Franchise ResourcesBlue devils earn an impressive 15-12 victory over the Junkyard dogs
Burlington, WI - Last Saturday night the Burlington Blue Devils added another “W” in their already impressive win column. Although the playoff seeding for Burlington was already set, with the Blue Devils as the # 1 seed in the AFC, this was not a contest the Devils would let slip away as a meaningless game. The West Bend Junkyard Dogs are new to the IFL this year and made an immediate impact to the IFL’s balance of power. At second place in the NFC they trail only the Ironbowl champion Mustangs in their conference. After a tough loss in Madison the prior Saturday, the “Dogs” were looking to bounce back strong.
West Bend has made a name in the league as one of the elite running teams with an aggressive and stifling defense. In order to keep in full stride going into the playoffs, the Blue Devils were ready for one of their toughest contests of the season. With their focus on shutting down the J.Y.D.’s running game and controlling the tempo and clock management, Burlington kept momentum in their favor with the 15-12 victory at Karcher field. West Bend’s all star running back Chuck McGuire (#28) was held to only 22 yards on 13 attempts. Nobody in the IFL has been able to derail the “Dogs” powerful running game as effectively as the Blue Devils did.
Defensive coordinator Duane Gietzel commented, “We had very specific goals in mind. The first and most important was stopping the run and making them one dimensional. Accomplishing that made the rest of our goals very attainable.”
With West Bend’s ground game completely stalled they were forced to throw more often than they were accustomed to. That hardly seems to work against Burlington’s secondary which averages 3+ interceptions per game. Although Burlington only had one interception, a very timely one in which F.S. Steve Tonsel (#17) ended the Dog’s last drive to seal the victory, the “Darkside” made a mockery of the J.Y.D.’s pass blocking. Recording 8 Q.B. sacks the Blue Devil D-Line and blitzing line backers kept West Bend Q.B. Mike Bernal (#10) from ever getting into a rhythm. Bernal, usually thought of as a running threat as well was unable to carry West Bend with his legs either.
The Blue Devil defense was the highlight of the first half not allowing any points. Several large runs by R.B. Jamie Martin (#24) set up a 36 yard field goal by kicker Jordan Brown (#10). Starting the second half up 3-0 the Blue Devil offense ignited. With Martin gouging the Dog’s defense for 127 total yards, Q.B. Warren Arnold (#11) got the hot hand & connected with his favorite target W.R. Kevin Barrett (#15) for a 38 yard T.D. strike. After long completions to wide recievers Barrett (#15) & Washington (#85), Martin put the game away with a 2 yard T.D. plunge.
