Kamal Martin threw three touchdown passes and ran for another behind the Blaze’s dominant front line.
Nick Gerhardt, Sport Ngin09/11/15, 11:00AM CDTShare
It’s no coincidence that each member of Burnsville’s offensive line squat lifts more than 400 pounds and the Blaze have Scott Sahli as their strength and conditioning coach.
Sahli has a reputation for helping build strong offensive lines. He came to Burnsville at the end of the 2010-2011 school year after spending 33 years at Northfield High School, where he led the Raiders to seven consecutive state weightlifting titles. Burnsville won the state weightlifting title last season.
“We think we’ve got the best strength coaches in Minnesota,” Burnsville coach Tyler Krebs said. “Scott Sahli and Larry Meadors are unbelievable. For five years we’ve been building these guys.”
The Blaze offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage throughout a 35-0 victory over Apple Valley at Apple Valley High School on Friday.
Burnsville finished with 198 rushing yards, with Michael Schiller’s 82 yards on 16 carries leading the team.
Kamal Martin did a little bit of everything as the Blaze (3-1, 2-1), ranked No. 10 in Class 6A in the latest Associated Press state high school football poll, rebounded after losing 29-18 to Lakeville North last week.
“It was a great bounce-back game,” Martin said. “We just did our job, every single player did their job. All 11 guys played to their full potential and that’s what we need every single game.”
Martin threw three touchdowns and ran for another. He even intercepted a ball to set up his second touchdown pass to Keenan Winge in the game. Martin hit Winge from 9 yards out to make it a 28-0 game with 9 minutes, 6 seconds left in the third quarter.
Burnsville ran for 190 rushing yards in the first half behind the hulking line, which includes Division I recruit Benn Olson. The Blaze dominated the line of scrimmage, especially on a six-play drive in the second quarter that included runs of 11, 12, 13, 8 and 7 yards. Burnsville concluded the drive with Martin’s 26-yard TD run on a bootleg that had entire Eagles defense fooled and gave the Blaze a 14-0 lead.
“I think we’re one of the strongest lines in the state,” Olson said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who can squat a lot. We’re in the weight room all summer.”
Martin finished 3 of 7 passing for 17 yards.
Jackson Martens intercepted two passes as the Eagles (1-3, 0-3) threw four interceptions and lost two fumbles.
Burnsville turned the ball over on its first drive of the game, but responded on its next possession with a 12-play, 60-yard drive that ended in a 4-yard touchdown pass from Martin to Winge, giving the Blaze a 7-0 lead after the extra point with 3:17 left in the first quarter.
Burnsville added a touchdown with 22 seconds left in the first half after Martens returned his first interception to the Apple Valley 27-yard line. Martin found Jordan Leake for a 5-yard touchdown pass to make it 21-0 at halftime.
Following Martin’s second TD pass to Winge, the Blaze added another touchdown on a possession that began after Andy Samuel intercepted an Eagles’ pass. Tre Thomas scored from 8 yards out with 10:13 left in the fourth quarter, and then stripped the ball from the Eagles returner on the ensuing kickoff. It was Apple Valley’s fifth turnover of the game.
Burnsville faces Farmington in Burnsville on Friday while Apple Valley hosts Eastview.
First Report
Burnsville’s Kamal Martin did a little bit of everything Friday night in a 35-0 victory over Apple Valley at Apple Valley High School.
Martin threw three touchdowns and ran for a 26-yard TD on a bootleg where he had the entire Eagles defense fooled. He even intercepted a pass on defense to set up his second touchdown, a 9-yard throw to Keenan Winge to make it a 28-0 game with 9 minutes, 6 seconds left in the third quarter.
But the Burnsville offensive line was largely the story and for good reason. The Blaze amassed 190 yards in the first half behind the hulking line, which includes Division I recruit Benn Olson.
Burnsville dominated the line of scrimmage, especially on a six-play drive that went for runs of 11, 12, 13, 8 and 7 yards and concluded with Martin’s touchdown run.
Jackson Martens intercepted two passes and Andy Samuel had one for the for the Blaze, ranked No. 10 in Class 6A in this week’s Associated Press state high school football poll.
Burnsville offensive line members Matt Melich(77), Nick Burton (70), Jesse Orak(61), Jake Staats (54), and Matt Gilray (73) wait for orders. They were dominant in a big win over the Eagles. Photo by Nick Wosika
