By Jennifer Eisenbart
Sports Editor
With less than a quarter played in Friday night’s football game between Burlington and Delavan-Darien High Schools, the score was 21-0 in favor of BHS and rout looked in the offing.
The Demons got their rout, but not before the Comets put a scare in the home crowd.
A combination of mistakes and the Comet offense tied the score at 21-all in the second quarter before BHS returned a kickoff for a touchdown to lead at the half.
From there, the Demons outscored Delavan 27-0 in the second half en route to a 55-21 win.
BHS improved to 2-2 in the Southern Lakes Conference with the win, while Delavan-Darien dropped to 1-3.
After the early lead evaporated – the two teams traded bad quarters in terms of mistakes – BHS coach Hans Block said his team got steadied down at halftime.
“We said we had to quit making mistakes and start executing,” Block said. “We played really well in the first quarter, and then we stubbed our toe and missed some opportunities in the second quarter.
“The momentum swing with Mark Wallace … that was helpful,” Block added.
After Delavan tied the score on a 33-yard interception return for a touchdown, Wallace took the following kickoff – and was off to the races, going 70 yards for the score.
That gave BHS a 28-21 halftime lead and essentially reset what had been wild momentum swings.
The Comets turned the ball over twice in the opening quarter – leading to a pair of BHS scores – before Delavan turned the tables in the second quarter.
By the time halftime was over, though, BHS seemed to have found its stride. The Demons came out and marched down the field, with Chad Redmer capping a three-minute drive with a one-yard scoring run.
Ross Canales would add his own rushing touchdown seven and a half minutes later, and Delavan would never get close again.
Jayden Essman would add his second touchdown pass of the evening before exiting in the fourth quarter, and backup quarterback Max Shenkenberg threw for the game’s final score on fourth down – a 17-yard TD pass to Jimmy Penzel.
Block actually apologized for the last touchdown, saying that the team could have – and maybe should have – picked another play rather than scoring.
As a team, BHS picked up 387 yards of total offense, with Essman connecting on 7 of 14 passes for 186 yards, Redmer rushing for 103 yards on 23 attempts, and Redmer, Ty Dennis and Penzel all picking up receiving touchdowns.
Next up for Burlington will be Friday’s game at Wilmot – a game with playoff implications for both squads. With Waterford and Badger on top of the SLC with twin 4-0 records, BHS, Wilmot and Elkhorn all sit at 2-2 – needing two more wins to make the playoffs.
BHS travels to Wilmot, then returns home to play Elkhorn Oct. 5 for homecoming. The Demons then finish their regular season at Union Grove Oct. 12.
Right now, though, Block is focused only on the task at hand – the Panthers.
“Their defense is pretty good,” said Block. The Panthers are coming off a 34-7 loss at Badger last week, and Block expects Wilmot to be a challenge.
“We need to play well,” he said. “We need to continue to get better.”
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