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Posted: Wednesday, December 9, 2009 9:50 am
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County News/Zach HackerWaseca’s Sam Milbrett rushed for 1,758 yards during his senior season, making him an easy choice for Waseca County News All-Area Offensive Player of the Year
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By ZACH HACKER
Sports Editor
WASECA — Sam Milbrett may not repeat himself often, but it’s still safe to call him a broken record.
After all, he made a habit of doing just that on the football field during his senior season.
The Waseca running back broke school records for rushing yards in a single game, 324, rushing yards in a season, 1,758, rushing yards in a career, 3,100, and touchdowns in a single season, 21.
And those are just the biggies.
On top of all that, he was the lone player in the South Central Conference to be nominated to play in the Metro vs. Outstate All-Star Football Game next summer. He was also named All-Conference as well as All-State Honorable Mention by the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
All that made Milbrett an easy choice for Waseca County News 2009 All-Area Offensive Player of the Year.
Milbrett’s 1,758 total yards came on 263 total carries, giving him an average of 6.7 yards per carry. Over 12 games that’s an average of 146.5 yards per game. He was also third on the team in receiving with 128 yards on 10 receptions.
Despite the success, Milbrett said he didn’t hit his stride right away.
“At the beginning, I wasn’t rushing for as many yards, I wasn’t getting as many carries,” he said. “As the season went on, it just mostly seemed like our offensive line was blocking a lot better. That’s what kind of helped me out too. They were just opening stuff up and I was getting way more yards and a lot more carries also.”
Things really started clicking for Milbrett on Oct. 14 when the Bluejays played host to SCC rival Blue Earth Area. In a 60-20 win for Waseca, he rushed for a school record 324 yards and found the end zone six times — five of which came on the ground. That rushing total broke 2008 graduate Jimmy Loonan’s old mark of 267 by nearly 60 yards.
Milbrett said although he was putting up the staggering numbers, during the game it just felt like another good game.
“I scored some touchdowns and had some good runs and stuff,” he said. “I didn’t really think, ‘This is going to be a big game,’ or anything like that. I didn’t know how many yards I had or anything. Then I heard over the announcements that I broke that record. I was like, ‘OK.”
If that game had never taken place, Milbrett would still own the single-game rushing record for the Bluejays after he ran for 311 yards and four touchdowns when the Jays upset No. 1-seeded Belle Plaine in the second round of the Section 2AAA Tournament.
Milbrett has been a starter for the Jays since he was a sophomore. During his first season on the varsity, it was Loonan, not Milbrett, breaking records for Waseca. He said seeing that success gave him something to shoot for.
“It feels pretty good just knowing that I hold those records,” Milbrett said. “Who would’ve thought, me? I would never think I’d ever get those records when I was in ninth grade, eighth grade. I remember looking up and seeing those older guys playing and just thinking, ‘Oh they’re so much better than I am. I’m never going to be as good as them.’ Jimmy, I never thought I was going to beat his career record. Jimmy was always really, really good. He is really good. I never thought I’d be the one to break it.”
Milbrett compared his running style to that of former Pittsburgh Steelers and St. Louis Rams running back Jerome Bettis, who earned the nickname, “The Bus” because of his ability to carry tacklers due to his powerful running style. Some of that Milbrett also attributed to his predecessor in the backfield.
“Jimmy always just moved the pile, too,” Milbrett said. “He just kept his feet moving. The biggest thing from him was , ‘Keep your feet moving when you’re running. Never stop moving your feet.’ That’s what helped me out a lot too.”
This big senior season has opened the door to a number of different possibilities for Milbrett in continuing his career in football. He has talked with coaches from Division II schools such as Southwest Minnesota State in Marshall, Winona State, and Minnesota State, Mankato among others. He has not made up his mind yet, but those who are interested should stay tuned.
“I’d like to play college ball for sure,” he said. “We’ll have to wait and see.”
Zach Hacker is at 507-837-5447 or zhacker@wasecacountynews.com |
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Guidelines: Welcome to the Waseca County News community. Please keep your comments civil. Don't attack other readers personally and keep your language decent. We reserve the right to delete comments at any time.
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Member Opinions:
By: formerbluejaygreat on 12/10/09
Sam is a ball player, I hope his goal of college ball works out, he will have fun in the right system! Good Luck Sam!
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