Badger steamrolls previously undefeated Burlington, clinches playoff berth for 19th consecutive season
There are wins and then there's "statement wins," and that's exactly what the Badger football team earned Friday night, Sept. 27, absolutely dominating previously undefeated Burlington to come away with a 54-14 victory.
Badger moves to 5-1 overall and 4-0 in the Southern Lakes Conference. This win by the Badgers also ensures that they will be playing in the playoffs for the 19th consecutive season. Absurd.
"This was a really, really good night for us," Badger head football coach Matt Hensler said. "To take a step forward in the conference championship hunt is a big deal, especially against a quality team like Burlington. Sometimes the score can be whatever, but they're (Burlington) a really talented football team and they're very well coached."
The Badgers' started things off in the first quarter with a 6-yard touchdown run by junior quarterback Matt O'Grady, and that happened to be just the first of many in the game by O'Grady and his team.
Following a 60-yard touchdown run by Burlington senior Kade Boyd on the ensuing possession, it was off and running for the Badger offense.
Logan Levitt (junior) added a 44-yard touchdown run later in the first to retake the lead and never look back.
The second quarter was all about big runs for the Badgers. Senior running back Ryan McCarthy bulldozed his way through a hole paved by the Badger offensive line and ran it in for a 70-yard touchdown.
On their very next possession, O'Grady broke at least three tackles and ran away from the Demon defense in the open field for an 83-yard touchdown run.
What was just a one a one possession (14-7) game at the end of the first quarter was suddenly 27-7 at the end of the half.
In the Triple-Option, Flexbone type offense that Badger runs, the quarterback doesn't get to or really need the opportunity to throw the ball that often, especially when your offense rushes for 444 yards in the game.
But O'Grady, who hasn't thrown more than five passes in a game all season, got to sling it around a little bit in the third quarter and made the most of it. He first thew a 28-yard touchdown pass junior Brock Walser, which was then followed up with a 48-yard touchdown pass to junior Logan Peters to make it a 40-14 game.
Hensler said that they're improving in the pass game, and suffice it to say, O'Grady is pretty excited.
"It feels great now," O'Grady said. "Hopefully we're able to throw it a little bit more, but we'll see."
O'Grady had three rushes for 96 yards and two touchdowns, while passing for 90-yards and two touchdowns. He finished with 186 all-purpose yards and four total touchdowns.
"We went into the week knowing they're (Burlington) a good team and we practiced really well all week," O'Grady said. "In this game, the line stepped up and you can tell that when we practice really well that week, we can kick some butt."
Badger added two more touchdowns late in the fourth, with a 7-yard touchdown run by senior Alec Welch and a 2-yard score by senior Jack Norton to secure the 40-point victory.
"There's tons of leaders on this team and the offensive line continues to get better, which is helping the backs get better" O'Grady said. "If they're good, we're good."
Since Badgers 36-33 non-conference loss to Slinger in the second week of the season, Badger has been really good, and Hensler is proud of the team's progression and his quarterback.
"He (O'Grady) has a ton of experience, but we had to get him the quarterback stuff and it's such a different deal," Hensler said. "There's so much more responsibility and he's handling it well. We're nowhere near where we need to be, but he's doing a really good job and he's doing some things extremely well. I'm super proud of our guys."
Badger had an insane 534 total yards of offense, and the defense held Burlington to just 236 total yards.
Along with O'Grady's exceptional game at quarterback, McCarthy was just as fantastic at the running back spot. He had 18 rushes for 180 yards and one touchdown. That tandem of O'Grady and McCarthy finished with 366 yards of total offense, nearly 70% of the total offense by the team.
Levitt had four carries for 54 yards and one touchdown, senior quarterback Zach Walton had four rushes for 32 yards and senior running back Alec Welch had three carries for 21 yards. Senior Tyler Gil also added 21 yards on just two carries.
Walser finished a 28-yard touchdown reception and had 10 yards rushing on two carries. Senior Haidyn Stinnett had a 13-yard reception and 12 yards rushing. Senior Jonathan Luciano had 10-yards rushing and Norton had 8-yards rushing and one touchdown. Peters had a 49-yard reception and one touchdown.
Next up:
Badger will face off against Elkhorn (2-4, 1-3) in their homecoming game Friday, Oct. 4.
Other games from Friday
Big Foot (1-5, 0-4)
Horicon/Hustisford 41, Big Foot 7.
Big Foot senior quarterback Evan Henningfeld was 3-of-13 for 88 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Owen Smith (junior) tight end Owen Smith had two receptions for 72 yards and one touchdown. Carter Ries (junior) had one reception for 16 yards.
Next up:
Big Foot will host Clinton (2-4, 1-2) for their homecoming game Friday, Oct. 4.
Williams Bay (2-3, 2-2).
Montello 42, Williams Bay 14.
Next up:
Williams Bay will travel to Delafield for their next game against St. John's Northwestern Academies scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 5.
