Burnsville shows off defense and improved offense in first win

Burnsville head coach Vince Varpness had seen flashes of his team playing great football, the Blaze just hadn’t done it for four quarters. Varpness saw those flashes sustained longer Friday and it added up to a 23-7 victory over Lakeville South for Burnsville’s first win of the season. “Being 0-1 and 0-2, mentally, those things can kind of get in your mind and slow kids down,” Varpness said. “This week the kids kind of laid it all out there and didn’t let the adversity handle them.” Varpness pointed to the 30-6 season-opening loss to Lakeville North and noted that it was a 13-6 game until the fourth quarter. Last week, the Blaze had a touchdown called back because of holding and a fumble led to a touchdown for Eastview in a 20-0 loss. It wasn’t a flawless game for Burnsville against Lakeville South. There were three holding calls and two lost fumbles, one of which led to the Cougars’ only touchdown of the game. But it was a start for Varpness, who is in his second year as head coach. “We’ve been waiting to get our first win,” said Blaze senior safety Marcus Shepley. “We probably should’ve gotten the first two wins, too.” Shepley had an incredible interception in the second quarter and played a big role in slowing down Lakeville South’s T-formation offense. Shepley, an all-state selection a year ago has an offer from the University of Minnesota, Duluth to play football next season but he said he’s keeping his options open at the moment. Burnsville took a 7-0 lead in the second quarter when Brandon Hugo corralled a tipped pass in the end zone. Blaze quarterback Sam Bardwell threw a pass intended for Shepley in the end zone but the ball got tipped as Shepley and a Lakeville South defender went up to grab it. Instead Hugo dove to haul in a 24-yard touchdown pass that put Burnsville in front 7-0 after the extra point. Shepley’s interception led to a 32-yard field goal by Abdirahim Abdalla with 5.9 seconds left in the first half to put the Blaze up 10-0. Burnsville (1-2) got the second half started with a solid drive but a fumble at the Lakeville South 48-yard line halted it. The Cougars (1-2) drew the game to 10-7 with a 13-yard touchdown reception by Johnny Shabaz from George Brekke with 5:03 to go in the third quarter. Darien Clayborne started to put things way when he got loose for a 25-yard touchdown with 3:15 to play. Clayborne finished with 133 yards on 18 carries while Zach Andreasen rushed for 71 yards on 17 carries. Clayborne’s touchdown extended the lead to 16-7 after the extra-point kick failed. The Blaze added one more touchdown with 2:16 left to play when Drew Schwab ran in from 6 yards out to make it 23-6 after the extra-point kick. “Everyone was doing their job, we kept our composure,” said defensive lineman Kyle Atkinson, who disrupted several plays. “We were actually able to be disciplined and do our own jobs, able to stop them on defense and our offense started to get generated. It was just an all-around good dub.” Burnsville limited the Cougars to just 180 total yards while amassing 311 of its own. Notes: Lakeville South head coach Tyler Krebs spent six seasons as the Burnsville head coach before taking over the Cougars’ program last season. Varpness spent three seasons as the offensive coordinator for the Blaze before becoming the team’s head coach. Lakeville South won last year’s meeting 9-6 in Lakeville. Varpness is the son of Don Varpness, who coached at Minnesota West Community and Technical College in Worthington for 17 seasons. Vince is named after Don’s favorite coach Vince Lombardi. Kyle Atkinson, a 6-foot-1, 275-pound defensive lineman, received a scholarship offer from North Dakota last spring but has kept his recruiting open. He said Minnesota State University, Mankato has offered him a scholarship as well. Darien Clayborne, a 6-foot, 195-pound running back showed speed and elusiveness against Lakeville South. Varpness said Clayborne is entertaining thoughts of trying to walk on at a Division I program and D-II schools are giving him a look. Kai Dixon, son of former Minnesota Vikings offensive lineman David Dixon, looks similar in stature to his father. Kai stands 6-foot-7 and weighs 325 pounds at the team’s right tackle. Varpness said Kai has shown significant gains in the weight room, increasing his squat total by more than 200 pounds in a year. “He’s nowhere near his peak,” Varpness said. “He’s just going to continue to improve so college programs should definitely take a look at him. He’s three years away from his peak and he’s going to be a stud.”