Burlington Central 46, N. Boone 7
POPLAR GROVE -- On Burlington Central's first play from scrimmage Friday night, Dan Hagberg ran 87 yards for a touchdown, racing untouched up the sideline. The Rockets' senior quarterback never really stopped running, scoring 6 touchdowns as the Rockets throttled North Boone, 46-6, in Big Northern East action in Poplar Grove.
Hagberg also scored on runs of 56, 30, 41 and 18 yards, and returned a punt 55 yards for his final score. The 6 touchdowns tied the school record set last year by Jason Wagner.
The Rockets (5-2, 3-0) became playoff eligible with the win.
With Wagner on the sideline on crutches cheering him on, Hagberg carried the load for the Rockets, finishing with 264 rushing yards in 3 quarters of play. Max Kling added 78 yards and the Rockets' final touchdown as Central, which travels to rival Hampshire next week, finished with 441 yards on the ground.
"There was great blocking from the line," said Hagberg. "They were knocking down two guys. Everyone was on the ground. I really didn't get touched."
"He's fast and he found the crease six times tonight," Central coach Aaron Wichman said of Hagberg. "Once he gets going, you can't catch him.
"It's option so we just read what teams will give us. Tonight his read was telling him to keep it quite a bit, so that's just how the game played out."
The Rockets punted on their second possession, which started with Kevin Kellish's goal-line interception. But on their third possession, they moved 90 yards for a score. Hagberg covered the last 56 in one play. After a great fake to fullback Greg Dickson he raced around right end and scampered up the sideline.
The Vikings answered with a long play of their own, as Angelo Johnson broke several tackles and raced 70 yards for a score. But Hagberg responded with a 30-yarder just before halftime.
Hagberg and the Rockets broke the game wide open in the third quarter, scoring 3 more times. Kling finished the scoring on a 29-yard run in the fourth-quarter.
North Boone fell to 2-5, 1-2.
Viking quarterback Alex Beck kept his team in the game, completing 12 of 22 for 96 yards. However, he passed for just 6 yards in 4 second-half completions. With the Vikings' running game ineffective, the Rockets' pass rushers were able to tee off on Beck, sacking him 5 times.