Panthers dominant against Palo Alto

The Panthers did fumble six times and committed two turnovers on Friday, but it hardly disrupted the team's machine-like performance. They were that good. Drew Shiller completed 13 of 19 passes for 245 yards and three touchdowns, Gabe Weisbarth rushed for 143 yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns, and Brandon Cervelli had three receptions for 98 yards and one score.

The Burlingame defense delivered a tour de force, relegating Palo Alto's highly-touted quarterback Nathan Ford to a subpar 7 of 22, 93-yard effort. Ford was also picked off three times, two by Marcus Herrera and one by Cervelli.

The Panthers' Julian Strickland and Cody Simmons pressured Ford on countless occasions, while Nick Sims and Ray Rover helped stuff the Palo Alto running game, which totaled just 43 yards on 18 carries. Linebackers Mike Mutto, Jon McDonnell and Julius Vimahi, along with the ball-hawking secondary of Herrera, Cervelli and Nick Buckley, limited the Vikings to just 136 yards of total offense.

The Burlingame offense, meanwhile, looked unstoppable, totaling a whopping 458 yards (245 passing, 213 rushing). Offensive lineman such as Andrew Miller, Keaton Nasser, Rocco Saucedo and Sam Essalat opened up Jupiter-sized holes and gave Shiller ample time to throw.

"The offensive line started it all," Shiller said. "And the defense was incredible. This is the best the defense has played in the last three years."

Added Weisbarth: "I have to give a shout out to my O-line. They just tore it up."

Burlingame never trailed and scored on its second drive when Weisbarth ran for a 1-yard touchdown late in the opening quarter. The drive was highlighted by a highlight-reel, 30-yard run by Rodney Hampton (seven carries, 42 yards), who spun and juked three Palo Alto defenders down the right side before finally being taken down.

Burlingame all but put things away in the opening minute of the fourth quarter when Shiller connected with Jimmy O'Leary for an 18-yard touchdown to make it 28-6. The Panthers' punctuated things when Shiller hooked up with Cervelli for a 52-yard touchdown that made it 35-6 with1:01 remaining. The play was a Burlingame special: Shiller rolls out, a receiver gets wide open over the middle and the next destination is the end zone.

Two of O'Leary's three receptions went for scores. How's this for balance? Six different Burlingame players had receptions, while five different Panthers had positive rushing yardage.

No one exemplified Burlingame's team effort better then Weisbarth, who fumbled two times in the first half in Palo Alto territory, including a critical giveaway at the Vikings' 1-yard-line on the game's opening drive. The 5-10, 190-pound junior more than made up for the miscues, carrying 11 times in the second half, often sustaining long Burlingame drives with punishing runs.

"I had to redeem myself," he said. "I felt bad that I gave the ball away so I just wanted to contribute and help the team. I've always liked the physical play."

Philipopoulos couldn't have been prouder of his team, saying the players displayed heart, grit and determination.

"After what happened last year and last week, we had something to prove," he said. "The guys did exactly what we preached all week - play as a team, team, team. That's how you get it done."