Morris too big, strong for Burlington
MORRIS -- Burlington Central's first foray into the Class 5A state playoffs against one of the state's traditional football powers went about how it should have Friday night.
The Rockets put up a good fight on a wet, muddy field and stayed within two touchdowns of the 2005 Class 6A champs into the third quarter, but Morris dominated both sides of the line of scrimmage and out-gained the Rockets 408 yards to 80 to earn a clear-cut 41-12 first-round victory on its home field.
Junior running back Adam Tondini rushed for 174 yards and 2 touchdowns on 13 carries and senior Zach Thetard caught 1 touchdown pass and intercepted a Central pass for a touchdown return.
Morris advances to face the winner of today's matchup between Rochelle and Chicago Harper.
"This was our indoctrination to 5A football," Central coach Aaron Wichman said "We even talked before the game with the guys was that we should use this game as a learning opportunity to see what it's like to play a great 5A program, the kind of place where the whole town supports the team.
"This is what we aspire to be, to be a better program every year. This shows us that next year we have to get bigger, stronger and faster."
No. 5 Morris (8-2) looked like it would make quick work of No 12 Burlington Central (6-4) when it jumped to a 20-0 lead through nine minutes.
Tondini capped a 3-play drive and scored on a 23-yard run to open the scoring less than 90 seconds into the game.
Central's Dan Hagberg intercepted Drew Hanson's pass on Morris' next possession, giving the Rockets great field position at the Morris 33-yard line.
However, 3 plays later Hagberg, Central's quarterback, attempted to throw a 15-yard down-and-out on third-and-8, but Thetard had the play timed perfectly.
He jumped the route, picked off the pass, tiptoed to stay in bounds, made two tacklers miss and he raced 78 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown that made it 13-0 Morris with 6:08 left in the first quarter.
"I was playing behind the receiver, just stalking," Thetard said. "I saw the throw just as someone crushed their quarterback. I got the ball and was just gone."
Trailing 20-0 after a 23-yard touchdown run by Stephen Wagner, Central finally cracked the scoreboard with 2:31 left in the first quarter. Hagberg fumbled at the 1-yard line after a 3-yard carry, but offensive lineman Matt VanAcker alertly recovered in the end zone.
The score was set up by a 31-yard return from Drew Halstead, who was hit by a squib kick and returned the ball to the Morris 4-yard line.
Central maintained hope after Greg Dickson powered the ball in for a 6-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal with three seconds left in the first half to cut the deficit to 27-12.
"That score by Greg was huge," Hagberg said. "It really put the momentum in our favor going into the half."
But Morris took momentum back and sealed the game for all intents and purposes on its first drive of the third quarter. After forcing a Burlington punt, the Redskins drove 83 yards in 13 plays, taking 6:57 off the clock. On that drive they converted a risky fourth-and-1 at their own 26-yard line and converted 2 third down plays before Tondini capped the march with a 6-yard run for a 34-12 lead.
"You have to give them credit," said Central linebacker Curt Mastio. "Obviously, this is not what you want in you last game as a senior with this result on the scoreboard. But it was a fun season. We'll take a lot of good memories from it."