Prep Football: Barnesville throttles United North Central 69-14

Michael Strand returned two punts for touchdowns as Barnesville lit up United North Central 69-14 on Friday night in Menahga.

The Class AA, fourth-ranked Trojans actually sputtered after taking the opening kickoff and were forced to punt. It’ll be their only punt of the game as Michael Strand ignited Barnesville on its ensuing possession with a 47 yard punt return for a touchdown.

From there, the Trojans would score on 10 consecutive possessions to put the game well out of reach of the Warriors.

United North Central fumbled on their second drive of the game, and Barnesville’s Isaac Goedtke recovered the ball at the Warrior 32 yard line. Two back-to-back false start penalties pushed the Trojans back to the UNC 45 yard line and on the next play, Robbie Strand found Goedtke for a 40 yard pass to the Warrior 5 yard line. Adam Rice capped the drive at 6:05 of the first quarter with a five-yard run and extra-point kick.

The Trojans’ senior fullback and kicker would notch three more scores before the first half was out. He added a 24-yard rushing touchdown, hauled down a 72-yard touchdown pass from Robbie Strand and kicked a 25-yard field goal that made it 56-6 before halftime.

Also contributing to the Trojans’ offensive fireworks in the first half was junior running back Austin Martz, who scored on a 11-yard run and caught a 48-yard touchdown pass.

Two Minnesota State High School Football records were also set in the first half.

Michael Strand picked up his second punt return for a touchdown with a 71-yarder at 6:03 of the second quarter. He tied the record of punt returns for touchdowns in a game, which was shared by two other players. George Honza of Montgomery did it twice in a span of two years. The first was against Arlington in 1967, and Honza did it again the following year against Jordan. Mike O’Neil of Cambridge was the last player to crack the record books with two returns against Hibbing in 1995.

After the Trojans’ Colby Braton recovered a blocked punt in the endzone, United North Central kick returner Carlos Castro returned the ensuing kickoff 96 yards for the Warriors first touchdown of the game with 4:19 left before halftime.

The junior ended up tying four other players in the longest kickoff return category, according to the Minnesot State High School League record book. Jerome Cheatham of Woodbury was the last player to record a 96-yard return in 1992.

Barnesville extended their lead to 62-6 on their first drive of the second half when Goedtke capped a nine-play, 57-yard drive with a two-yard run.

United North Central responded two plays later when junior quarterback Brandon Junes found Kieler Skaro behind the Trojan secondary for a 66-yard scoring strike. Markus Tolkkinen caught the conversion pass.

Barnesville’s streak of consecutive scoring drives ended on their next possession when the Warriors Frank Moren recovered a Trojan fumble at the Barnesville 40. The Warriors reached as far as the Trojans 25 before turning the ball over on downs.

The Trojans drove down the field and capped the scoring on Stuart Brandt’s 41-yard scamper for the 69-14 final.

Offensively, the Trojans rolled up 476 total yards to the Warriors’ 204 with 308 yards coming on the ground. Nine different backs carried the ball for the Trojans in the victory with Martz gaining 72 yards on four carries. Braton rushed seven times for 62 yards and Brandt had 59 yards on four touches. Robbie Strand completed seven passes for 168 yards with Rice the top receiver with one catch for 71 yards.

Junes finished with eight completions for 113 yards and one touchdown pass. Skaro was the Warriors leading receiver with two catches for 74 yards. The Warriors ground game was held to 81 yards with Tolkkinen the top back with 51 yards on 19 carries.

Defensively, Justin Luedke notched a team-high seven tackles for the Warriors.

United North Central (1-4) will host winless Wadena-Deer Creek at 7 p.m. Friday in Sebeka.

Barnesville at United North Central on September 30 (in Menahga)
Trojans 69, Warriors 14
Barnesville 20 36 6 7—69
UNC 0 6 8 0—14
First Quarter
BAR—Michael Strand 47 punt return (Adam Rice kick) 7:54
BAR—Rice 5 run (Rice kick) 6:05
BAR—Rice 24 run (kick failed) 3:59
Second Quarter
BAR—Austin Martz 11 run (Rice run) 11:39
BAR—Martz 48 pass from Robbie Strand (run failed) 9:16
BAR—Michael Strand 71 punt return (kick failed) 6:03
BAR—Colby Braton block punt recovery (Rice kick) 4:43
UNC—Carlos Castro 96 kick return (run failed) 4:19
BAR—Rice 72 pass from Robbie Strand (kick failed) 3:31
BAR—Rice 25 field goal 0:03
Third Quarter
BAR—Isaac Goedtke 2 run (kick failed) 3:02
UNC—Kieler Skaro 66 pass from Brandon Junes (Markus Tolkkinen pass from Junes) 1:44
Fourth Quarter
BAR—Stuart Brandt 41 run (Rice kick) 5:21

Team Stats
Team Stats
Rushes-Yards: UNC 29-81; BAR 27-308
Pass Comp-Att-Int-Yards: UNC 9-24-1-123; BAR 4-9-0-168
Total Offense: UNC 204; BAR 476
Penalties-Yards: UNC 7-42; BAR 11-84
First Downs: UNC 7; BAR 11
Fumbles-Lost: UNC 2-2; BAR 4-0

Individual Stats
Rushing: UNC—Markus Tolkkinen 19-51, Jeff Skoog 3-14, Dylan Huttunen 2-14, Justin Luedke 1-2, Taylor Carlson 1-1, Carlos Castro 3-(-1); BAR—Colby Braton 7-62, Adam Rice 3-40, Austin Martz 4-72, Michael Strand 3-28, Alex Towbridge 3-30, Stuart Brandt 4-59, Isaac Goedtke 1-2, Rylee Anderson 1-4, Jace Nosal 1-11
Passing: UNC—Junes 8-19-0-113, Carlson 1-5-1-10; BAR—Robbie Strand 4-7-0-168, Goedtke 0-2-0-0
Receiving: UNC—Keiler Skaro 2-74, Castro 2-20, Tanner Burgau 2-14, Frank Moren 1-10, Mitch Hesse 1-3, Stetson Burkman 1-2; BAR—Goedtke 1-40, Martz 1-47, Rice 1-71, Braton 1-10
Defensive Standouts: UNC—Luedke 13 tackles, Matt Squires 7 tackles, Tolkkinen 6 tackles, Taylor Carlson 6 tackles, Bryson Vasey 6 tackles