By Ernie W. Webb III
LEBO – Pure guts. It’s the best way to describe Burlingame’s gritty 36-32 win against a Lebo team loaded with talented underclassmen and gunning to climb the mountain in a Lyon County League recently dominated by the Bearcats and Madison.
Burlingame, now 4-1 overall and 2-0 in district games, overcame an injury to starting quarterback Danny Cain, had a critical goal-line stand late in the first half and didn’t flinch when Lebo surged ahead in the second half.
“Guts, toughness, heart … we had all of that tonight,” said an emotional coach Jeff Slater. “I told the guys at halftime that they just had to find a way, and they did. You can’t replace guts and toughness in football. That’s what the game is all about. I’m so proud of the guys. They got it done.”
In his first year as the starter, Cain has emerged as a star and team leader, often carrying the offense with a balance of quarterback draws and sweeps and efficient passing. But he suffered a leg injury on the opening kickoff and was limited the entire game.
Though hobbled, Cain battled through the pain, rushing for 141 yards and four touchdowns on 24 carries. When his team needed him the most, the senior signal-caller delivered with two scores (one from 17 yards and the other from 5 yards) in the fourth quarter.
“We rely on the quarterback run, and Danny being hurt limited us,” Slater said. “But when Lebo took the lead and we got the ball back, I told him, ‘Be ready, because you’re going back to you.’”
Trailing 26-22 in the closing moments of the third quarter, Cain rushed for 12 yards, hit Brock Moon on a 16-yard pass over the middle, then raced 17 yards for the go-head touchdown one minute into the final period.
Three plays later, Drake Skirvin forced a fumble, setting the Bearcats up at the Lebo 29-yard line. Facing a third-and-22, Burlingame made a perfect play call on a screen to Skirvin, who sprinted 26 yards for a first-and-goal at the 5. Cain scored on the next play for a 36-26 lead with 6:55 remaining.
“I have to give credit to Coach (Austin) Masters,” Slater said. “He said, ‘What about that screen to Drake?’ and that’s what we ran.”
The Wolves (3-2, 1-1) scored on a 5-yard pass from Brock Hadley to Brayden Hopkins with 3:32 left, but Burlingame ran out the clock behind the bruising running of sophomore Blake Middleton, who had carries of 6 and 7 yards to pick up two game-clinching first downs.
“This was the Blake Middleton breakout game,” Slater said. “We relied on him and our offensive line, in particular Brock Moon and Braedyn Burkett, tonight.”
Burlingame had the upper hand most of the first half, building a 22-12 advantage on two touchdowns from Cain (7 and 21 yards) and one from Middleton (1 yard). However, Lebo threatened late in the second quarter, driving to the Bearcats’ 1, where the Wolves had a second-and goal.
Burlingame’s defense stuffed the second-down play for no gain, then Moon smashed Hadley for a 3-yard loss on third down. A fourth-down pass fell incomplete, giving the Bearcats’ a key stop.
“Our seniors, a lot of kids, just made big plays when we needed them tonight,” Slater said. “That goal-line stand was huge.”
Cain finished with 262 total yards (141 rushing, 121 passing), while Skirvin had 105 yards on seven receptions and Middleton 67 yards rushing on 19 carries. Hadley threw for 203 yards and Hopkins had 98 yards on eight receptions.
BURLINGAME 36, LEBO 32
Burlingame 14 8 0 14 — 36
Lebo 12 0 14 6 — 32
First Quarter
BHS – Cain 7 run (Pass failed)
LHS – A. Ferguson 6 run (Run failed)
BHS – Middleton 1 run (Middleton run)
LHS – Grimmett 1 run (Pass failed)
Second Quarter
BHS – Cain 21 run (Cain run)
Third Quarter
LHS – Knight fumble recovery in end zone (Hopkins pass from Hadley)
LHS – J. Edwards 29 pass from Hadley (Run failed)
Fourth Quarter
BHS – Cain 17 run (Pass failed)
BHS – Cain 5 run (Cain run)
LHS – Hopkins 5 pass from Hadley (Pass failed)
GAME IN FIGURES
BHS LHS
First downs 15 9
Rushes-Yards 46-220 16-55
Passing 8-16-1 12-19-0
Passing yards 121 203
Total yards 341 258
Punts N/A 4-32.3
Fumbles-lost 2-1 1-1
Penalties 6-48 5-40
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – Burlingame: Cain 24-141, Middleton 19-67, Skirvin 1-8, Aguilar 2-4. Lebo: Grimmett 10-25, Ferguson 2-25, Plummer 3-5, Hopkins 1-0.
RECEIVING – Burlingame: Skirvin 7-105, Moon 1-16. Lebo: Hopkins 8-98, Konrade 1-59, Edwards 3-46.
PASSING – Burlingame: Cain 8-16-1 121. Lebo: Hadley 12-19-0 203.