Burlington 37, Elkhorn 0
By Mike Ramczyk
All season, Burlington varsity football head coach Steve Tenhagen has been looking for a complete, four-quarter performance from his team.
The Demons have been coming closer and closer each week, and the steady improvement culminated with an all-around outburst Friday, Oct. 7 at Don Dalton Stadium.
Burlington piled up five touchdowns, two from special teams, and blanked visiting Elkhorn, 37-0, in the final home game of the season.
The Demons (3-5, 2-4 SLC) travel to Union Grove (4-4, 2-4) Friday night with bragging rights on the line as both teams are ineligible for the WIAA playoffs.
Elkhorn dropped to 1-7 and 0-6 in the SLC.
“We put a complete game together on Friday night,” Tenhagen said. “We had a good week of practice, and it carried right into Friday night.”
“We talked about how we had to reassess our goals for the final two games of the year. They did a great job of that and controlled what they could control, and that was playing well on Friday.”
The first half provided the special teams fireworks, as the Demons got a 54-yard punt return from Grant Tully to open the scoring late in the first quarter and a blocked field goal return, where senior Joey Needle rumbled 80 yards down the sideline.
The rare touchdown gave the Demons a 20-0 cushion with 4:29 left in the first half.
Brandon Swantz, who finished the game with 1.5 sacks, rushed off the right side and blocked Elkhorn’s 27-yard field goal attempt, and Needle, who lined up on the opposite side, scooped it and took off.
“It is a bonus any time you can get special teams or defensive scores,” Tenhagen said. “They happen quick and can really change the momentum of the game. Zef Jones had a great hustle play and blocked the last two defenders who had a chance to catch Joey. It was a great team play.”
Tully added a seven-yard touchdown run in the first half.
Anderson makes history
The Burlington defense got stronger as the game went on, said Tenhagen, and the unit held the Elks to 228 total yards.
“The defense played fast and with great emotion,” Tenhagen said.
The spirited effort kept Elkhorn off the scoreboard to open the third quarter, and Burlington quarterback Nick Klug capitalized with a 14-yard touchdown run at the 5:40 mark.
With a 26-0 lead, Burlington freshman Cora Anderson tacked on the extra point.
While a seemingly easy one-point kick doesn’t usually make headlines, this wasn’t your average kick.
Anderson’s kick was the first point by a female in a football game in school history.
“We had the opportunity to get Cora some game experience on the varsity,” Tenhagen said. “She has a great leg and will be in contention next year for our kicking position. It was great to see our team embrace her.”
The starting kicker, senior Lance Otter, added an 18-yard field goal.
With a big lead, the Demons needed to grind out the clock with some tough running, and senior Jack Miller obliged.
After the defense forced a fumble and recovered deep in Elkhorn territory, Miller caught a two-yard touchdown pass from Klug with 9:26 remaining to extend the lead to 34-0.
On Burlington’s next possession, Miller broke out for a 40-yard run. He often broke through first contact and dragged defenders on his 19 carries, which resulted in a season-high 143 yards.
Burlington ran for 200 yards.
“I know Jack would give credit to his offensive line for creating his running holes,” Tenhagen said. “He did a great job of running through initial contact and picking up extra yards.”
Jake Leonard led the team in receiving with 57 yards on two catches.
Shawn Chase led the way with 7.5 tackles, and Ben Golon and Aaron Sturdevant each added 6.5. Reid Moen added 5.5 tackles.
“We have a great group of kids in our locker room,” Tenhagen said. “We will not finish the season as we planned in the record column, but the experience of coaching this group has been great for our staff.”
“This game is truly a game of inches, and had a few things happened this year, we could be in the top half of the SLC standings.”
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