Both teams alive and well in SLC title hunt
By Mike Ramczyk
Sports Editor
Like most other varsity football coaches, Steve Tenhagen doesn’t buy into the hype of rivalry games.
He leaves that up to the media.
“All of that stuff doesn’t matter come Friday night,” Tenhagen said Monday night. “I don’t believe in rivalries. It just adds unwanted pressure.”
Tenhagen and his staff had a chance to watch film of Friday’s 28-6 defeat at the hands of Lake Geneva Badger, and many factors went into the lopsided loss.
“We only had 20 offensive plays in the first half,” Tenhagen said. “It was hard to get in rhythm. The weather (steady rain) became the ultimate equalizer, as footing was tough. We came up with stops defensively, but we just couldn’t get it going offensively.”
Burlington put up only 230 total yards after exploding for an average of 471 in its first three games.
One of the Badger touchdowns included a 60-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the first quarter.
By halftime, the game was out of hand at 21-0.
But the Demons bounced back, as Burling scampered 53 yards to cut the lead to 21-6 with 23 minutes left in the game.
“We made great downfield blocks on that play,” Tenhagen said. “Brad made some big plays. We came out of halftime and executed.”
However, the Badgers tacked on a Christian Martinez 28-yard touchdown run to put the game away near the end of the third quarter.
Despite the somewhat surprising loss considering Burlington’s effort the previous week, a 42-14 win at Union Grove, the Demons are showing vast improvement on the defensive side of the ball.
Burlington’s defense only allowed three scores Friday after giving up 14 points against the Broncos.
In the last 28 minutes of football, the Demon ‘D’ has allowed seven points.
“It was the best half of football we played all year,” said first-year defensive coordinator Mike Deans, who starred for the Burlington and UW-La Cross in the 1990s. “We start three sophomores on defense, and we are very young. But we are getting better each week.”
Burlington won’t have to worry about an explosive offense necessarily Friday against Waterford. The Wolverines average 12.3 points per game and are coming off a loss that yielded 152 total yards and zero points.
But what Waterford does have is size. The Wolverines are stronger on both lines and will attempt to overpower the Demons with a back-by-committee approach.
The Wolverines have beaten Burlington six straight times dating back to 2006, a 28-14 Waterford Division 2 playoff win over the Demons. But Waterford hasn’t seen this complex of an offense from Burlington, especially one that features the passing game.
“Bakken knows us inside and out,” Tenhagen said. “They’re very good defensively, and their pass game is dangerous.”
Tenhagen may be referring to dynamic pass-catching threat Johnny McCormick, who is second on the team with 174 receiving yards. The large, 6-foot-2 athlete can go up and snatch the ball over defenders.
Also, Trace Hunsucker (176 receiving yards) and Dyln Ross provide quick run-pass threats out of the backfield or set out wide.
Bakken acknowledged how dangerous Burlington’s offense can be.
““They’re, offensively, a lot to handle,” he said. “They can score a lot and pile up a lot of yards. We need to be disciplined on defense and take care of our assignments.”
Tenhagen said the key to victory is coming out strong. He said the Demons were forced to pass way too much down 21-0 in the second half a week ago.
That begins with less sloppy play, including better communication, quarterback/center shotgun exchanges and less turnovers.
“We must play sharp offensively early,” Tenhagen said. “We are progressing as a young team and have taken some steps defensively. We must stop their run. They do it out of multiple formations. They play hard and fast. We need to execute on both sides of the ball.”
Strong top to bottom
The road to a conference championship doesn’t get any easier, as six SLC teams are tied for second place at 1-1.
Here are Burlington and Waterford’s remaining schedules, with home games in BOLD CAPS.
Keep in mind that a team must win four conference games to secure a playoff berth, and the Demons and Wolverines each have one entering Friday night.
Burlington
September – 19: at Waterford (2-2). 26: at Westosha Central (1-3). October – 3: DELAVAN-DARIEN. 10: at Wilmot. 17: ELKHORN.
Waterford
September – 19: BURLINGTON. 26: ELKHORN. October – 3: at Westosha Central. 10: UNION GROVE. 17: at Delavan-Darien.
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