By Ernie W. Webb III OLPE – As the buzzer sounded ending the third quarter, Jeff Slater yelled, “One quarter! One more quarter!” as his team jogged to the bench. One more quarter to history, which became reality eight minutes later when the Burlingame girls knocked off St. Paul 44-39 in a Class 1A Division […]
Burlingame girls continue to make history, advance to school’s first state tournament Read More »
By Ernie W. Webb III OLPE – Survive and advance. That’s the name of the game in March, and the fourth-ranked Burlingame girls lived it Friday night during the semifinals of a Class 1A Division I sub-state. The Bearcats (19-2) trailed Madison most of the night and didn’t take the lead for good until the
Burlingame girls rally to reach sub-state title game Read More »
By Ernie W. Webb III OLPE — Dane Winters was begging for the ball with the clock running down. He clapped his hands as forward Lance Noonan spun to his left, took one dribble and passed the ball to him behind the 3-point line and eight feet from the baseline. With one second left, Winters
Winters’ 3-pointer sends Burlingame to sub-state title game Read More »
As I walked into the locker room after another double-digit loss on a frigid January night in 1998, I was angry. It was clear that my junior varsity team just wasn’t good. We were young, with mostly freshmen, and everybody we played rolled sophomores and even juniors onto the court. I kept my cool with
Burlingame girls erase decades of despair with first LCL championship Read More »
By Ernie W. Webb III NEWTON – Meade has a rich tradition as an 11-man power, winning state championships in 2A in 1972 and 1980 and 2-1A in 2010 and 2012. Now the Buffaloes are at the top of the mountain in Eight-Man Division I. Meade (13-0) built an early lead against defending state champion
Meade holds off Little River for first Eight-Man crown Read More »
By Ernie W. Webb III MADISON – Little River and Madison are storied programs with multiple state titles and a long history of making deep runs in the playoffs. That set the stage for a heavyweight slugfest Friday night in the sectional finals of Eight-Man Division I. The game lived up to the hype, as
Little River rallies late, tops Madison in sectional finals Read More »
By Ernie W. Webb III LITTLE RIVER – Burlingame endured about a decade’s worth of adversity this season, battling through turmoil off the field, a school-wide COVID quarantine and a sluggish start of the season. They had to handle more Friday night when quarterback/linebacker Colby Middleton and linebacker Timmy Roberts were injured in the first
Burlingame pushes Little River to the limit in regional title game Read More »
By Ernie W. Webb III BURLINGAME – As Trent Spiker’s pass floated into the end zone, Burlingame’s Kris Hovestadt positioned himself in front of Braden Simmons, bracing for an interception. Hovestadt wasn’t about to let the Bearcats lose on Senior Night, wrapping his arms around the ball and pulling it away from Simmons as they
With improbable comeback, Burlingame secures home playoff game Read More »
By Ernie W. Webb III Most teams that play Olpe before the state tournament wilt early and are buried by the well-oiled, fundamental program that longtime coach Jesse Nelson has built. If nothing else, Burlingame didn’t wilt after an early Eagles barrage. Unfortunately for the Bearcats, it wasn’t enough in Saturday’s Class 1A Division I
Burlingame finishes season with loss to Olpe in sub-state title game Read More »
By Ernie W. Webb III The blueprint wasn’t as easy as it looked, but Little River executed it almost perfectly during a dazzling run from district runner-up to state champion in Eight-Man Division I. The formula included plenty of star power in quarterback Jayden Garrison and fullback/sometimes quarterback Graham Stephens, a bruising offensive line and
Little River caps magical run, rolls past Wichita County for state title Read More »
