DIXFIELD — The burst Bryan Blackman once feared had permanently vanished has returned, and that isn’t what the rest of the Campbell Conference wants to hear.

Thirteen months after he partially tore his Achilles tendon, Dirigo’s senior tailback announced his candidacy last week for the conference’s top running back, if not MVP, honors with a 33-carry, 212-yard and four-touchdown tour de force (which also included an interception) in the Cougars’ 36-30 victory at Winthrop.

Six months ago, Blackman wouldn’t have believed he had the physical capability to outrun defenders on 29- and 49-yard scoring runs and a 53-yard reception for six, as he did against the Ramblers.

Coach Dave Crutchfield wouldn’t have believed it, either.

“He’s surprised us. We knew he had speed, but I didn’t think he had the stamina,” Crutchfield said.

Blackman’s high school career has been full of surprises. As a sophomore, he expected to be a third-string tailback and maybe see a little time in passing situations. As early as the 2009 preseason, though, he was rotating at tailback with fellow speedster Spencer Ross, and was a vital contributor on one of the most explosive offenses in recent memory in Class C. He rushed for a touchdown when the Cougars captured the state title at Fitzpatrick Stadium.

His run of success continued into the winter, when he was a state runner-up wrestler, and into the spring, when he was a top 10 sprinter in Class C.

Blackman was ready to share the load with Ross as the Cougars tried to defend their state title in 2010 when he made a vital and painful mistake.

Kicking out windows with a cousin, Blackman had a piece glass cut roughly halfway through his Achilles. It was four days before the start of football preseason.

“It was stupid,” he said. “Doug (then coach Doug Gilbert) wasn’t happy.”

Neither was Blackman as he saw how he had let his teammates down, particularly Ross, who took a lot of punishment as the Cougars’ lead tailback.

The pain of watching from the sidelines was matched by the pain of his rehabilitation. Shock and laser therapy to the repaired tendon, countless exercises and three or four days per week of sessions with athletic trainer Aaron Perreault allowed Blackman to return a shell of his former self late in the season against Maranacook. He reaggravated the Achilles in a JV game and had to sit out the Cougars’ playoff loss to Winthrop.

He was healthy again for his junior wrestling season, which ended with a third-place finish at states. The finish didn’t disappoint him as much as the lingering doubts about whether he would ever stop thinking about the Achilles and regain the burst that set him apart on the football field.

The start of track season didn’t provide any reassurances. Teammates that Blackman always left in the dust at the starting blocks were keeping pace close to the finish line.

“I just couldn’t make that push-off. I’d just kind of swing (the lower leg) around. I didn’t want to tear it again,” he said.

With repetition, the familiar explosion started to return. It took longer, however, for the mind to catch up to the body.

Even though he finished second in the state in the 200 and third in the 100, Blackman said he still didn’t feel 100 percent back.

A summer of running around Worthley Pond helped the mind catch up. By the preseason, Blackman felt like he was all the way back, but he still needed to convince his coaches he wasn’t just strong, but had the mentality to be a workhorse running back.

While running for 87 yards and a touchdown in an opening night loss to Freeport, he showed he won’t just run away from tacklers — he’s prepared to take them on.

“His sophomore year, he ran scared,” Crutchfield said. “This year, he’s running tough.”

He’s also strengthened his commitment to the team, Crutchfield said. “When he was younger, I thought he tried to stick out as an individual. He’s a total team player and a good teammate. He’s a good kid all around. Always smiling, friendly with everybody.”

Minutes before the coach’s assessment, Blackman attributed his performance against Winthrop to his blockers, who include fullback Jake Dowland, the only other regular holdover from the gold-ball-winning squad.

“That was just pretty much all them,” said Blackman, who hopes to continue to play football in college. “They were blowing it all up and just giving me holes. I don’t know how many times (fullback Jake) Dowland saved me.”