Burlington Central stays unbeaten in BN-East

The 33-12 final score of Burlington Central's Homecoming win was a bit misleading Friday night on Rocket Hill.

Central and Genoa-Kingston went toe-to-toe for 45 minutes before the Rockets scored 2 late touchdowns to pull away.

Still, it was a solid all-around effort by the Rockets. Jason Berango ran for 209 yards and a touchdown, Bradley Sorensen scored on offense and defense, and the Rockets' defense came up with big plays all night as Central (3-2, 3-0) stayed atop the Big Northern East while knocking the Cogs (2-3, 2-1) out of a tie for the top spot.

"Except for one big pass and a blown responsibility on the option, we were pretty solid defensively," said Central coach Rich Crabel.

The Rockets barely saw the ball in the first half but still led 12-6 at halftime thanks to a couple of big plays. On their third play from scrimmage, Berango raced around right end untouched for a 71-yard touchdown.

After Genoa tied the game on a 9-yard run by fullback Joe Murry, David Streder returned the ensuing kickoff 80 yards to put the Rockets back in front.

In all, the Rockets ran just 15 first-half plays for 103 yards, and nearly half of those came on their final possession of the half when they basically just ran out the clock.

The second half was a different story, though, as Berango helped the Rockets chew up the clock. He carried 22 times for 119 yards in the second half alone as Central played keep-away.

"We thought we had that opportunity," said Crabel. "I wish we had done a better job with it in the first half."

The teams traded scores again early in the fourth quarter. After Sorensen ran 20 yards to put Central up 20-6, Genoa answered with a 58-yard pass from Griffin McNeal to Marcus Holley.

The Rockets pulled away late, with Trevor Davison scoring on a 29-yard run with just over 2 minutes left. Sorensen then clinched it with a 32-yard pick-6 with 3 seconds remaining.

Craig Kein had the Rockets' other big defensive play. His fourth-quarter interception stopped a potential tying drive and set up Davison's clinching score.

'Everybody was doing their job and I happened to be in the right place," Kein said. "I'm just supposed to sit right in that area and he threw it right into my hands."