By Mike Ramczyk
Sports Editor
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 27-0 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. 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.
Burlington now travels to Elkhorn, where the Elks must win to advance to the WIAA Division II playoffs for the first time since 2010.
Elkhorn features a ground attack led by Braden Mann, but quarterback Arik Anderson is turnover-prone. The Elks hung with Badger last week, but turnovers led to their demise.
The team that holds onto the ball Friday night will prevail.
PREDICTION: Elkhorn 28, Burlington 24
FOOTBALL WEEKEND
Last week: 3-1
Season: 37-16
Westosha Central (0-8, 0-6 SLC) at Wilmot (6-2, 6-1 SLC), 7 p.m.
The Panthers couldn’t have asked for a better season-ending opponent than the Falcons.
Wilmot is shutting down opponent after opponent to the tune of a mere 11.5 points allowed per game.
Central is on the opposite end of the spectrum. Westosha only scores 7.2 points per game, and last week’s 21 points in a 48-21 Homecoming loss to Delavan-Darien were a season high.
Expect another spirited passing effort against Wilmot, but it will be in garbage time.
The Panthers are simply too good and too motivated for a solid playoff seeding right now.
The battle of western Kenosha County will be won by Wilmot.
PREDICTION: Wilmot 35, Westosha Central 7
Lake Geneva Badger (6-2, 5-1 SLC) at Union Grove (1-7, 1-5 SLC), 7 p.m.
Badger’s one slip up, an embarrassing 28-14 loss at Wilmot that was never close, is behind them.
Though conference leading rusher Andrew Allen got nicked up in last week’s win, Badger will bring the pain to a downward-spiraling Broncos squad.
Badger must win to earn a share of its first conference title since 2010.
Look for the Grove, though inspired in its final home game, to be overpowered on both sides of the ball.
PREDICTION: Lake Geneva Badger 45, Union Grove 14
Delavan-Darien (4-4, 3-3 SLC) at Waterford (6-2, 5-1 SLC), 7 p.m.
The Wolverines can thank the schedule-makers for this one, because beating the Comets on the road may have been impossible.
With wins in three of its last four games, Delavan is one of the hottest teams in the SLC. But Waterford is hotter.
The Wolverines have won five straight, including impressive wins over Wilmot, Burlington and Elkhorn, and are playing their best ball at the right time, only one week from the postseason.
Senior Jake Bauer is running the ball like a man possessed, averaging 140 yards and two touchdowns in his last three games, all 100-yard rushing performances.
Bauer has 703 yards and nine TDs this season.
And the Waterford defense is dominant once again, allowing less than seven points per game in the last five contests.
Delavan counters with quarterback Jesse Collins, who has been tearing up defenses of late. The junior dual-threat player has 1,687 total yards this season with 25 touchdowns (17 rush, 8 pass).
However, the Wolverines have shut down each and every explosive player this season and made the game come to them.
Expect a motivated Waterford bunch to pull off its third straight conference title. At least a share of it.
PREDICTION: Waterford 20, Delavan-Darien 18
Catholic Central (4-4, 4-2 MCC) at Greendale Martin Luther (5-3, 3-3 MCC), 7 p.m.
The Toppers are coming off an emotional, last-second victory over a very good Thomas More team.
However, Catholic Central is a different team on the road. While points come easy at the Topper Bowl, Central only averages nine points in three road losses.
Martin Luther needs a win to qualify for the postseason. Led by the running of Sam Zehnder (689 yards), expect Catholic Central to finish the season winless on the road.
No fear, Toppers fans, the second season begins next week, as the Central clinched a playoff berth last Friday.
PREDICTION: Greendale Martin Luther 28, Catholic Central 21
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