REDWOOD CITY, Calif - A Jordan Malashus to Devin Malashus connection on a 29-yard touchdown was just the first of five end zone appearances for Burlingame in its shutout against Carlmont. The anticipated Division 4 Central Coast Section championship game was dominated throughout by Burlingame, ending in a 38-0 rout.
This was Burlingame’s 2nd CCS championship win ever, coming 14 years after the Panthers' 2004 championship win over Seaside.
Carlmont's big upset victory against an undefeated Independence team was a big confidence booster going into another underdog match-up against the Panthers. However, Burlingame's lockdown defense and explosive offense was too much for the Scots too handle.
“We tried to control the clock and time of possession with our run game, mix in some passes at some opportune times, and play good defense, and all that kind of came into fruition for us,” said Panthers' coach John Philipopoulos.
The Scots (10-3) were held to 78 total yards, with only one yard out of the 78 coming from a pass play. In contrast, Burlingame (11-2) excelled with 193 yards on the ground and 132 yards passing.
“We've got some good players back there, we have a really styled offensive line, we have some really good running backs that we mix in there. Same thing on the defensive side of the ball, our interior seven, they’re tough to move around,” Philipopoulos said.
A 15-yard touchdown run from Lucas Meredith capped off a second successful drive for the Panthers, putting them up 14-0 to end the first quarter. To start the second quarter, the Burlingame defense forced the Scots to punt for the third time, and they capitalized on that with a 33-yard dart from Jordan Malashus to wide receiver Taylor Kaufman.
Malashus passed for 97 yards on the day with two touchdowns. His brother Devin even took on the position at quarterback on a trick play, where he caught a fake screen pass from Jordan, and proceeded to throw to a wide open Chase Funkhouser to put the Panthers up 28-0 before halftime.
Their first half performance was all the Panthers needed, with another run from Lucas Meredith in the second half tacking on the stats in a dominant performance against the Scots. After this victory, coach Philipopoulos now owns the only two CCS Championships in Burlingame’s history. Carlmont’s coach Jake Messina looked to give Carlmont their first ever CCS Championship, but ended their season on this loss to Burlingame.
"This was a process, this wasn't an overnight thing so our kids just sticking to the script and learning how to work hard and learning how to work as a team was what gave us this win," added Philipopoulos.
