Burlingame finished the season 10-1 as Lyon County League, district and regional champions. The Bearcats are 90-25 under coach Jeff Slater.By Ernie W. Webb III
FRANKFORT – A cold, blustery wind seemed fitting Friday night during Burlingame’s sectional championship game against Frankfort. That biting weather summed up a bitter ending for the Bearcats, whose undefeated season concluded with a 46-38 loss in a wildly competitive game.
“That was a great high school football game, and it sucks that we were on the wrong side of it,” said Burlingame coach Jeff Slater, whose team finished the year 10-1. “It was one of those games where it felt like the last team to have the ball was going to win, and that’s what happened.”
The Wildcats (9-2) scored the winning touchdown with 37 seconds left, moments after intercepting a pass at the Bearcats’ 22-yard line. That pick came on the first play after Burlingame’s Dane Winters came up with a critical interception to end a Frankfort drive.
“We had a lot of guys make a lot of plays, but sometimes the other side makes plays, too,” Slater said. “Nothing is easy this time of year. They just made a few more plays than we did.”
Several of those plays came on two-point conversions, an area of the game the Wildcats dominated. Both teams scored six touchdowns, but Frankfort tacked on two points after five of those scores. Burlingame only converted once.
“The two-point conversions were big. We really struggled on those tonight,” said Slater, now 90-25 at Burlingame. “That happens. The thing is, we’ve been really good on those this year until tonight.”
Though the Bearcats led 18-14 at the half, Frankfort took control after forcing a three-and-out on the opening series of the third quarter. The Wildcats took a 22-18 lead on Henry Ketter’s 13-yard run and a conversion by Carter Olson at the 8:45 mark. Frankfort pushed the advantage to 30-18 on Lane Loiseau’s 9-yard rumble and a conversion pass from Anderson to Olson.
With its season on the line, Burlingame countered behind its nine-man senior class. First, quarterback JD Tyson scrambled for a first down on fourth-and-5 and Winters scored on a 5-yard jaunt. Tyson connected with Drake Skirvin on the conversion, Burlingame’s only two-pointer of the night, to cut the deficit to 30-26.
On Frankfort’s next possession, Tyson pounced on a fumble late in the third period, and the Bearcats drove 52 yards to regain the lead. Timmy Roberts, another senior, hauled in a 19-yard toss on a deflection in the end zone to give Burlingame a 32-30 edge three minutes into the final frame.
“This team is all about the group of nine,” Slate said. “A lot of parents and coaches put a lot of time into this group before I coached them. It is a special group. They have always been tough, and they relied on their love for one another and toughness to get back in the game. That was fun to watch.”
The Wildcats needed only two plays to respond, as Trent Hardin caught a short out pass, broke a couple of tackles while cutting across the field and raced 43 yards for a 36-32 lead. Hardin added the conversion to make it 38-32.
Burlingame countered quickly, as well, marching 47 yards in five plays to tie the score at 38-38 on Winters’ 10-yard run with 5:35 remaining.
The score remained tied until the teams traded interceptions with a little less than two minutes remaining. The Bearcats had the ball with 32 seconds left, but could not drive the length of the field to force overtime.
“It stings. When you invest this much into it, it stings,” Slater said. “One of these days we’ll look back at the season and appreciate it, but it’s tough right now. I am incredibly proud of these kids. Before the season, I told them the coaches were going to give them everything we had, and all we ask in return is that they do the same. And these kids did. The seniors were great leaders and showed the younger guys what it takes to maintain a program.”
The first half was tight, with Burlingame leading 6-0 on an 8-yard pass from Tyson to Winters, and 12-6 on a short drive set up by senior Parker Haid’s punt block. Tyson and Brock Moon connected for the second score on a 4-yard toss. The Bearcats took an 18-14 lead into the half when Tyson scored on a 1-yard run with 12 seconds left in the second quarter.
Tyson capped a stellar senior season with 212 total yards, including 177 passing, while Winters had 155 yards (106 receiving, 49 rushing). Roberts added 46 yards receiving and Skirvin 21 yards receiving.
Anderson paced Frankfort with 203 yards, including 158 through the air. Loiseau had 98 yards rushing and Hardin 68 receiving.
The game was the final one for Tyson, Winters, Roberts, Haid and fellow seniors Scott Leandro, Jackson Palmer, Liam Vandruff, Devin Jones and Jakobe Whitmore.
FRANKFORT 46, BURLINGAME 38
Burlingame 6 12 8 12 — 38
Frankfort 6 8 16 16 — 46
First Quarter
BHS – Dane Winters 8 pass from JD Tyson (Pass failed) 5:55
FHS – Lane Louiseau 33 run (Pass failed) 4:25
Second Quarter
BHS – Brock Moon 4 pass from Tyson (Pass failed) 10:16
FHS – Wes Anderson 9 run (Louiseau run) 7:27
BHS – Tyson 1 run (Pass failed) :12
Third Quarter
FHS – Henry Ketter 13 run (Carter Olson run) 8:45
FHS – Louiseau 9 pass from Anderson (Olson pass from Anderson) 4:16
BHS – Winters 5 run (Drake Skirvin pass from Tyson) 1:39
Fourth Quarter
BHS – Timmy Roberts 19 pass from Tyson (Pass failed) 9:00
FHS – Trent Hardin 43 pass from Anderson (Hardin run) 8:01
BHS – Winters 10 run (Pass failed) 5:35
FHS – Anderson 2 run (Anderson run) :37
GAME IN FIGURES
BHS FHS
First downs 16 17
Rushes-Yards 29-83 27-177
Passing 15-28-3 14-22-1
Passing yards 177 158
Total yards 260 335
Punts 2-19.5 None
Fumbles-lost None 1-0
Penalties 10-65 6-51
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – Burlingame: Winters 13-49, Tyson 15-35, Roberts 1-(-1). Frankfort: Loiseau 9-98, Anderson 13-45, Ketter 4-23, Olson 1-11.
RECEIVING – Burlingame: Winters 10-106, Roberts 2-46, Skirvin 2-21, Moon 1-4. Frankfort: Hardin 3-68, Olson 8-55, Louiseau 3-35.
PASSING – Burlingame: Tyson 15-28-3 177. Frankfort: Anderson 14-22-1 158.