Burlington faces Wilmot Friday in Homecoming
By Michael S. Hoey
Correspondent
The Burlington High School football team remained unbeaten following a 28-10 Southern Lakes Conference defeat of host Delavan-Darien last Friday.
The Demons, who led 14-10 at halftime, were held below their 42 points per game average in the contest that began 90 minutes earlier to avoid impending thunderstorms.
“The weather and field conditions were challenging,” Burlington coach Steve Tenhagen said. “Delavan had a good game plan and played well.”
Both teams reverted to their running games because wet field conditions diminished the contest’s passing attacks.
Burlington, which accounted for 328 total yards of offense, received a team-leading 122 yards on 19 carries from Zach Wallace.
Quarterback Dalton Damon finished with 13 carries for 120 yards along with two touchdowns.
Damon, meanwhile, threw two touchdowns and went 2-for-9 in passing for 45 yards.
For the Comets, Ross Gengler led with 19 carries for 126 yards.
Burlington improved to 6-0 overall, a first since 1995, and 4-0 in conference play while the Comets dropped to 2-4 (1-3 SLC).
The undefeated Demons will host Wilmot (5-1, 3-1 SLC) in their Homecoming game Friday.
Demons dash early deficit
The Comets, meanwhile, took an early 3-0 edge with a Mateo Morales 25-yard field goal at 6:29 in the opening frame.
Burlington, however, countered with a touchdown nearly four minutes later on a Dalton Damon 38-yard touchdown run to cap off a 55-yard scoring drive and put the Demons ahead 7-0.
After the Demons defense forced Delavan-Darien to punt on the next possession, Burlington took over at the Comets’ 44-yard line, where the Demons ran three plays before Damon connected with Ethan Safar on a 31-yard touchdown strike to jump ahead 14-3.
On the ensuing possession, Delavan-Darien responded, scoring a touchdown on a Ross Gengler 2-yard run and cut its deficit to 14-10.
Burlington takes control
The Demons bolstered their lead on the opening drive of the third quarter, thanks to an Otto Traxinger 14-yard touchdown catch, which pulled Burlington ahead 21-10 at 9:37.
“We went to our no-huddle offense in the second half and that seemed to get us going,” Tenhagen said. “Our guys did a nice job of making plays.”
The Comets moved the ball to midfield in an attempt to answer the Burlington score, but had to go for it on fourth down from there on 4th and 1.
Quarterback Oliver Hetzel was stopped short and Burlington took over. The Comets got the ball right back on a Logan Mortlock interception at the Comet 25. The offense moved the ball into Burlington territory but eventually had to punt.
Burlington moved the ball to the Comet 11-yard line. Damon came through with a touchdown run to give the Demons a 28-10 lead.
The Comets moved the ball to the Burlington 35, but Jake Klug ended that drive with an interception. Defense ruled the fourth quarter and the game ended just ahead of the storm 28-10.
The Demons got their running game going in the second half and the Comets were forced to throw more once they fell behind.
“It was a good team win,” Tenhagen said. “Our defense played our best game to date holding Delavan to 10 points.”
-
-
-
-
-