Burlingame falls short

"I'm glad this one is over," offered Head Coach of the Mustangs Mark Krail. "We faced a good Burlingame team tonight. (Panther Head Coach) Gilmore had his guys ready, and they came to play."

Coach Krail may have thought the Panthers (10-1)were playing too well, after Burlingame's Brad Smith intercepted quarterback Tim Scheffer's fourth pass of the game and returned it to the Pioneer twenty-nine yard line. Fullback Joe Bernardini finished the drive with a 2-yard TD run that gave Burlingame a 7-0 lead.

From that point on it was a battle of the trenches. Running backs from both sides tried to find the gaps created by their offensive lines, or else met defenders that would have none of it. Pioneer's offensive line would have the decisive edge on the Mustang's first offensive touchdown. Fullback Kyle Terry ran for 20 yards on two carries, while speedy Matt Mallon ran for 34, including a 23-yard touchdown scamper that put the game at 7-7.

The defensive line of Pioneer also began to show it's edge over the Panther offensive line. Burlingame ran for 258 yards last week in it's historic 24-21 victory over San Mateo High, but managed less than ten total yards in this week's game. The Little Big Game's star, Adam Monte, ran for -1 yard, and Joe Bernardini, a powerful fullback who uses his shoulder like a shovel to scoop pesky tacklers out of his way, managed only 20 yards on four carries.

"Our offensive line was being beaten off the line," surmised Burlingame assistant coach Doug Dressler. "We thought the lines matched up pretty well coming in. But they won this game in the weight room. They were just stronger than us."

Despite the disparity, the Panthers defense gave up yardage grudgingly, and it wasn't until midway through the third quarter that Pioneer scored the go-ahead touchdown. On 3rd-and-13, Scheffer threw a pass to the endzone that was tipped by the outstretched fingertips of the defender. However, receiver Jeremy Lowery made an exquisite diving catch of the misdirected ball. It was 'restaurant-quality,' as Kenny Mayne of SportsCenter might say.

The Panther's comeback effort now lay in the hands of Peter Chigos, who replaced Kenny Bodwen as quarterback after Bowden injured his hand at the end of the first half. Chigos had three receptions for 52 yards before the Bowden injury, but he started 10 games at quarterback last season for a Bay League team, so he had experience at the position. But Chigos barely had time to look downfield before Mustang defenders came at him like a jailbreak to sack him six times for -31 yards. Burlingame's last breath of life, with less than a minute remaining and 84 yard to the endzone, vanished when a fake punt was unsuccessfully attempted.

Pioneer will face the winner of today's Seaside Vs San Lorenzo matchup.

One game does not ruin the accomplishments of the Panthers, however, according to the CCS. Due to it's 10-0 regular season record, Burlingame, along with Capuchino High, will move into the more competitive Bay Division of the Pacific Athletic League next season. Will they be able to compete with Bay teams? "Oh yeah," assured Dressler. "We have a lot of Juniors on this team, who will be returning next year. And they are a super bunch of kids."<