By Mike Ramczyk
Sports Editor
The last time the Catholic Central varsity football team missed the playoffs, Bill Clinton was President.
Brett Favre was only 25 years old, the Milwaukee Brewers were in the American League and every single player on the current Topper roster wasn’t even born yet.
Topper football and playoffs go together like rock n’ roll, and the song played loudly Friday night.
In a game played at the Topper Bowl, Catholic Central needed only two plays with less than a minute remaining in the game to score the decisive touchdown for a dramatic 35-29 victory over Milwaukee St. Thomas More.
Thomas More fumbled, and the Toppers recovered at the Thomas More 20-yard line, down 29-28 with 45 seconds to play.
Sophomore quarterback Ben Heiligenthal played like a veteran in the two-minute drill, finding Tegan Miles on a big pass down to the Thomas More 2-yard line with only 3 seconds on the clock.
One play away from a 19th straight playoff appearance, Heiligenthal hit Tyler Burzawa for the game-winning touchdown. The Toppers improved to 4-4 overall and 4-2 in the Metro Classic Conference.
Thomas More dropped to 6-2 and 4-2.
Catholic Central scored 20 points in the fourth quarter, including two touchdowns from Adam Oehlers. Heiligenthal finished with 169 yards passing, and Burzawa had eight catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns.
Cole Kresken paced the Toppers with 128 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Check Thursday’s Burlington Standard Press for the full story. To view additional photos from the game, click here.
Wilmot 27, Burlington 0
Burlington’s last desperate attempt at a playoff berth turned ugly in a hurry Friday night.
Wilmot set the tone with a five-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the first quarter, and the turnover nightmare began.
The Demons finished with four turnovers and missed some golden opportunities late in the contest, resulting in a painful shutout loss.
The loss put Burlington’s overall record at 4-4, but it dropped the Demons to 2-4 in the Southern Lakes Conference and mathematically eliminated them from playoff contention.
This is the sixth time in the last seven seasons Burlington has missed the playoffs.
“You can’t turn the ball over against a good team and expect to win,” Burlington coach Hans Block said. “But what I liked is we didn’t give up and continued to battle.”
“It’s a tough pill to swallow to not make the playoffs,” Block added. “I knew Wilmot was a good team. We didn’t play well. We had goals to perform better this season. Right now, we’re not reaching our potential.”
Down 14-0 late in the third quarter, the Demons put together a solid drive. Mark Wallace connected with Luke Dahl for a 30-yard pass play before Wallace left the game with an injury.
Junior Brad Burling stepped in and got Burlington into the Wilmot red zone with a few more completions.
However, the drive stalled when Burling’s third- and fourth-down passes to the end zone were batted down at the last second.
Wilmot’s dagger came early in the fourth quarter. After Burlington shanked a punt to set up the Panthers at midfield, Cam Loveless capped the drive with a 26-yard run, weaving his way through traffic for the back-breaking touchdown with 9:47 left to play.
“It wasn’t a football game, it was a gladiator battle,” Wilmot coach Mike Greinke said. “Their kids were scrapping to try to get into the playoffs. It was a hard week to focus for us, but we pulled it together tonight. Our defense is taking care of business every game.”
Wilmot ran for 206 yards, led by Loveless’ 85. The Panthers’ stingy defense, which has shut down four straight opponents, held Burlington to 211 total yards, only 61 on the ground.
Wilmot’s Doug Wedge and Ethan Scott, two top playmakers, left the game with injuries.
Pick up Thursday’s Burlington Standard Press and Friday’s Westosha Report for the complete story and photos.
Other area scores
Waterford 21, Union Grove 7
Lake Geneva Badger 27, Elkhorn 7
Delavan-Darien 48, Westosha Central 21
Catholic Memorial 14, Mukwonago 10
Evansville/Albany 41, East Troy 21
Arrowhead 39, Muskego 23
Big Foot 38, Palmyra-Eagle 0
Racine Horlick 41, Racine Case 20
Franklin 28, Kenosha Indian Trail 21
Jefferson 33, Whitewater 6
Williams Bay 52, Hustisford 22
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