What’s in a number? Plenty for football player who wins bet with teammate’s father

By Jennifer Eisenbart

Editor

Sometimes the smallest things can spark a turnaround.

After the Burlington High School football team had lost its first two games of the season – and three of their first four – something needed to change for the team under the direction of first-year head coach Steve Tenhagen.

For BHS senior Ryan Simenson, that change turned out to be a bet between him and 1986 BHS graduate Andy Tully.

Tully, like Simenson, was an offensive lineman in high school (and as it turned out, a four-year college starter at Carthage). The two also shared something else – the No. 62 on their jerseys.

Tully and Simenson made a deal. If the Demons turned it around and won a Southern Lakes Conference title, Tully would sign over the license plate he has owned since high school – “sixttwo” – to Simenson.

And when the Demons clinched a share of that title two weeks ago with a four-overtime win over Wilmot, Simenson found Tully in the celebration.

“I went up to Andy, and said, ‘Hey, I guess I get the license plate now,’” Simenson recalled.

While Burlington lost at home in overtime last week to Elkhorn in the final game of the regular season, the Demons share the title with the Elks, Waterford and Wilmot.

Tully was more than happy to part with the license plate – especially for a teenager he has known since Simenson was in Little League.

“You always kind of root for the kid with your number,” Tully added Tuesday. “He just reminds me of myself 30 years ago.”

Tully, whose son, James, is a senior tight end for the Demons, praised Simenson’s work ethic and dedication to the Burlington football program, saying that the senior had really “bought in” to what the coaches are preaching.

“He’s in the weight room every day,” Tully said. “I can just relate to that. That’s how I was in high school.”

For Simenson’s part, the license-plate bet has been part of a “roller coaster” football season. The new coaches, he said, have provided a strong belief in their players.

“There was just a spark that was missing,” Simenson said. “I feel that spark is here now.”

Whether Simenson will actually file the paperwork to inherit the license plate is uncertain. Right now, he’s just content to have his hands – and eyes – on it.

“I thought it would just be cool to hang it up,” he said. “With our jerseys, in a shadowbox.”