St. Michael-Albertville hasn’t approached this jump up to Class 6A cautiously. After the Knights’ second consecutive rout of a quality opponent on the road, it’s clear the Class 5A power of a year ago has cannonballed into the large-school pond.

They out-hit and out-hustled No. 3-ranked Blaine en route to a 40-20 victory that had nothing fluky about it. On Friday the Knights were the better team.

“We’re not coming out to rebuild or anything,” said Mitch Kartes, senior running back and safety. “We’re coming out to make a statement. If we punch them in the mouth enough times, we should come out on top.”

The Knights spotted the Bengals a touchdown on the opening drive of the game, then thoroughly dominated their hosts for the remainder. The running back tandem of Kartes, a combination of speed and strength who has committed to North Dakota State, and junior Desean Phillips routinely gashed the Blaine defense.

Kartes rushed 19 times for 178 yards and three touchdowns, punctuated by a 72-yarder in which he not only outran the Blaine defense, he ran right out of a shoe.

Phillips used his shiftiness and acceleration to run for 156 yards and a pair of scores, including a dagger of a 65-yard run one play after Blaine had cut the St. Michael-Albertville lead to 21-14 late in the third quarter.

“We’ve got a nice one-two punch,” Knights coach Jared Essler said. “They’re two different runners. Mitchell has the school record in the 100 meters and Desean has one of the best jump cuts around.”

Essler credited his team’s past, playing in a tough 5A section, for preparing players to step up and compete with the state’s biggest schools.

“We played in the best 5A district around, with Rogers, Elk River, Monticello, Buffalo, St. Francis. Those are good teams,” he said. “It’s just a matter of working hard and preparing. It doesn’t matter if it’s 5A teams or 6A teams, I’m proud of their effort.”

This was the back-to-reality game, right? St. Michael-Albertville, one week after beginning its maiden Class 6A season by crushing Mounds View, was on the road again, this time against a high-powered opponent. No. 3-ranked Blaine would teach these upstart Knights a thing or two about big-school football.

Clearly, someone forgot to inform the Knights.

After giving up a touchdown on the game’s opening drive, St. Michael-Albertville seized control of the game Friday by relying on the legs of running backs Mitch Kartes and Desean Phillips to emerge with a 40-14 victory at Bengal Stadium.

Trailing 7-0, St. Michael-Albertville drove to the Blaine 4-yard line, only to be turned away on downs. Even without scoring, the Knights established a physical presence that paid off on their next possession.

They moved downfield quickly the next time they had the ball, going 77 yards in seven plays, capped by a 14-yard Kartes run. A two-point conversion made the score 8-7 Knights.

Blaine’s offense bogged down for the rest of the first half, reduced to short passes in the flat and unable to establish anything vertically.

Kartes, a North Dakota State recruit, made his presence felt midway through the second quarter. He took a handoff, bent it outside and outraced the Blaine defense 72 yards – running out of his shoe in the process – for a touchdown and a 15-7 halftime lead.

St. Michael-Albertville added a touchdown in the third quarter before Blaine showed signs of life. The Bengals cut the lead to 21-14 on a 3-yard run by Byron Bynum Jr., but that momentum was short-lived.

On the next play from scrimmage, Phillips – a junior who is a fine complement to Kartes – burst up the middle and went 65 yards for a touchdown. The score re-established a two-touchdown lead at 27-14 and put Blaine in a hole that was too big to emerge from.