In a likely preview of the Class 1-A 6-man semi-finals in two weeks the visiting Dubois Rams handed the Burlington Huskies their first loss of the season 60-52. The Huskies are the North 6-man champions and open the playoffs next Saturday at noon hosting fourth seed Farson-Eden, a team they beat 66-16 during the regular season.
Dubois is the second seed from the South and will host Meeteetse. The Rams beat the Longhorns 71-18 just two weeks ago at home.
Burlington faced only one team with a winning record entering Friday’s contest and rolled over all but one opponent via the running clock in the process. That didn’t happen with the Rams.
Dubois opened with a rare turnover when Wyatt Trembly fumbled the ball on the first play of the game. The Huskies mounted a short drive to take an 8-0 lead on a five-yard run by Noah McMackin with Cohen Schlenker adding the conversion kick.
The fumble didn’t faze the talented junior running back. Trembly ended the game with 350 yards rushing on 39 carries for seven touchdowns and added another score on a pass to Ryan Wells.
With the style of a pair of heavyweight boxers, throwing roundhouse punches, the Rams and Huskies scored back and forth throughout the opening period.
Trembly put the Rams on the board on a six-yard run with Nick Navas adding the conversion to tie the game at eight.
It took Burlington just one play to score when Seth Wardell connected with Mickey Maroni on a 68-yard scoring strike to give the Huskies a 16-8 advantage.
Dubois took a little longer to score, taking four minutes to march on a long drive capped by a one yard Trembly run. Burlington blocked the kick.
The Huskies have an offense that sends their quarterback deep behind the line, sometimes they hand the ball off to a running back, so the passer has the option to run. In 6-man football, if you take the snap, you can’t run the ball.
Clayton Rux had the job of chasing Wardell all afternoon. He handled it well with three tackles for loss and a pair of sacks, but on one of those plays as he was chasing Wardell he was blindsided with an illegal block. It stymied Burlington, but only briefly.
Wardell found Maroni on a 45-yard touchdown with 2:04 remaining in the first and the period ended with the Huskies holding a 22-14 advantage.
The Dubois defense stepped up in the second quarter, holding Burlington scoreless while stuffing a pair of fourth-down conversion attempts.
Trembly added a pair of touchdowns, the first on an 18-yard run, and the second a six-yard sweep that gave the Rams their first lead of the game 30-22 after Navas converted both of the conversion kicks.
Trembly had another nine-yard run for a score with:00 on the clock, but a holding penalty negated the play.
Burlington went to the ground more often in the second half. Joe Basset scored on a one-yard run with Schlenker’s kick knotting the game at 30 to open the third period.
The Huskie defense sold out trying to stop Trembly on the sweep and when they committed, he tossed a six-yard pass to a wide open Wells for the Rams opening score of the second half.
Jonah Oard intercepted Wardell on the ensuing series and Trembly scored again after the Rams were backed up by a holding penalty, this time on a three-yard run for a 46-30 advantage.
Burlington answered on another Basset run but missed the conversion. Trembly scored on a six-yard run with Navas adding the conversion for the largest Dubois lead of the game at 54-36.
The Rams played ping pong for the remainder of the game, answering when the Huskies scored for the final eight-point win.
Rux paced the Rams with 13 tackles, Oard tallied 11, and Kaleb Gleim nine.
BURLINGTON 22 0 14 16 – 52
DUBOIS 14 16 16 14 – 60
First Quarter
BUR – Noah McMackin 5-run (Cohen Schlenker kick) 9:09
DUB – Wyatt Trembly 6-run (Nick Navas kick) 7:38
BUR – Mickey Maroni 68-pass from Seth Wardell (Schlenker kick) 7:24
DUB – Trembly 1-run (kick failed) 3:43
BUR – Maroni 45-pass from Wardell (kick failed) 2:04
Second Quarter
DUB – Trembly 18-run (Navas kick) 9:55
DUB – Trembly 6-run (Navas kick) 2:28
Third Quarter
BUR – Joe Basset 1-run (Schlenker kick) 8:05
DUB – Ryan Wells 6-pass from Trembly (Navas Kick) 5:38
DUB – Trembly 3-run (Navas kick) 1:53
BUR – Basset 8-run (kick failed) :42
Fourth Quarter
DUB – Trembly 6-run (Navas kick) 7:50
BUR – Maroni 16-pass from Wardell (Schlenker kick) 5:36
DUB – Trembly 30-run (kick failed) 4:53
BUR – Basset 36-run (Schlenker kick) 4:15