Oregon 14, Burlington Central 6
There were only so many chances Burlington Central's defense could give the Rockets' offense.
The overworked unit forced a pair of turnovers late in Friday night's game against Oregon, and forced the Hawks to punt on another possession, but the offense could never capitalize. Oregon finally wore down the Rockets and took a 14-6 Big Northern Conference crossover game on Rocket Hill.
"The main goal for the defense is to get the ball back for the offense to score," said Rockets defensive end Bryan Bell, who recovered a fumble. "We did our job, but it wasn't enough. The outcome wasn't what we wanted."
Freshman cornerback Tim Maroder picked off Oregon starter Ryan McWethy to give the Rockets (2-2) the ball back with 8:54 in the game. Leading 8-6, Oregon held Central to a 3-and-out, despite giving up 5 yards on an offside penalty. Central's previous possession -- generated by Bell's fumble recovery -- ended similarly.
The Hawks (3-1) took full advantage of their next possession, when Rudy Castillo (10 carries, 106 yards) scored from 12 yards out to put Oregon up 14-6 with 4:25 remaining. Maroder made his second big play of the fourth quarter when he blocked the Hawks' extra point attempt to keep Central within one possession.
The touchdown came on Oregon's 27th offensive play of the second half. The Hawks out-gained the Rockets 174-14 in the second half.
"Overall on defense, we played OK," Central coach Aaron Wichman said. "We need to get better at not letting opposing offenses on the field for so long. I don't ever think we established much momentum."
The biggest boost Central got came when quarterback Dan Hagberg (14 carries, 39 yards) hit running back Jason Wagner (9 rushes, 37 yards) on a fade route with 55 seconds left in the first half. The bomb brought Central down to the Oregon 5-yard line, which set up Wagner's touchdown a play later. Prior to the pass, Hagberg was 2-for-5 for 29 yards on the season. He finished Friday night 3-for-6 for 52 yards.
Oregon scored on its opening drive after the Hawks used 8 different running backs to drive 66-yards in 11 plays. The drive was capped off when Nick Snyder (15 carries, 85 yards) barreled in from a yard out with 1:50 left in the first quarter. Castillo wiggled past the Rockets' defense for the 2-point conversion.
Penelties played their part in aiding the Rockets' loss. Central was whistled 10 times for 71 yards in the game. The most costly came when Hagberg's kickoff return led Central to its 47-yard line, but a block in the back pinned the Rockets at their own 10. Central ended the drive by punting.
"Once we didn't have the momentum in our favor, I don't know if we did enough to get it back," Hagberg said.