BURLINGAME — “What are you doing?!” “Are we going to get off the ball tonight?!” “Start being pissed off all the time!” “Take care of business!” “When are you going to start believing in yourself?!”
Ah, the sounds of fall on Friday nights in Burlingame. For a new group of Bearcats, it’s a rite of passage to hear the phrases above from the sidelines as a veteran coaching staff pushes them to live up to lofty expectations set by the legendary group they followed.
Following in those footsteps will be no easy task. In the previous four years, Burlingame won 41 games, captured three Lyon County League titles and reached the state semifinals three times.
Gone from those teams are a slew of all-staters, a group that took the Bearcats from decades of misery to prominence. They laid the foundation for one of the best teams in eight-man football, and now the next wave steps into their rather large shoes.
As much as anything, the coaching staff (Jeff Slater, Eric West and Nick Brungardt, along with folks like Jim Cauthon and Austin Masters) and the group that built Burlingame football established a culture that you can’t win without.
That culture will serve the current team, one loaded with underclassmen, well as it navigates a difficult district featuring arguably the best team in Eight-Man I (Madison) and three other teams returning a plethora of starters (Lebo, Maranatha Academy, Chase County).
The green Bearcats (2-0) should stock up on confidence early in the season thanks to a favorable schedule, including Friday night’s 58-22 rout of Crest in a game that easily could have been over early in the third quarter.
Though the second half was sloppy after Burlingame roared to a 42-0 lead, Slater played a ton of backups in the final two quarters. Developing that depth with be critical moving forward this year and beyond.
What the Bearcats have done is turn the corner. The program is sturdy and will be as long as the players and community continue to crave and earn success.
Another large crowed filled up the west sideline Friday and saw what it’s seen virtually every week for four years: Burlingame dominated early and never looked back.
Despite losing two fumbles in the first six minutes, the Bearcats led 12-0 on a 40-yard touchdown run by Kris Hovestadt and a 2-yard run by Kade Kline, the latest in a series of tough, solid quarterbacks in the program.
The lead grew to 20-0 on a 43-yard punt return for a score by Hovestadt late in the first and swelled to 42-0 by halftime after a 33-yard touchdown pass from Kline to Austin Tyson, 15-yard run by Colby Middleton and a 12-yard jaunt from Chandler Davidson.
After being stifled in first half, Crest took advantage of opportunity to play much of the second half against the second-team defense, scoring three times. But the Bearcats tacked on two more scores, on runs from Kline and Wyatt Ledom, and threatened to end the game on the 45-point rule throughout the half.
Ledom led Burlingame with 91 yards on 15 carries, Kline had 48 yards and Middleton 46 yards. The Bearcats had 277 total yards, including 244 rushing on 38 attempts.
Caleb Nolan paced the Lancers with 57 yards on nine carries.
BURLINGAME 58, CREST 22
Crest 0 0 8 14 — 22
Burlingame 20 22 8 8 — 58
B — Hovestadt 40 run (Pass failed)
B — Kline 2 run (Run failed)
B — Hovestadt 43 punt return (Tyson pass from Kline)
B — Tyson 33 pass from Kline (Ledom run)
B — Middleton 15 run (Pass failed)
B — Davidson 12 run (Kline run)
C — Coleman 1 run (Beckmon pass from Coleman)
B — Kline 26 run (Kline run)
C — Nolan 15 run (Pass failed)
B — Ledom 4 run (Quaney pass from Kline)
C — Beckmon 6 run (Hermreck pass from Coleman)
Crest Burlingame
First downs 10 16
Rushes-Yds 40-132 38-244
Passing Yards 58 33
Passing 7-15–1 1-3-0
Penalties 6-39 6-45
Fumbles-Lost 5-1 5-3
Punting 3-23.3 0-0
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Crest: Nolan 9-57, Beckmon 11-33, Coleman 15-30, McGhee 4-13, Hermreck 1-(-1). Burlingame: Ledom 15-91, Kline 10-48, Middleton 9-46, Hovestadt 1-40, Davidson 2-22, Young 1-(-3).
RECEIVING — Crest: Hermreck 1-23, McGhee 2-20, Beckmon 2-5, Miller 1-9, Nolan 1-1. Burlingame: Tyson 1-33.
PASSING — Crest: Coleman 5-9-0 51, Hermreck 2-4-1 7, McGhee 0-2-1 0. Burlingame: Kline 1-3-0 33.