Athletes of the Week: Burlingame’s Charlie Koch, Xavier Bruening, Sohail Erekat and Abe Haba

That intensity was on full display Friday night as undefeated Burlingame took down Terra Nova 35-14 at Gray Stadium. The Panthers’ pass rush was consistently in the Tigers’ backfield, where they got to quarterback Dominic Gordon for 11 sacks in the game.

“I think as the game went on, because we had so many things developing from so many different places, they just couldn’t stop us,” Dozier said.

Here’s a roll call of the four-man front composing the Burlingame defensive line — the four seniors have been named Daily Journal Athletes of the Week — 5-11, 185-pound defensive tackle Sohail Erekat; 5-10, 260-pound defensive tackle Xavier Bruening; 6-1, 175-pound defensive end Charlie Koch; and 6-4, 180-pound defensive end Abe Haba.

Burlingame is off to a 7-0 start this year, including 2-0 in Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division play. The defense has surrendered an average of 9.7 points per game.

“Our defense is lights out,” Haba said. “It’s really been every game we bring it.”

The four-man defensive line is close as can be. Koch and Haba have been with each other every step of the way since arriving at Burlingame in 2018. The two played junior-varsity football together as freshmen and were both called up to varsity the same week midway through their sophomore seasons.

Bruening and Erekat have quickly struck a balance of power and speed. Bruening is in his fourth year with the Burlingame varsity squad. He was called up during for the Central Coast Section playoffs as a freshman and has been with the team ever since. Erekat is a transfer from Leland-San Jose but grew up in Burlingame and has plenty of history with his Burlingame brethren on the defensive line.

Bruening led Friday’s pass rush, totaling 3 1/2 sacks, Koch added 1 1/2 sacks, Erekat had one and Haba tallied a half sack. But the chemistry of the four working in tandem opened the lanes for the linebackers and defensive backs to add to the pressure schemes.

“We’ll put our ends out wide and we’ll have them crash into the A gap,” Bruening said. “It’s quite a trek but if they get there, they’re able to make a play, and they’re able to open it up for everyone else. It’s a team effort out there.”

The quartet came close to not getting to take the field as a unit, though, as Koch suffered a dislocated finger on Burlingame’s opening possession. Also a wide receiver, the senior had a dropped pass 30 yards up field on a crisp fastball from quarterback Ryan Kall. The play wouldn’t have counted anyway as Burlingame was flagged for holding, a penalty that was declined.

The reason Koch dropped the attempt, though, was because the pass broke his finger. That didn’t stop him from returning to the field just two plays later.

“I popped it back in during the punt and was back in for the first defensive drive,” Koch said.

And he and his fellow Panthers immediately went on the prowl in the Terra Nova backfield.

Four plays into the Tigers’ first possession, Burlingame tabbed back-to-back sacks, one by blitzing defensive back Will Uhrich, followed by a straight shot by Bruening to force a punt. The Panthers turned the ball right back around for a score to go up 7-0. Then the defense produced a quick three-and-out, capped by a third-down sack by Bruening.

“I’ve always been an aggressive guy on defense,” Dozier said. “Pressure always leads to other things. Pressure leads to turnovers. It’s all about getting the ball back.”

That pressure stems from the intensity Dozier preaches to his defensive unit. The Panthers refer to it as the 9-5-9 which is code for swarming the ball.

“Nine hats within five yards of the ball 90% of the time,” Erekat said.

It’s a philosophy Burlingame executes with gusto.

“There isn’t a single play our intensity isn’t up for [Dozier],” Erekat said.

Friday’s performance was a career night and, as head coach John Philipopoulos said following the game, one of the great pass-rushing games of his 21 years as Burlingame’s head coach.

As for Koch’s finger, it hasn’t kept him off the field — save from that one punt play — though he did admit he is, for the time being, sipping beverages with his pinky extended “like the British.”

“I was making catches today,” Koch said after Monday’s practice. “So, it’s fine.”