BURLINGAME, CA — Burlingame football has had a lot of success over the past few years, but there was one major box it still had not checked.
The Panthers finally checked it Friday night in front of a boisterous home crowd, scoring in the final minute to beat the Sacred Heart Prep Gators, 14-7, in both teams’ PAL-Bay Division opener. It was Burlingame’s first victory over SHP since 2010.
After recovering a fumble at the Gators’ 33 with under three minutes left, Burlingame used six straight running plays to put the ball in the end zone. Alec Meredith plunged in from eight yards out with 57 seconds left to give the Panthers the lead. Savaun Brown then intercepted Sacred Heart quarterback Thomas Wine on the Gators’ final drive to seal the win.
“Our kids showed up today,” Burlingame coach John Philipopoulos said. “We talked about being consistent, playing for four quarters, and just keep coming at them and being relentless, and I couldn’t be more proud of these kids.”
Sacred Heart Prep (0-5, 0-1) converted two fourth downs on its first possession, which lasted over eight minutes. But on fourth-and-eight at Burlingame’s 17, the Panthers forced Wine into an incompletion to take over on downs.
Burlingame (3-2, 1-0) took advantage four plays later, when Meredith broke free for a 61-yard touchdown to give Burlingame a 7-0 lead. Meredith scored twice on the night and had 159 yards rushing on 20 carries.
“We really had to prepare for this one,” Meredith said. “Everyone came into this came with a bunch of confidence, and even though we came up short [at times], we kept fighting and we didn’t give up.”
The game was a defensive battle the rest of the first half, with neither team getting inside the other’s 35. It wasn’t until the end of the third quarter when the Gators got things going on offense. Starting at their own 30, Wine completed a pass to Kevin Tinsley that went for 42 yards. Sacred Heart Prep cashed it in on the second play of the fourth quarter, with Tommy Barnds scoring from four yards out to tie the game at 7-7.
The Gators’ defense then forced a punt and took over at midfield. On a halfback pass from Alex Harper to Michael Mooring, they got to the Panthers’ 25 on one play. But a crucial holding call on the next set of downs pushed them back, and two straight incompletions set up a fourth-and-18 at the Panthers’ 33. Wine threw to the end zone but was intercepted by Robert Uhrich, giving Burlingame the ball on its own 20.
The Panthers moved the ball down the field until they faced a fourth-and-one from the SHP 26. Sean Saunders converted the yard with a jet sweep, but a holding call brought the ball back to the 37. Burlingame then tried a fake punt but could not get all of the penalty yardage back.
But three plays later, Wine fumbled on an exchange and Burlingame pounced on the ball, setting up the game-winning score. The Panthers forced turnovers the last three times their defense was on the field.
“We’ve had a couple rough outings [on defense],” Philipopoulos said. “We came out and rose to the occasion against an excellent, well-coached, polished football team. For us to come out and beat them here just speaks volumes about these young men and their commitment to one another and all the work they’ve put in the last two weeks.”
The Panthers were far from home-free after Meredith’s late touchdown, but after Sacred Heart Prep advanced to their own 31, Brown stepped in front of the passing lane and intercepted Wine’s pass, setting off a wild celebration at Burlingame High.
“We’ve got to just keep doing what we’re doing but do it better,” Philipopoulos said. “We’ve come a long way, and we’ve still got a long way to go.”
Burlingame faces an even stiffer test next Friday when it travels to league-favorite Menlo-Atherton. Sacred Heart Prep hosts Aragon next week.
