BCAT News

The Burlington Red Devils lost 16-14 in a much-anticipated Battle of Winn Street against the Woburn Tanners this past Friday.

Senior Joey Poland scored the first points of the game, a 10-yard touchdown after a six play drive from the Tanners’ 33-yard line during the first quarter. An extra point brought the score to 7-0 Burlington. The Devils’ defense made big plays in the first half as Burlington sophomore Matthew Conte intercepted Woburn quarterback, junior Caeden Davis, twice, keeping the Tanners scoreless going into halftime. 

Third quarter was a different story. 

With 6:43 left in the third quarter, Woburn’s Davis through a 67-yard touchdown pass to junior Ryan Lush, bringing the score to 7-6 Burlington. After an offsides penalty on Burlington, the Tanners ran a two-point conversion with a handoff to senior Bryan Ferreira, taking the lead 8-7.

Burlington started from their 40-yard line on their next possession, but two penalties — a false start and an ineligible man downfield — cost the team some yardage. 

On a third and long, Woburn sophomore Thomas Kineavy sacked Burlington junior Anthony Gerrior. On the Tanners’ next possession, senior Bryan Ferreira took off down the field for a 58-yard touchdown, increasing Woburn’s lead to 14-7. Another successful two-point conversation brought the Tanners’ lead to 16-7. 

In the fourth quarter, with just 3:30 left on the clock, Burlington’s Gerrior threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to junior John Melo, bringing the score to 16-14, including a successful point-after attempt. Burlington attempted an onside kick after this, but were unsuccessful. 

With no timeouts for the Red Devils and 1:45 remaining in the fourth, the Woburn offense was still on the field for a fourth-and-six from the 33-yard line. The Tanners took a delay-of-game penalty, pushing them back to the 38-yard line for a fourth-and-eleven. During the snap, Davis rolled to his left, but Poland put that to rest with a sack and turnover on downs. 

In the final minutes of the game, Gerrior threw to sophomore Ryan Brooks for a 37-yard reception to the 8-yard line. The Devils let the clock run down. With 24 seconds left, senior Josh Pupa attempted an 18-yard field goal attempt, but was blocked by the Tanners. 

Woburn took one more snap on offense to end the game, winning the Winn Street Battle for this year.

At game end, Gerrior had 165 passing yards and two interceptions; Poland had 17 carries, with a total of 81 yards and one touchdown. Charlie Hanafin had four catches for a total of 30 yards. John Melo also had four catches for a total of 40 yards and Ryan Brooks had three catches for 75 yards.

Head coach George Balian said the team is moving on from the loss and are preparing for their next opponent. 

“We have to rebound, stay positive and have a great week of practice,” he said. 

Burlington drops to 1-1 for the season and will compete in a league matchup with the Cambridge Rindge & Latin Falcons on Sept. 22 at Varsity Field. The Falcons are also 1-1: The team lost their first game to Belmont 40-13 and bounced back over Medford 26-7.

You can watch the full Woburn game by clicking here. Burlington vs. CR&L will be streamed on our BCATTV Facebook page this Friday.