Demons go back to ground game for first victory
By Ed Nadolski
Editor in Chief
After watching his team lose its first two games with a pass-happy attack, Burlington coach Eric Sulik vowed some changes.
“Our inability to establish a run game is killing us,” he said following the Aug. 26 loss to Waukesha North. “We really should have a 50/50 split between run and pass.”
On Thursday at Elkhorn the Demons did that and much more with a running game that cranked out 267 yards and powered Burlington to a 34-24 win over the Elks.
The win improved the Demons to 1-2 on the season and 1-0 in Southern Lakes Conference play.
The offense was keyed by running back Drew Weis and the offensive line. Weis plowed his way to 264 of the team’s 267 rushing yards. He averaged nearly 15 yards per carry and scored touchdowns on runs of 3, 52 and 49 yards.
“It came a little more down to what Elkhorn was doing on defense,” Sulik said. “They were daring us to run the football by defensive alignment, which we did successfully.
“Drew ran hard and showed a burst in the open field. Our offensive line did a good job of opening running lanes.”
Elkhorn controlled the ball with a time of possession nearly three times Burlington’s, but the Demons defense was stout when it counted the most.
“Elkhorn never broke a big run, but we needed to do better on third down to get our defense off the field,” Sulik said. “Our defensive play was inconsistent.”
Burlington will travel to Paddock Lake to face undefeated Westosha Central (3-0; 1-0) at 7 p.m. Friday.
The two teams have a common opponent in Waukesha North. Westosha outlasted North 24-21 in the season opener and Burlington fell to North 34-21.
“Westosha is fast, physical, and playing good football, Sulik said. “They looked tough vs. Union Grove last week. We’ll need a fast start and play mistake-free football. We’ll need to make plays and come ready to play physically because I know they will be ready.”
To read the entire story, see the Sept. 8 edition of the Burlington Standard Press.
-
-
-
-
-