By Jennifer Eisenbart
Sports Editor
Going into last week’s Southern Lakes Conference football game at Wilmot, Burlington High School head coach Hans Block was worried about the Panthers’ defense.
Five hundred, 51 yards of offense later, maybe Block isn’t so worried.
The Demons put together a punishing rushing game at Wilmot Friday evening, and balanced it off with a solid evening from quarterback Jayden Essman en route to a 31-18 win over the Panthers.
BHS is now 3-2 in the Southern Lakes Conference, having won three straight over Westosha Central, Delavan-Darien and now Wilmot.
A win over Elkhorn on homecoming this Friday will put Burlington in the playoffs for the first time since 2006.
For this week at least, though, Block was satisfied with how his team responded and could leave it at that.
“We had an outstanding night,” Block said. “It was a beautiful night for high school football, and it’s even more beautiful to be around when the kids play like that.”
What has caught Block’s attention since a 21-13 loss to Waterford on Sept. 7 is how his team has grown – and specifically bought into the system this year.
“I think we’ve improved greatly since the start of the season,” Block said. And since the losses to Badger and Waterford (both, incidentally, still tied on top of the SLC with 5-0 records), “we’ve started to improve. We’ve started to believe we’re a respectable football team.”
The Demons proved that against Wilmot, averaging 6.4 yards per carry in picking up 315 rushing yards, plus having Essman complete 14 of 19 passes for 236 yards, one touchdown – and no interceptions.
And after the Demons executed a fake punt to get a critical first down late in the game, Block said Essman handled all the play calling in the last minute.
“He executed that game plan well,” Block said. “He’s starting to understand. He and I are on the same wavelength.”
Ironically, Wilmot scored first – and would score last. But in between, Essman connected with Kasey Solofra for a six-yard touchdown pass and also rushed for one of his own.
Chad Redmer finished with 196 yards rushing on 28 attempts, and scored touchdowns in the second and third quarters. BHS’s final points came off the foot of Spencer Warner, who made a 19-yard field goal – and almost had another from about 45 yards in the contest.
Wilmot finished with 396 yards of offense of its own, but in Block’s own words, the BHS defense bent but didn’t break. In illustration of that, Wilmot had first and goal late in the first half – and BHS held the Panthers on four straight plays to keep the score 14-6 going into the half.
Block also praised the work of Ty Dennis on both offense and defense.
Next up for the Demons is homecoming, which brings Elkhorn to town. The Elks are one of three teams with 2-3 records right now – the others being Westosha and Wilmot.
The Elks need to win to keep their playoff hopes alive, and Block is expecting a battle.
“They’re still fighting for their playoff lives,” Block said. “We would certainly like to win this week and not go down to the wire.”
Block is referring to the Demons needing just the one win. BHS will end the season at Union Grove Oct. 12, and the Broncos are winless on the season.
However, the first concern is with Elkhorn.
“We’ve got our hands full again,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to use the energy of homecoming in a positive manner, rather than it being a distraction.”
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