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Look out, these Longhorns can leave the ground
BURWELL, Neb. — Remember how one pass completion for one yard and 10 rushing touchdowns powered Burwell past Cambridge in Tuesday’s state playoffs?
Today — with Dundy County-Stratton looming for Monday’s semifinal — coach Luke Gideon was quick to emphasize how his Longhorns are not a one-pronged attack.
“We’re actually a good passing team,” Gideon said about the 2018 state runners-up. “Our quarterback (Barak Birch) has thrown for over 1,000 yards. He’s a difference maker.
“We have six receivers who’ve caught touchdown passes,” he added. “We just haven’t needed to (pass) much lately.”
Junior Mason Plock has caught four TD passes while Longhorns Corey Dawe, freshman Titus Gideon and Williams each own three.
Yet the Longhorns (9-2) and Dundy County-Stratton Tigers (10-1) are almost mirror images entering Monday’s 5 p.m. Class D-1 semifinal at Burwell.
Both bring 1,500-yard rushers with DC-S soph quarterback Quade Myers barely outrunning Burwell senior Jase Williams, 1,550 to 1,515.
Both bring a super second option in Tiger junior Serbando Diaz (1,349 yards) and Longhorn soph Caleb Busch (eight yards per carry, 123 vs. Cambridge).
“We really didn’t run Caleb that much until the playoffs started,” Gideon said.
Yet both teams can throw that pigskin when needed: the Longhorns have 16 TD passes-to-four interceptions or 4-to-1 ratio.
DC-S has fired nine TD passes while flingingthree INTs (three to one ratio).
All this means the Longhorns expect another southwest Nebraska challenge after knocking out Cambridge this week and Hitchcock County on Halloween.
“Cambridge gave us problems as did Hitchcock County. They were both real good teams,” Gideon said. “And when you have team speed like them (DC-S), I expect they will give us problems too.”
Perhaps the largest difference between these teams is playoff history.
Burwell has reached two of the last three Class D-1 title games, winning a 2016 state championships. The Longhorns are continuing their 15th consecutive playoff appearance.
“Fans are really excited,” Gideon said about Burwell. “We’ve had success, but they need to realize it is not easy.”
Meanwhile, the Tigers could capture their first state finals appearance as a consolidated school.
DC-S has steadily stepped forward from a state playoff first-round exit in 2016 to last year’s quarterfinals to perhaps the biggest game yet on Monday.
Whoever triumphs will take the trip to Lincoln’s Memorial Stadium on Monday, Nov. 25 for the D-1 state title game.
Cross County (7-4 record) and Osceola High Plains (9-2) will play for that other finals spot.