Burlington High School

Good first impression: Burlington corrals Racine Case in season opener

Burlington 32, Racine Case 20

Senior tight end Dale Damon caught six passes for 90 yards Friday night. (Dwight Beuthling/SLN)
Senior tight end Dale Damon caught six passes for 90 yards Friday night. (Dwight Beuthling/SLN)

 

Burlington dominates county foe with balanced attack

 

By Mike Ramczyk

[email protected]

The Burlington football team was able to dictate things offensively Aug. 19, and the defense and special teams joined the party in a season-opening victory over Racine Case.

Powered by 260 total yards from first-year quarterback Nick Klug and a comeback-killing special teams touchdown, the Demons jumped out to a big lead and cruised to a 33-20 win.

Klug, a junior who starred as an all-Region wide receiver last season, scored on a 43-yard run and had another long touchdown run negated by penalty.

Through the air, the strong-armed dual threat hooked up with sophomore Julian Luciano for a 43-yard score.

Klug scampers for a big gain. (Dwight Beuthling/SLN)
Klug scampers for a big gain. (Dwight Beuthling/SLN)

Luciano, a 5-foot-10, 170-pound blur in the open field, finished with two catches for 153 yards in his first varsity game.

Burlington (1-0) travels to Racine Friday night to take on Horlick at 7 p.m. at Horlick Athletic Field.

The Demons handled the Rebels last year amid controversy, when Horlick head coach Brian Fletcher used a racial comment to argue a penalty and was ejected.

The comment came as a Burlington player laid motionless on the field, surrounded by coaches and training staff, after a vicious hit.

Horlick suffered a one-game suspension, as imposed by the school’s administration.

Despite the early setback, Horlick rebounded to make the WIAA playoffs, while the Demons finished just shy at 5-4.

 

 

Ground control

Burlington senior running back Jack Miller enjoyed a big game against Case as the single back in the Demons’ spread look.

Standing alongside Klug in the backfield, Miller reaped the benefits of Klug’s of big-play ability.

The 5-foot-10, 190-pound bulldozing back compiled 109 yards on 15 carries, including a 1-yard touchdown to send Burlington into the locker room with a 14-7 lead.

Early in the third quarter, an errant snap sailed over the Case punter, and Burlington junior Ben Golon recovered the ball in the end zone, extending the lead to 21-7.

The defense followed with a safety to make it 23-7 at the 4-minute mark.

Klug’s touchdown run put the game out of reach late in the third at 29-7.

Lance Otter added a 41-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.

Case added two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

Brandon Swantz (80) nearly blocks a kick attempt by Case Friday night. (Dwight Beuthling/SLN)
Brandon Swantz (80) nearly blocks a kick attempt by Case Friday night. (Dwight Beuthling/SLN)

Klug finished his first varsity start at quarterback with strong numbers, completing 9-for-17 for 167 yards with the touchdown and no picks.

Dale Damon, a senior, who was the third baseman on Burlington’s state championship baseball team a mere eight weeks ago, snagged six passes for 90 yards to lead the receiving corps.

Liam Safar added a catch for 24 yards.

Horlick opened the season with a 49-8 victory at Milwaukee Morse-Marshall.

In Week 2 of 2015, Horlick lost at Burlington, 39-24.

Against Milwaukee, Horlick amassed 194 yards on the ground on 19 carries.

Junior quarterback Sawyer Schick completed 6-of-7 passes for 127 yards and three touchdowns.

 

Stay tuned to www.myracinecounty.com at 7 p.m. tonight for Ramczyk’s Week 2 Predictions Column, and follow him on Twitter @mikeramczyk17 Friday night for live updates from Horlick Field.

 

 

 

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