Teboda-Burzak combo lifts Whips
The St. Edward football team couldn't keep its losing streak from extending to 21 in a row Saturday, mainly because its defense couldn't keep Hampshire tight end T.J. Burzak out of the end zone.
But the improved Green Wave did earn respect from visiting Hampshire by battling until the final gun in a 46-41 nonconference loss at Greg True Field.
"We were looking forward to a good game and it was a good game," said Burzak, for whom the season opener was a particularly good game.
The 6-foot-4, 205-pound senior tight end caught 3 of his 4 touchdowns from quarterback Trace Teboda after the Whip-Purs had fallen behind 27-21 in the third quarter.
Burzak hauled in a 43-yard touchdown reception to tie the game with 7:40 left in the third quarter on a precision pass through traffic from Teboda, who threw for 4 scores and ran for another. The extra point failed, however.
After the Hampshire defense held for a punt, the Whips drove 51 yards in 9 plays to take the lead, a drive capped by Burzak's 10-yard scoring reception.
Hampshire seemed to put a stranglehold on the lead when linebacker Joe Moore intercepted St. Edward quarterback Ryan Gilbert deep in his own territory. Moore then parlayed his luck by finishing off a 6-play drive with a 4-yard touchdown run up the middle that gave Hampshire a 39-27 advantage with 7:29 remaining.
The game looked over once Hampshire junior defensive back James Goebbert intercepted Gilbert to halt the ensuing St. Edward drive at the 5-yard line. However, the Whips gave the ball right back on the next play when their tailback fumbled for the fifth time in the game.
Gilbert capitalized on the mistake 5 plays later by beating the defense to the pylon on a bootleg keeper to cut the deficit to 39-34 with 4:47 to play.
The Green Wave then recovered Moises Quiroga's onside kick, but the offense turned the ball over on downs at the Hampshire 41 with 3:35 to play. "We didn't convert on fourth down when we really needed to," said Gilbert, who finished 13 of 29 for 118 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Hampshire took a 46-34 lead with 1:47 left on a connection between Teboda and Burzak on 4th-and-6 from the 17-yard line.
The Wave drove quickly and scored on a 23-yard pass from Gilbert to Matt Ardiente, but couldn't recover the subsequent onside kick.
"Even if we're down, we know we've got the guns to come back," Hampshire coach Dan Cavanaugh said of the comeback. "It's nice to come out of the blocks with that, with the knowledge that we can come back and recover from things like that."
The first half featured three ties as the teams answered each other's scoring plays. St. Edward took its 27-21 third quarter lead when running back Jimmy Mathisen scored his second rushing touchdown of the day from 8 yards out finished a 6-play 47-yard march.
St. Edward gained 299 yards of offense but allowed 446 yards and 7 touchdowns. Nine players going both ways on a roster of 25 took a toll late in the game on a warm, sunny August day.
"I'm very proud of our kids' effort," said St. Edward coach Mike Rolando. "They fought to the end. We were gassed a little bit. We ran into some cramps. We just have to eliminate some of our mistakes."