BCAT News

The Wayland Warriors defeated the Burlington Red Devils after a dramatic and high-scoring battle for both sides.

Burlington started the game in their traditional way, with a touchdown right out of the gate. But unlike in many of their other games this season, they couldn’t parley that early lead into a romp to the victory. Wayland running back Michael Dresens rushed three touchdowns in the first quarter alone, bringing the score to 20-7. 

With the home crowd cheering by their side, the Devils fought tooth and nail in long minutes of back-and-forth scoring. By the end of the first half, the score was 21-20, with Burlington in the lead. 

As the rain began to fall on Varsity Field, the Devils increased their lead with two more touchdowns, leading 36-34 at the end of the third. But the Devils couldn’t turn that lead into a victory. The Warriors reclaimed the lead in the beginning of the fourth quarter, and with just over five minutes left on the clock, Burlington tried one final play. Quarterback Anthony Gerrior scrambled to find wide receiver Drew Garvey in the end zone, but incurred a penalty for illegal touching, undoing the would-be touchdown.

The final score in the playoff game was 48-44, an incredibly high score for both teams and a strong showing for Burlington. The loss ended their playoff bid, but the players still notched some important milestones. 

Gerrior had 320 passing yards and four touchdowns. He became the school’s all-time leaders in touchdown passes and passing yards, with a total of 56 touchdowns and 5,708 passing yards. Gerrior was also named to the Boston Globe Player of the Week honors list. 

Ryan Brooks had 206 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Matt Conte had 11 carries, 133 rushing yards and two touchdowns one through the air and on the ground. 

Burlington has two more games this season with a non-playoff consolation game against Arlington at home on Thursday and the traditional Thanksgiving Day game in Lexington on November 28.