By PIONEER PRESS | news@pioneerpress.com
PUBLISHED: October 1, 2015 at 11:01 p.m. | UPDATED: October 28, 2015 at 11:32 p.m.
Kamal Martin took a knee, pointed to the sky and bowed his head near midfield at Burnsville High School’s Bob Pate Stadium on Friday night, just a few minutes after living out every young quarterback’s dream.
And just a few minutes before a spirited celebration alongside his teammates and the Blaze’s feverish student section.
Martin led a successful two-minute drill and threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Corey Kallstrom with 42 seconds left to lift Burnsville to a 20-17 victory over previously unbeaten Rosemount.
“We hadn’t beaten a team like that. For us, it’s a measuring stick,” Burnsville coach Tyler Krebs said. “We needed to win a game like that to take the next step as a program. We’re really excited about that.”
Both teams are 6-1 after the Blaze’s first victory over the Irish since 2006 and are jostling for position in the East Metro White sub-district and Class 6A, Section 3. Rosemount entered the game ranked No. 3 in the state; Burnsville was No. 5.
Martin threw two touchdown passes and helped lead a dominant defense that forced three turnovers and scored a touchdown.
“They’re a great team. They really put us in a (tough) situation offensively,” said Martin, a Gophers recruit. “Our defense played great. Our defense kept us in the game.”
Just not early on.
Rosemount running back Alec Schimmel capped a 12-play, 62-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown plunge on the game’s opening drive.
Burnsville responded by turning the ball over on its first offensive snap to set up Rosemount’s second score in 54 seconds — a 24-yard touchdown pass from Jared Hansen to Simon Hatlen.
The Blaze made the most of their next possession, though, thanks to Martin, who connected with Keenan Winge on a 46-yard bomb late in the first quarter on one of the game’s few explosive plays.
Both teams spent the rest of the night trying to engineer long drives, and both failed for one reason or another.
The Irish were, at times, sloppy with their option offense and Burnsville defensive back Steph Olson cashed a Rosemount fumble into a 52-yard return touchdown.
The Irish stuffed Burnsville’s run-heavy packages, forced multiple three-and-outs and held Martin in check as both a runner and a passer for most of the game.
But he broke out when it mattered most.
Krebs, pocketing three timeouts, opted to punt late in the fourth quarter and pinned Rosemount deep in its territory. Burnsville’s defense forced a three-and-out to set the stage for Martin’s heroics.
“Stay calm, stay as calm as possible,” Martin explained. “Two minutes left, there’s nothing to worry about. Just play ball, just play ball.”
Rosemount had one last gasp at tying the game but ran out of time.
Hansen finished 12 of 22 for 201 yards and the scoring strike. Hatlen had four catches for 78 yards before leaving the game in the first half with an undisclosed injury.
Rosemount coach Jeff Erdmann pointed to turnovers as the biggest difference.
“‘We’ll come back, see where we’re at injury-wise, and do the best we can,” he said.
