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Powering up the right sideline, UMD quarterback Kyle Walljasper burned Northern Michigan's defense for a 52-yard run Saturday at Malosky Stadium. Photo by John Gilbert.

It’s strange how some of the many things flitting through my consciousness somehow combine themselves into a fascinating dream. It happened again last Friday night, shortly after I had been thinking about the big Denfeld rededication of Public Schools Stadium, transforming in into Walt Hunting Stadium and Marc Heikkinen Field, where the Denfeld Hunter play Grand Rapids Friday night.

Part of the pregame celebration is a very neat idea where members of Denfeld’s athletic hall of fame will escort one of the current Denfeld starters onto the field. I am honored to have been asked to represent my father, the late Wally Gilbert, who is one of the charter members of that Denfeld hall of fame for his spectacular career that included playing running back and kicking for the Duluth Eskimos as well as playing third base for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds in the National League.

One of his most amazing feats was when he drop-kicked a 61-yard field goal to lift the Eskimos to victory over the Green Bay Packers back in 1925. He also surprised the Rock Island team by quick-kicking a punt from his own end zone that went out of bounds on the Rock Island 3 — causing the legendary Jim Thorpe to say, “I thought I was going to have to chase it to the Hudson!”

That was long before I came along, but reading about it in almost crispy archive clippings my mom had saved was a trigger for the dream mentioned above.

Last Thursday night, I was at Malosky Stadium, walking the sidelines with 3,308 fans in the grandstands, as UMD opened its football season with a raft of new players and a few familiar ones in a 47-10 romp over Northern Michigan. In that game, UMD sophomore quarterback Kyle Walljasper, who took over the job midway through last season as primarily a runner, after three quarterbacks ranked above him, primarily as passers, had all been injured.

This year, Walljasper is the starter, and his natural leadership ability has made him a rare sophomore captain. The Bulldogs looked good from the start against Northern Michigan, but Walljasper seemed impatient. The game was only a couple minutes old when he took off up the middle, veered to the outside, and ran 33 yards for a touchdown.

His trademark is that while other quarterbacks scramble and run out of some degree of terror, Walljasper looks forward to those times when he has to scramble, because he can turn into a running back. He ran for two touchdowns, and passed for three others, and his biggest play was stopped short of the goal line after he had run up the right sidelines for 52 yards.

He was 12-for-19 passing for 80 yards and the three TDs, and he rushed 9 times for 138 yards to lead the game in rushing and get the other two touchdowns. Maybe it was the fresh memory of watching Walljasper deploy his powerful legs for burst of rushing speed, but for some reason, in the middle of the night after that game, I envisioned Kyle Walljasper not only running wild — but also taking the in shotgun formation and quick-kicking to punt the other team into a hole. high school or anywhere else.

But when I woke up, my consciousness took over with razor sharpness, and I could see the fantastic photo of Wally Gilbert in an Ernie Nevers Eskimos uniform in 1926, using his powerful legs to blast a punt that might cover the length of the football gridiron. It’s a wonderful picture, and it will be the one used in the Heritage Circle of Denfeld Hall of Famers that will be unveiled Friday night. That field will still be used by every area team, but it will be Denfeld’s “Hunting Preserve” for those who know Walt Hunting was the inspiration for the nickname Hunters.

“I’ve never tried a quick-kick,” Walljasper said this week. “Not at Fond du Lac (Wis.) high school or anywhere else. I’m lucky enough to have never had to kick one.”

For old times sake, it would be a perfect way to link the past to the present and future of area football if UMD coach Curt Wiese gets his Bulldogs in top gear at Northern State Saturday, and he could send in a play that calls for Karl Walljasper to quick kick.

Volleyball opens Up North

The UMD volleyball team swept all four games last weekend to open its season, and the veteran-laden Bulldogs will open their home schedule with the Up North Preseason Tournament, where they take on Michigan Tech at 7:30 pm Thursday, then they face Central Washington at 7:30 pm Friday, before a doubleheader Saturday, meeting Northern Michigan at 2:30 pm and Southern New Hampshire at 7:30 pm, all at Romano Gym.

Along with football on the road and volleyball at home, UMD is also in action at the Bulldog Open cross country meet Thursday at Lester Park golf course, where the men start at 3 pm and the women’s competition is at 4 pm. On Friday, UMD’s soccer team faces St. Cloud State at 6 pm at Malosky Stadium in a non conference contest, and the soccer team comes back to face Northern State in another non-NSIC match Sunday at 1 pm.