Burlington rolls over Marengo
Burlington Central may not have had the season it wanted.
But Rockets' senior Tre Llanes certainly had the finish he was looking for. Llanes rushed for 178 yards on only 9 carries and found the end zone 4 times as Central thrashed Marengo 57-0 on Senior Night at Rocket Hill Friday.
The Rockets (3-6, 3-2) won the Big Northern East matchup with a combined 388 yards rushing while limiting Marengo (2-7, 2-3) to 112 total yards of offense.
“No matter what our record is, I had a great time with this team,” Llanes said. “This was my last time and I let it all hang out. The offensive line is amazing.”
Llanes scored 3 of his touchdowns during Central's 30-point first quarter. All of the Rockets ‘ points came during a 6 minute, 47 second stretch.
After Brandon Westergaard (13 carries, 86 yards) punched the ball in from a yard out with 7:47 left in the first quarter, Central quickly got the ball back as Al Willett recovered a fumble by Indians' quarterback Trae Hoeske at the Marengo 16-yard line.
Llanes dashed in from 16 yards out on the next play to extend Central's lead to 12-0. After a 7-play Marengo drive ended with a punt, Llanes again found the end zone, but this time on a 57-yard run with 2:11 left in the first quarter. Westergaard converted the 2-point conversion to extend Central's lead to 20-0.
The defense got into the mix after stopping running back Kris Rosemann in the end zone for a safety. Llanes scored his third touchdown of the first quarter when quarterback Ryan Ritchie and he connected on a 16-yard pass on the first play from scrimmage. Ritchie added the 2-point conversion to give Central a 30-0 advantage with a minute left in the first quarter.
“That was a pretty impressive showing by our seniors,” Rockets' coach Aaron Wichman said. “It was the best we could do to send off our seniors.”
Ritchie (6 rushes, 68 yards) gave Central a 38-0 lead at halftime after dashing in from 23 yards out with 3:05 left in the first half. Llanes punched in the 2-point conversion.
The senior then added a 75-yard sprint into the end zone to kick off the second half and make it a running clock with a 45-0 Central lead. Michael Kellenberg and Westergaard each added touchdown runs in the second half.
“Tre gives it everything he's got,” Wichman said. “He plays with a lot of emotion. The last few weeks with Tre and Brandon running the ball, it's been pretty special.”