Burlington Gets One Touchdown in Loss to Belmont

September 27, 2021

The league games began on Saturday, September 25 as the Burlington Red Devils headed to Harris Field to take on the Belmont Marauders. Burlington lost the previous week to the Woburn Tanners 50-14 and were looking for their first win of the season.

In the first quarter the Red Devils started off with possession at their own 10 yard line. On the first play of the drive, Senior/running back Adam Eldeeb ran for a sixty five yard rushing touchdown making it 7-0 Devils. Belmont Quarterback Ryan Broderick started the series with a three and out, giving the ball back to the Red Devils. With the score at 7-0, QB Ronan Noke started at the fourteen yard line. The drive had a mixture of short completions from Noke to his brother and wide receiver Aidan Noke, runs by Eldeeb and a fifteen yard penalty in favor of the Marauders. The Devils punted it on a fourth and five and Belmont started its possession on its own ten yard line. Once again, the Marauders had their second three and out of the day.

Burlington’s next drive started at the forty yard line. A false start penalty pushed them back five yards, which resulted in a first and fifteen. The Devils had a holding penalty on the offensive line, which brought them back even further to a second and twenty-two. Burlington punted after not gaining any yard on second and third down. At the end of the first quarter it was 7-0 Burlington.

The Marauders began the second quarter with possession of the ball. They did not go far as they had another three and out. The next drive for the Devils resulted in a three and out and a punt. Belmont’s six play drive was going well, until a penalty on offense brought them back ten yards and gave them a second and eighteen. On a third and eighteen Broderick completed a five yard pass, resulting in a fourth and thirteen punt. The Red Devils’ next drive saw Noke throw an interception to Belmont Senior/Defensive Back Tyler Arno.

After the interception, Broderick threw a touchdown pass into the end zone and the extra point was good. Going into halftime the score was tied at 7-7. The Marauders started their drive from the forty-three yard line at the beginning of the third quarter. Belmont’s drive resulted in a touchdown run which gave them the lead over their opponent with a score of 14-7 after the extra point. Burlington started the ball at the forty eight yard line. A ten yard run on second down gave the Devils at first and at the thirty eight yard line. The next three plays didn’t result in any big yardage as Burlington punted on a fourth and seven.

Three penalties were a big factor on the next Belmont Drive. The first penalty was on Burlington for an offside call, the second was on the Marauders for a low chop block and the third was the Red Devils again as they were offside. The Marauder drive ended in a touchdown on a third and five, bringing the score up to 20-7 after the extra point was blocked. The Red Devils’ offense gained a first down on their next drive and Noke ran it on second and five. On third and six he threw an incompletion resulting in a fourth and six situation. Being down thirteen, Head Coach Dan MacKay decided to go for it. Nike was under pressure as he was sacked on the play, giving the Marauders the ball back.

Belmont started out on the thirty one yard line. Broderick was sacked on third and eight by the Red Devils defense. Marauders punted on a fourth and nineteen. At the end of the fourth quarter it was 20-7 Belmont. Burlington punted away after their three and out drive. Marauders’ Broderick threw a sixty four yard touchdown on a first and ten making it 26-7. Belmont attempted a fake extra point, which was unsuccessful. After regaining possession, Noke threw his second interception of the day on a second and ten during the drive. Belmont’s next possession did not result in anything as they were chewing out the clock. The Red Devils had two more possessions which did not result in any scoring on either drive.

The final in the game was 26-7 Belmont. Burlington Red Devils drop to (0-3) on the season and will visit Victory Field on Friday, October 1 for a matchup with the Watertown Red Raiders.

Robert Parris

Robert Parris is BCAT’s Sports and Features Reporter. Robert first got involved with BCAT in January 2016 as a volunteer news reporter. Throughout the year, as a volunteer, he was busy developing his technical skills at the studio and his ENG skills in the field. In the summer of 2017, Robert joined the team full-time. He quickly settled into his role, providing all of the production support for our news programs, as well as providing weekly sports highlights. Robert also produces a weekly feature for BNEWS, as well as a monthly show called, BNEWS Sports Hub, and BCAT’s Game of the Week.