HUMBOLDT — Surprisingly, the 2-6 Burlington Wildcats had the Humboldt Cubs on their heels in the first half of their matchup Thursday night. THE SECOND act was a different story.
However, Humboldt’s potent passing attack began to click in the second half, propelling the Cubs to a 48-13.
Humboldt’s win secures a run through Class 3A, District VI at 3-0. The Cubs, 7-2, will open the Class 3A playoffs at home Tuesday against Central Heights.
The final score did not reflect the tension during the first half.
Burlington’s Joe Metzger broke through the line on a quarterback sneak from the Humboldt 1 to put Burlington on top 7-0 midway through the first (readers may notice somewhat vague clock references — Humboldt’s scoreboard was incapacitated for the evening. The referees kept time on wristwatches).
“We were a little sluggish,” Humboldt coach K.B. Criss said. “But Burlington played well in the first half.”
What seemed to be a momentum-building drive for the Cubs ended abruptly when Caleb Vanatta gained 19 yards on a run, but lost the ball via fumble on the same play.
A deflected pass turned into an interception by Burlington’s Lincoln Stuckey ended Humboldt’s next drive.
The Cubs’ stopped the Wildcats, and finally grabbed the momentum.
“I was proud of our kids, that they kept fighting,” Criss said. “I told them, ‘We’re better than this.’”
The passing game heated up for the Cubs late in the second. A couple big receptions from Hunter Murrow and Justin Meins put the Cubs in scoring position. Jacob Carpenter rushed into the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown. A failed kick still left Humboldt down a point, 7-6.
Humboldt’s defense quickly ended Burlington’s next drive, giving Humboldt possession again at their own 17 with about 10 seconds remaining in the half.
Alex Murrow connected with Hunter Murrow on an outside pass. Hunter Murrow broke past the Wildcat defenders and raced to the end zone to end the half with Humboldt on top, 12-7.
Vanatta capped an early Cub drive with a 8-yard touchdown. A Burlington three-and-out led to Vanatta’s next score, a 50-yard touchdown.
“We’ve gotten a lot better offensively,” Criss said
Grayson Pearish put the icing on the cake in the third with 12-yard touchdown run.
Justin Meins had a 50-yard touchdown catch early in the fourth; Corey Whitcomb contributed a 3-yard rushing TD as well.
Drew Young had the sole Burlington touchdown for the second half, with a 12-yard rush against the second-string Cub defense.
Quite possibly the most impressive Cubs score of the contest came late in the fourth. Kason Siemens launched a pass overhead to Anthony Doran over the middle of the field. He hit his teammate in stride as the ball landed in Doran’s fingertips. He took it to the house for a 91-yard touchdown.
The Cubs piled up 619 yards of total offense, rushing for 272 and passing for 347 more
Vanatta had 13 rushes for 141 yards, followed by Whitcomb with seven for 64 yards. From the air, Hunter Murrow had four receptions for 153 yards, followed by Doran with one reception for 91 yards.
Defensively, Zach Osborn led the Cubs in solo tackles with 11, followed by Carpenter with five.
“We’ve been playing with more confidence,” Criss said.
However, Criss said the Cubs will have a physical test to start the postseason. Criss pointed to Central Heights’ physicality, noting the Vikings defeated Iola High in commanding fashion, 28-7, earlier in the season.
“They are a ‘three yards in a cloud of dust’ kind of team,” Criss said. “It’s going to be physical. We’ve got to be strong up front.”
Burlington 7-0-0-6—13
Humboldt 0-12-20-16—48
Burlington Humboldt
First downs 9 9
Rushing 50/217 34/272
Passing-yds 25 347
Total offense 242 619
Passing 3/11 9/19
Fumbles 3 1
Punting 4/35 2/30
Humboldt erupts late to down ’Cats
