yard that we got.”
Similar to Burnsville, Lakeville South players competed with their minds on a deceased family member. Cougars football team captain Jake Flynn, along with baseball player Johnny Price, died in a car accident on Dec. 11.
“It’s been hard on us, but it’s been good for us because it gives us a reason to work,” Cougars junior quarterback Brady Toborg said.
The Cougars wear a No. 4 decal on the back of their helmets to honor Flynn, and no one wears that jersey number.
Torborg helped the team overcome early adversity and found senior Evan Fiedler for a touchdown on third-and-goal in the second quarter. Their 5-yard TD connection tied the game 7-7.
“It made us really happy and really shifted the momentum,” Fiedler said.
Olson first put the Blaze ahead on a 74-yard touchdown run in the opening quarter, but the crowd never saw much for offensive fireworks after that. He finished with a game-high 145 yards rushing on 14 carries.
“Blockers just did their job, the hole opened up and I just ran,” Olson said.
For a second straight week, Lakeville South recorded a close loss. It won’t deter the team with all its playing for.
“It gives us a reason to play it out every day and give our all,” Torborg said. “We just need to pick it up some more and come back and get it [a win] next week.”
