By Ernie W. Webb III
MADISON – As Madison’s players ran off the field, jumping and yelling in celebration of a hard-fought 42-26 win Friday against Burlingame, John Denver’s “Country Roads” briefly blared on the public address system on the Bulldogs’ home field. That song, of course, is one Burlingame regularly plays at home and on the bus after winning a road game.
Some might see that as trolling a rival that has won three consecutive Lyon County League titles, but longtime coach Jeff Slater sees it differently.
“The kids noticed, but I told them not to put anything into it,” Slater said. “Actually, I see it as respect for our program. I have a lot of respect for their program, and I think they have it for our program. I do all kinds of ‘extra’ things to help motivate the kids, so I don’t think it’s a big deal at all.”
The country roads were rocky for fourth-ranked Burlingame, which fell behind early and could never get over the hump, despite having a chance to tie the game in the third quarter. The Bearcats (2-1) trailed 14-0 and 22-6, thanks in large part to two scoring drives that started in their own territory.
“We didn’t execute nearly as much as Madison did,” Slater said. “I thought they were well-prepared, and their coaches had a great game plan. We got off to a bad start, and it felt like we were behind the eight ball all night.”
The Bulldogs (3-0) only needed 70 seconds to take a lead they never relinquished. On second-and-20 from their 27, tight end Octavian Dean got behind the secondary, hauling in a high-arching pass from Brayden Grimmett and racing 53 yards untouched for a 6-0 lead.
After stuffing the Bearcats on a fourth-and-2 moments later, Madison went up 12-0 on a 14-yard run by Grimmett. Lane Smith added a conversion run for a 14-0 advantage just four minutes into the game.
“We are not the kind of team that’s going to be able to play from behind like that,” Slater said. “I thought we had some trust issues tonight. Guys weren’t trusting their teammates to do their jobs. That’s something we have to clean up. We’ve got a lot of guys who haven’t played as much, so it’s going to take time. It’s something we’ll focus on in practice.”
Burlingame also failed to convert on a fourth-and-short on its second possession, but the Bearcats’ defense forced a punt on Madison’s next series. Early in the second period, quarterback Danny Cain crossed the goal line on a 2-yard run to pull his team within 14-6.
Madison countered almost immediately, due to a short field after a squib kick and personal foul. The Bulldogs started at Burlingame’s 25 and took a 22-6 advantage on Grimmett’s 1-yard run and his conversion pass to Dean.
The Bearcats answered with a 5-play, 55-yard drive culminating with Brock Moon’s 1-yard plunge to cut the deficit to 22-12. The momentum swung again, however, when Madison converted on second-and-24 and grabbed a 28-12 edge on Grimmett’s 1-yard toss to Smith.
However, Burlingame took the momentum back with a 45-yard touchdown drive in the final 24 seconds of the half. On the possession, Cain hit Blake Middleton for 12 yards and Drake Skirvin for 11 before Skirvin connected with Jude Aguilar on a 22-yard reverse pass with 4.4 seconds remaining. Cain tacked on the conversion to pull the Bearcats within 28-20.
“I was proud of how the kids kept fighting, especially after a terrible start,” Slater said. “We had our chances tonight. This group has done a good job of taking ownership of maintaining a good program., and I know they’ll give us everything they have.”
Burlingame opened the third quarter with a 57-yard drive, trimming the deficit to 28-26 on Cain’s 9-yard jaunt less than three minutes into the second half. But Madison’s Cooper Luthi grabbed a short kickoff and returned it 40 yards, setting up the Bulldogs at the Bearcats’ 16. Three plays later, Madison led 34-26 on a 5-yard pass from Grimmett to Dean.
“Every time we got back in it, they made a play,” Slater said. “This was a physical game between two good teams, and they just executed more tonight.”
Burlingame drove into Madison territory on its next possession, but the Bearcats stalled on fourth down. Burlingame got the ball back after a bad snap on a short field goal attempt by Madison and was driving when a holding penalty wiped out what would have been a first down inside the Bulldogs’ 25-yard line.
On the next play, Luthi intercepted a pass and returned it to Burlingame’s 31. Madison converted on a fourth-and-three, then capped the scoring on Grimmett’s 5-yard run and a conversion pass from Grimmett to Cory Yowell.
“Winning the Lyon County League is always one of our goals, so this one hurts,” Slater said. “But there’s a lot of season left, and we’ll learn from this.”
Burlingame lost despite outgaining Madison by nearly 100 yards (338 to 249). Cain led the Bearcats with 197 yards passing and 85 rushing. Skirvin added 89 yards receiving and Moon 77 total yards. Grimmett paced the Bulldogs with 132 total yards, while Cruz Leiser had 107 yards rushing on 23 carries.
MADISON 42, BURLINGAME 26
Burlingame 0 20 6 0 — 26
Madison 14 14 6 8 — 42
First Quarter
MHS – Dean 53 pass from Grimmett (Run failed)
MHS – Grimmett 14 run (Smith run)
Second Quarter
BHS – Cain 9 run (Pass failed)
MHS – Grimmett 1 run (Dean pass from Grimmett)
BHS – Moon 1 run (Pass failed)
MHS – Smith 1 pass from Grimmett (Pass failed)
BHS – Aguilar 22 pass from Skirvin (Cain run)
Third Quarter
BHS – Cain 9 run (Pass failed)
MHS – Dean 5 pass from Grimmett (Kick failed)
Fourth Quarter
MHS – Grimmett 5 run (Yowell pass from Grimmett)
GAME IN FIGURES
BHS MHS
First downs 18 14
Rushes-Yards 25-119 47-184
Passing 18-30-3 4-9-0
Passing yards 219 63
Total yards 338 247
Punts N/A 4-23.0
Fumbles-lost 2-0 4-0
Penalties 7-65 5-45
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – Burlingame: Cain 18-85, Middleton 2-16 Moon 4-10, Aguilar 1-8. Madison: Leiser 23-107, Grimmett 20-69, Smith 3-16, Colter Luthi 1-(-8).
RECEIVING – Burlingame: Skirvin 9-89, Moon 5-67, Aguilar 2-43, Middleton 1-12, Ryan Davidson 1-8. Madison: Dean 2-58, Yowell 1-3, Smith 1-1.
PASSING – Burlingame: Cain 17-29-3 197, Skirvin 1-1-0 22. Madison: Grimmett 4-9-0 63.