Whirlwind season ends for Burlington football

Top-ranked Greendale punishes Demons

By Mike Ramczyk

Sports Editor

GREENDALE – Don’t let the 48-13 final score fool you.

The Burlington football team had its fair share of opportunities Friday night in a WIAA Division 2 Level 2 playoff game and was very much in the ball game early.

But the Greendale Panthers, just like any team ranked No. 1 in the state would, flipped the switch in the second quarter, and the Demons couldn’t keep up.

Greendale erupted for 28 points in the first half’s final seven minutes, and the Panthers cruised to victory.

“Greendale is a very good football team,” said Burlington coach Steve Tenhagen. “They have great team speed. It’s difficult to prepare for something like that. That’s what teams at the highest level do.”

An overall team quickness on defense kept Burlington quarterback Brad Burling under constant duress, as Greendale tallied five sacks. Nearly freezing temperatures and biting winds halted the passing game for both teams.

But a Burlington fumble recovery near midfield put the Demons in business down 7-0 late in the first quarter. A couple first downs later, the Demons faced a fourth and 1 at the Greendale 20.

Burling stuck it up the gut but came up just short.

On Greendale’s ensuing possession, quarterback Josh Ringelberg scored on a 22-yard run to make it 14-0.

Burlington went three-and-out on its next drive, but James Tully’s punt deep in Burlington territory was blocked and returned for another score at the 4:24 mark of the second quarter.

The Panthers forced another punt, and after a 43-yard run by Angel Ramirez, Ringelberg put Greendale up 28-0 with a touchdown run.

Another Ringelberg score just before the half made it 35-0 and put the game out of reach.

The Panthers led by as much as 48-0 early in the fourth quarter, but the Demons didn’t quit.

Burling capped off his season with touchdown passes to Frank Hozeska and James Tully to put Burlington on the board.

The Demons were outgained, 359-164.

Burling finished 7-of-21 with 68 yards and two interceptions to go along with the two touchdowns.

He was held to only 44 yards rushing, though he averaged nearly 100 yards per game during the season.

Hegeman Tiedt led the Demons with seven tackles, and Kramer Brown added six.

Hold your heads high

Instead of trying to forget the game, players told Tenhagen after the game they wanted to watch game film early Saturday morning and find out ways to improve.

“They talked about it after the game,” Tenhagen said. “Even the seniors came in the next morning. That’s big.”

Nothing can take away the Demons’ success this season.

In his first year, Tenhagen helped lead the Demons to their first conference title since 1996 and first playoff win in a decade.

Burlington finished 6-5, its best mark since 2012.

Tenhagen said the weight room is already packed with players hungry for continued success next season.

“It was a great year for our program,” he said. “Our goals were the playoffs and a conference championship. And we got a home playoff victory. There was great character, senior leadership, drive and willingness to go to battle. That’s the stuff that determines success.”

Burlington says goodbye to a host of seniors, including Burling, the Southern Lakes offensive player of the year, and key weapons like Hozeska, Brian Dankle, Hunter Melby and Kyle Jones. Tiedt and Brown will be missed defensively, but a host of talent returns for 2015.

“We’ll do what we can to get ready for next season,” Tenhagen said. “The weight room’s full. It’s a testament to these kids. Winning helps.”