Blue Devils are a perfect 3-0!!!

Burlington, WI - The Burlington Blue Devils improved to 3 - 0 Saturday night in front of a good crowd at the Topper Bowl. Burlington, hosting the Rock County Gladiators, needed to have a great night on offense to stay up with the high-powered aerial attack of the Gladiators. The Blue Devil offense did just that and then some, racking up over 530 yards in total yards, led by Quarterback Brent Ferdinand, who went 13 of 23 for 338 yards, 3TD’s and 1 INT. Ferdinand also added a score on the ground.

The scoring started quickly in the first quarter when the Blue Devil defense stopped the gladiators on downs in the red zone. The first offensive play for the Blue Devils put WR Kevin Barrett on a 94-yard scamper when Barrett out stretch and hauled in a one hander on a deep pass from Ferdinand. The PAT was good giving Burlington the lead 7 to 0.

“Tom and I noticed the middle of the field was soft, we designed the play so that their Linebacker was matched up with our speed” Ferdinand said. Burlington forced a punt from the Gladiators, which gave the Offense another opportunity to get some work in. On the first play looking like an instant replay Ferdinand hit Barrett on a strike that carried him 70 yards to pay dirt.

Barrett stated, “They didn’t make the adjustment and really paid for it”. The PAT was good giving the Blue Devils an early 14 to 0 lead in the first quarter. Still in the first quarter the Gladiators retaliated with a 37-yard TD pass over cornerback Frankie Hudson “Frankie was in perfect position the receiver just made a great play” Defensive Coordinator Brandon Springer said.

The PAT failed which Burlington still was leading 14 to 6 at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter Ferdinand found WR Howard Scott for a 47-yard pass that put them on the 1-yard line. The next play Ferdinand found Barrett for his third and final TD reception of the night this time on a slant pattern. Burlington then muffed the PAT snap and Kicker Jordan Brown found a wide-open Ishmael Caraway for the 2 pt conversion. Blue Devils led 22 to 6. Barrett who finished the game with 4 catches for 187 yards and 3 TD have earned the respect of the IFL with nominations for the player of the week. Rock County would add a score late in the second quarter when Burlington threw an interception, which was returned for a touchdown. The PAT failed giving the Blue Devils 22 and the Gladiators 12 going into half time.

Burlington scored on the opening drive of the third quarter marching the length of the field with Running Back Jamie Martin powering in from the 6-yard line. The Pat was good making the score 29 to 12 Burlington. The Gladiators was given great field position when Punter Jordan Brown was flushed out side during a punt failing to get a first down. The Burlington Defense backed up in their own red zone gave up a touch down to the gladiators mid way through the third quarter.

The 2 pt conversion was successful, but the Blue Devils still led 29 to 20. Burlington would add 10 forth quarter points to stay ahead of Rock County with a QB keeper and a 37-yard field goal by brown. The Gladiators would also score in the forth making the final score Blue Devils 39 and the Gladiators 28. The Blue Devil Backfield, which is as deep as Lake Michigan, rushed for over 200 yards in the contest led by Adrian Davis who led all rushers with 127 yards. James Watkinson led the defense with 5 tackles and 3 assists and Tony Grisham added another INT to his resume.

Up next for Burlington are the St Francis Monarchs. The game will be on Sat at Ameche Field in Kenosha and kick off is at 7 pm. For directions and ticket information contact the Blue Devils at www.bbdevils.com.