Burlingame sacks Terra Nova

“I don’t remember having that many sacks in a game ever,” Burlingame head coach John Philipopoulos said.  “I think that’s credit not only to our defensive ends but our interior defensive line as well. We were getting a good push with our interior guys. We’re fast, we’re athletic, and those guys do a really good job out in space. So, it was a great win for us.”

The Panthers (3-0 PAL Bay, 7-0 overall) were led by senior defensive tackle Xavier Bruening’s three.

“We’ve been working all week practicing pressures,” Bruening said. “Because [defensive coordinator Mike Dozier] does a great job and Coach [Philipopoulos] does a great job drawing up all these different, whacky, people coming from all different angles. And it’s really the scheme that let us get in there. We have great players and we all did a great job, but the scheme was awesome.”

The ground game and big special teams play did the rest for the Panthers, who rushed for 229 yards as a team. Junior running back Danny Hilt led the way in his first varsity start, carrying 10 times for a career-high 116 yards and one touchdown.

Burlingame was dealt a big injury when senior running back Elijah La Guardia couldn’t suit up this week. Junior running back Lukas Habelt was relied upon plenty and produced 94 total yards — 46 rushing and a touchdown and 46 receiving — but it was Hilt who emerged as the workhorse.

“We went exclusively with Danny and it paid off,” Philipopoulos said. “He did a great job. He has just really a great running style — physical, kind of just take what’s there, he had some great balance, he’s a good blocker, he’s only a junior — and we kind of expect more of that as we make our way through the season and beyond.”

The game was contentious through the first half until Burlingame broke it open in the second. A pair of second-quarter turnovers, one by each team, set up the pivotal back and forth in the first half.

Leading 7-0, Burlingame opened the second quarter with a pass play over the middle. But an underthrown pass got tipped up in the air, and Terra Nova cornerback Corey O’Brien came down with the interception to give the Tigers the ball at the Panthers’ 25.

“It gave us the opportunity to get back in the game and we wanted to take advantage of that,” Terra Nova senior Nate Bendo said.

Four plays later, Terra Nova (0-2, 4-2) produced a critical fourth-down conversion with its version of the “The Catch,” as Gordon rolled right, faded back and with a double-pump, lofted up a fading pass off his back foot for O’Brien, who slipped behind the secondary in the end zone for a touchdown catch to tie it 7-7.

Terra Nova’s defense responded with a gritty stop, forcing Burlingame to punt from midfield. But the Panthers turned in the finest of special teams plays when senior Greyson Bosshard chased down the Kall punt as it bounded toward the goal line and slapped it back to allow for Burlingame to down the ball at the Terra Nova 1.

“Our coverage teams have been great, our coverage teams have been great, so we feel really good about our kicking game and that’s something we know we’re going to need as we make our way through the stretch run here,” Philipopoulos said.

On the ensuing play, the Tigers looked to gain some breathing room when Gordon completed a 9-yard pass near the sideline, but Burlingame stripped the ball after the catch and senior linebacker Lou Bruening recovered the fumble at the Terra Nova 13. Four plays later, Burlingame produced a fourth-down conversion of its own as Joey Nawrocki slammed into the end zone on a 4-yard dive to give the Panthers a 14-7 lead.

The Panthers opened the game out of sorts with their first possession going nowhere. Burlingame’s defense stepped up though, greeting the Terra Nova offense with back-to-back sacks, the second courtesy of senior linebacker Will Uhrich, to force a punt and take the ball back at its own 30. And on its second possession, Burlingame got the ball moving. Kevin Sandoval picked up 18 yards with a run across midfield, and Habelt followed with a 10-yard run to the Terra Nova 39.

Kall went to the air on the next play, connecting with Habelt for a 15-yard gain. Two plays later, he hit Uhrich for a 10-yard pickup to the 11. That set up Habelt for an 11-yard scoring run to give the Panthers a 7-0 lead with 4:32 to go in the first quarter.

In the second half, Burlingame chopped down the tree, scoring on each of its first three possessions. An 11-yard scoring run by Habelt made it 21-7 midway through the third quarter; a 17-yard scoring pass from Kall to Uhrich made it 28-7 with 8:47 to play; and Hilt scored on a 4-yard draw to make it 35-7 with 4:35 to go.

Terra Nova finished the night with an impressive touchdown pass from Gordon to O’Brien, as Gordon lofted a timing pass in the corner of the end zone for O’Brien to catch up with in a hurry. The senior showed off his wheels that make him a standout sprinter for the Terra Nova track team and caught up with the throw in stride, leaving his fellow receiver Bendo mysitified as to how he caught up with it.

“I don’t know,” Bendo said. “He’s fast, faster than me. He’s track fast. He’s just fast in general.”

With the win, Burlingame remains one of just two unbeaten teams in PAL Bay Division play. Menlo-Atherton stayed tied atop the league standings Friday with a 56-20 win over Sacred Heart Prep.