By Ernie W. Webb III
LYNDON – After weeks of big games and trudging through one of the toughest districts in the history of Eight-Player Division I, Burlingame was due for an off night on Friday. It didn’t help that the Bearcats closed the regular season a week after wrapping up league and district championships while securing a No. 1 seed in the state playoffs.
That’s a long way of saying Burlingame didn’t quite have the edge it’s played with all season – at least for a half – in climbing to No. 2 in the state rankings. That half, a critical turnover and a late Lyndon surge was the formula for an upset, as the Tigers edged the Bearcats 60-59 in a wild affair.
“We just didn’t play with the same energy early as we have,” said Burlingame coach Jeff Slater, whose team hosts Flinthills on Thursday in the opening round of the postseason. “Lyndon is too good … you’ve got to be ready every single week in this district. What a great win for Lyndon, though. Hat’s off to them.”
The Bearcats (7-1, 4-1 in District 2) modified their offense a bit for the matchup, but didn’t miss a beat. Despite relying less on the physical running of quarterback Colby Middleton, they piled up nearly 450 yards and only punted once. While he didn’t run nearly as much as usual in the first half, Middleton had a big night through the air with 200 yards and three touchdowns.
“What we missed with Colby is his ability to wear down a defense,” Slater said. “We ran him more in the second half, but we relied more on some other guys tonight, and they stepped up. Dane Winters had a big game. We were able to show our versatility tonight.”
Winters has had a strong season, but Friday night’s effort might prove to be his breakout game at running back. The sophomore had 259 total yards, including more than 125 rushing and receiving, and opened the shootout with a 62-yard touchdown pass from Middleton a little more than a minute after kickoff.
That long score launched a high-scoring game that went back and forth all night. The Tigers (6-2, 3-2) countered with a bruising ground attack that the Bearcats struggled to stop. In the first half alone, Lyndon had 188 yards rushing on just 18 carries, including touchdowns of 44 (Jackson Biggs), 12 (Evan Feuerborn) and 10 (Carson Croucher) yards.
“We struggled with their physicality tonight, especially in the first half,” Slater said. “I was proud of the kids in the second half. I thought we were much better and stepped up to the challenge on defense in the second half. And I don’t think we really made any adjustments. They stepped up, but we just didn’t get it done late.”
Burlingame has done a masterful job of protecting the ball all season, avoiding a single turnover during the first seven games. But the Bearcats first – and only – one of the regular season was critical. Trailing 24-23 in the second quarter, Burlingame fumbled in the end zone. Lyndon’s Caleb Anschutz recovered, giving the Tigers a 30-23 edge.
Despite that miscue and allowing a score with 1:19 remaining in the half to trail 38-31, Burlingame played the second half with the edge that seemed to be missing in the opening two quarters. Middleton’s powerful running took hold in the third quarter, and his pair of 7-yard touchdown runs pulled the Bearcats within 46-45.
Burlingame surged ahead in the fourth on Matthew Heckman’s 12-yard jaunt, then the Bearcats came up with a rare stop (there were only three punts between the two teams) on Lyndon’s next possession when a fourth-down pass was incomplete. Middleton pushed the lead to 59-46 with a 31-yard run at the 6:28 mark.
“The defense made some plays and got a few stops, and Colby got it going running in the second half,” Slater said. “But we just couldn’t come up with the stop we needed at the end. It hurts, but, hopefully, we can take some things from this game moving into the playoffs.”
Lyndon wasted little time answering, driving 64 yards in nine plays in less than 90 seconds. A Biggs-to-Feuerborn pass from 16 yards out to cut the deficit to 59-52 with 5:03 remaining. The Bearcats picked up a first down on their next series, but a sack on third-and-12 forced a punt.
The Tigers got the ball back at their own 27 after a 24-yard return by Jalen Massey, then marched 53 yards to pull within 59-58. During the possession, Lyndon converted on a fourth-and-6 from the 15, then scored on a 2-yard toss from Biggs to Casten Wirth with 8.5 seconds left.
On the two-point conversion, Massey bobbled the snap and was hit twice in the backfield, but managed to batter his way into the end zone through several tackle attempts, reaching the ball across the goal line for the lead.
Thanks in large part to an unsportsmanlike conduct (one of 23 penalties between the teams in a game marred and slowed by a slew a flags), Burlingame had good field position after a squib kick. The Bearcats got to the 23 with less than a second left but missed a 40-yard field goal attempt as time expired.
Winters had six receptions for 132 yards and rushed for 127 yards on 16 carries, while Middleton had 299 total yards (200 passing, 99 rushing). The Bearcats had 446 yards and 20 first downs.
Biggs threw for 170 yards and rushed for 52, and Feuerborn had 132 total yards (82 rushing, 50 receiving) for the Tigers. Massey added 103 yards, including 80 rushing, and Wirth 54 receiving. Lyndon had 418 yards and 22 first downs.
The Tigers open the playoffs Thursday at West Elk (8-0, 5-0 in District 1).
LYNDON 60, BURLINGAME 59
Burlingame 15 16 14 14 — 59
Lyndon 16 22 8 14 — 60
First Quarter
BHS – Dane Winters 62 pass from Colby Middleton (Jose Arrevalo kick)
LHS – Casten Wirth 8 pass from Jackson Biggs (Evan Feuerborn run)
BHS – Matthew Heckman 7 pass from Middleton (Heckman pass from Middleton)
LHS – Biggs 44 run (Jalen Massey run)
Second Quarter
BHS – Winters 9 pass from Middleton (Roman Bayless pass from Middleton)
LHS – Feuerborn 12 run (Daxten Miller pass from Biggs)
LHS – Caleb Anschutz fumble recovery in end zone (Pass failed)
BHS – Winters 4 run (Timmy Roberts pass from Middleton)
LHS – Carson Croucher 10 run (Wirth pass from Massey)
Third Quarter
BHS – Middleton 7 run (Winters pass from Middleton)
LHS – Biggs 5 run (Massey run)
BHS – Middleton 7 run (Pass failed)
Fourth Quarter
BHS – Heckman 12 run (Pass failed)
BHS – Middleton 31 run (Winters pass from Middleton)
LHS – Feuerborn 16 pass from Biggs (Run failed)
LHS – Wirth 2 pass from Biggs (Massey run)
GAME IN FIGURES
BHS LHS
First downs 20 22
Rushes-Yards 37-246 34-248
Passing 12-17-0 19-31-0
Passing yards 200 170
Total yards 446 418
Punts 1-35 2-25.0
Fumbles-lost 2-1 1-1
Penalties 11-100 12-95
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – Burlingame: Winters 16-127, Middleton 17-99, Heckman 3-22, J.D. Tyson 1-(-2). Lyndon: Feuerborn 12-82, Massey 14-80, Biggs 3-52, Ethen Ramey 2-24, Croucher 3-10.
RECEIVING – Burlingame: Winters 6-132, Roberts 2-33, Bayless 1-25, Heckman 3-16. Lyndon: Wirth 7-54, Feuerborn 6-50, Ben Detwiler 2-30, Massey 3-23, Ramey 1-13.
PASSING – Burlingame: Middleton 12-15-0 200, Tyson 0-2-0. Lyndon: 19-31-0 170.