Salmonson was driving it down their throats. I was so impressed. That’s one teammate that never puts his head down when we’re losing. He’s always hyping everybody up. And he comes out here and performs and does his job and does a great job at it.”

Jalen Kalinowski, defensive lineman

But I would love to thank my offensive line. We have this thing when any time I have 100 rushing yards I take them out to eat so it looks like I’ve got to take them out twice this week.”

Brett Salmonson, Park High senior and wide receiver

For a guy listed on the roster as a wide receiver and defensive back, Park High senior Brett Salmonson is having a pretty fair season as a running back.

Salmonson rushed for 226 yards and three touchdowns on 35 carries as the Wolfpack won a 41-39 thriller over visiting Burnsville Friday night. Salmonson’s third and final touchdown with 3:46 to play – along with a game-clinching turnover on the next Burnsville drive -- proved to be the margin of victory.

“Eighth grade I had a game with four touchdowns so next week I’m going to have to try to beat that,” said Salmonson when asked if this was his best game ever. “But it was a pretty good game I’d say.”

He was close to getting that fourth touchdown Friday.

“It would have been four, but the offensive line got a little bit greedy and had a penalty,” Salmonson said. “But I would love to thank my offensive line. We have this thing when any time I have 100 rushing yards I take them out to eat so it looks like I’ve got to take them out twice this week.”

“Salmonson was driving it down their throats,” said defensive lineman Jalen Kalinowski. “I was so impressed. That’s one teammate that never puts his head down when we’re losing. He’s always hyping everybody up. And he comes out here and performs and does his job and does a great job at it.”

It was a wild and woolly affair, typical for Burnsville and Park recently. Two seasons ago Park won a raucous 48-35 game.  Last season it was Burnsville which came out on top 35-14 in a game that was closer than the final score.

“I think I have a few more grey hairs or missing hairs and definitely some heart palpitations,” said Park head coach Rick Fryklund. “But it was definitely a pretty fair high school football game.”

Friday night the Park defense got pushed around more than was healthy, but a key interception by sophomore defensive back Zach Carr and a fumble recovery by junior Jacob Czarnota ultimately bailed the Wolfpack out. That and a Park offense which rolled up 460 yards, including 358 on the ground.

“We were a little shaky at first on the defensive end and then after the half coach had some great words and we really came back with more fire,” said Carr. “I let up that big touchdown on the slant rout and one of my coaches said calm down and relax and next drive I got a pick.”

The win puts the Wolfpack a 1-1 on the young season as they eye a Friday home date against Buffalo. Buffalo is also 1-1, with a 48-7 loss to traditional power Eden Prairie and a 56-14 win over Hopkins.

Burnsville got up 10-0 quickly and Park trailed most of the game. It was 24-14 in favor of the Blaze at the half and 32-27 Burnsville at the end of the third quarter.

But Park took  a 35-32 lead on a 6-yard run by junior quarterback Miskir Esayas, followed by a two-point conversion run by Salmonson with 10:12 to play. Burnsville went back on top 39-35 on a short touchdown run, but Park wasn’t finished either.

Salmonson scored the game-winning touchdown on a 5-yard run with 3:46 to play. The Park defense then came up with a final stop to preserve the win.

“The key was doing our job every play and just amazing blocking by the o-line and running the ball,” said linebacker/quarterback Ben Pederson. “And then defensively we made enough plays to win the game.”

Usually a passing team, Park won this one with the ground troops, rushing for 358 of 460 total yards. In addition to Salmonson’s 223 yards, Esayas ran 12 times for 74 yards and Skyler Morgan had 11 carries for 52 yards. It was mostly short- to medium-sized gainers by the Wolfpack as the longest run from scrimmage was just 18 yards.

“We thought that we would have some more stuff in the pass game than we did. They did a great job of shutting that down,” said Fryklund. “But coach (Tim) Walton with his offense if you take one thing away sooner or later, he’s going to try and find what you gave up and it was a lot of fun to watch our offensive line do what they did for that second half really. It was pretty impressive.”

With his big night against the Blaze, Salmonson now has 340 yards and four touchdowns in two games. He also caught three passes for 16 yards to give him 242 total yards against the Blaze. On defense he had one tackle and six assists.

“He (Salmonson) is quite a player for us,” said Fryklund. “He’s an even better leader and an even better person. He’s a captain for a reason. He was picked, he leads the way with his play. But he leads the way off the field even more than what you see on the field.”

Park gained 31 first downs against Burnsville. The Wolfpack were a less-than-ideal 3-for-12 on third down conversions but a perfect 5-for-5 on fourth down attempts.

The Wolfpack also played its best football in the third and fourth quarters, rallying from a 24-14 halftime deficit to outscore Burnsville 27-15 after the break.

“It was a real battle,” said Kalinowski. “Down there in the trenches was real work. We had to fight every drive. But eventually they got a little timid (trying to) run it down our guts. We just had to stay disciplined and bounce back after the first half and boy was it fun to come out here and play.”  

It was Burnsville, not Park, which moved the chains through the air Friday. The two Blaze quarterbacks combined to complete 10 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns. The Blaze continuously hurt Park with big plays Friday, completing a 56-yard touchdown pass to open the game, a 90-yard scoring strike to end the first quarter and a 55-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter.

Defensively, this one wasn’t pretty for Park as the Wolfpack gave up nearly 500 yards. But the two clutch defensive stops -- the crucial interception by Carr and a fumble recovery by Czarnota -- proved crucial. Sophomore linebacker Keon Moody had six tackles, four assists and a tackle for loss to lead Park statistically.

“Our discipline,” said wide receiver/defensive back Noad Tewelde when asked what the Wolfpack need to improve upon. “In the first half we started off shaky.  But after the half we came back, we did our jobs correctly, came back and got a big W.”

The Blaze also decided to concentrate on shutting down Park’s passing offense and mostly did that. Park quarterbacks Esayas and Ben Pederson were held to 12 of 24 completions for 102 yards. But the Blaze had no answers to stop Salmonson’s runs, and ultimately that proved decisive.