Burlington at South Milwaukee, 7 p.m., Friday
By Mike Ramczyk
With the sun beating down and dog-day August temperatures approaching 85 degrees Tuesday afternoon at Burlington High School, a sea of half-clad Demon football players was quick to scamper off to the locker rooms, especially after the conclusion of the two-hour session featured an all-time favorite, wind sprints.
But while others rightfully dispersed with an entire afternoon still ahead, a mild, yet profound thing happened on the practice field.
Burlington senior captain Julian Luciano, a linebacker and versatile weapon at receiver and running back, stayed back to work on his hands.
Ten yards away, new quarterback Peyton O’Laughlin, a sophomore who lives in Lake Geneva but has attended Burlington schools since high school, fired one pass after another, until each ball stuck to Luciano, who waited firm with the classic “triangle” catching hands.
They changed distances and O’Laughlin at times increased his velocity.
It was for a good reason. Minutes earlier in team offense drills, Luciano had dropped a pass right in his hands, garnering a comment from defensive coordinator Mike Deans about how those footballs should never be dropped.
Luciano’s drive to get better and fix his mistakes seems to be a common theme among the 2018 Demons, who open the season Friday night at South Milwaukee High School.
Most starters are back
With probably two of the best athletes to ever pass through the BHS halls gone in former quarterback Nick Klug and former do-everything man and 2017 All-Area Player of the Year Grant Tully, on paper it may seem like a tall task for Burlington to compete in a Southern Lakes Conference that still favors Lake Geneva Badger, Waterford and sometimes Wilmot.
Despite no definite answer at lead signal-caller or featured running back, these Demons are already thinking playoff victories, almost one year after their first playoff appearance since 2014, one that ended in heartbreak with a 28-27 WIAA Division 2 Level 1 loss to rival Waterford.
While the guys still have a bad taste about the unfortunate game, perhaps their best chance at postseason success in a decade, Luciano and fellow captain Nick Webley, who led the team in receiving as a junior last year, are itching to play ball.
The loss of Klug and Tully is softened by a total of 16 returning starters out of 22 possible spots.
“The energy has been good, and we are all positive,” said Webley, who was a first team all-Racine County receiver in 2017. “We have more seniors this year and a lot of linemen back.”
“We’ve had first team all-county weapons in the past, but I think we have more depth this year,” Luciano added. “It’s the same offense, but I think we have a lot of skill, even with the younger guys.”
The Demons finished 6-4 overall last season and turned a corner with four wins to finish the regular season after a 2-3 start.
Waterford head coach Adam Bakken called Burlington one of the better Demon squads he’s faced after the host Wolverines escaped in the intense playoff victory, and the trenches will be even better this fall.
Winning in the trenches
Left guard Nathan Bousman, a first-team All-Racine County player last season, leads an offensive line that features three other returning starters. Also back are two-way player Brian Konz at left tackle, Taylon Hensley at right guard and Dylan Runkel at right tackle.
O’Laughlin and junior Dalton Damon will battle for quarterback reps, but neither has played on the varsity level.
Burlington coach Steve Tenhagen, who is 21-18 after four seasons at his alma mater, said the team will have both ready to play each week.
Webley said he and the other receivers have already developed off-season chemistry with both quarterbacks, as the Demons attended UW-Whitewater passing camps each Saturday and orchestrated players-only practices to get on the same page.
It would benefit the Demons to feed the ball to Webley, who had nearly 450 receiving yards last season, caught four scores in one game and gave Burlington a chance to upset Waterford in the playoffs with a touchdown catch to cut the lead to 28-27.
A two-point conversion attempt was targeted at Webley but knocked down at the last second.
Grant Tully, who also was a defensive star, and Harrison George leave a hole in the secondary, but captain Steven Tully and sophomore Zach Wallace should fill in.
Other key defensive returners will be Luciano, captain Jack Hartzell, Hensley, Konz, Bousman and Josh Letkewicz.
Big shoes to fill
For now, Zach Anderson is the team’s leading returning rusher with 280 yards. He will see time behind the quarterback in single back formation, and he will be a force at linebacker.
Grant Tully rushed for 1,044 yards in 2017.
While Klug and Tully at times dominated the touches during the Demons’ late-season surge, expect a variety of players to stretch the defense.
“I’m really excited for Friday,” Webley said. “The scrimmage went pretty well. We still have to work on timing stuff, but we’ve done a good job getting that situated.”
Luciano is taking a weekly approach, but the postseason is certainly a goal.
“We want to keep improving every single week, but obviously we are looking to make the playoffs and maybe win a few games in the playoffs,” Webley said. “We stay positive, and everybody has a really good work ethic.”
“I see nothing but good things with this group.”
Schedule
(HOME GAMES CAPS)
August – 17: at South Milwaukee (non-conference). 23: RACINE HORLICK (n-c). 31: at Union Grove. September – 7: LAKE GENEVA BADGER. 14: at Waterford. 21: at Westosha Central. 28: DELAVAN-DARIEN/WILLIAMS BAY. October – 5: at Wilmot. 12: ELKHORN.
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