Akron vs. Burlington Thoughts

Burlington 35 Akron 21

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."

Those are the opening lines to the classic "A Tale of Two Cities", but last Friday it could have just as easily been the Tale of Two Halves for the Akron Rams.

At halftime Akron led 14-6, and outgained Burlington 152 to 7 (after penalties). The only score the Cougars had was on a 31 yard drive after a Jourdan Hottinger fumble. Even though it was only a 1 score game Akron was in control offensively and defensively.

Oh but the fumble...more on that in a moment...

On the radio broadcast I mentioned that even though all the numbers indicated Akron was in control, it didn't necessarily have that type of feel.

Unfortunately for the Rams, I was right.

In the second half Burlington outgained Akron 227-121. Akron couldn't sustain drives. After the 1st drive of the 3rd quarter the Cougars were nearly perfect, scoring on 3 straight drives, and also had a punt return for a touchdown. The only 2 drives that didn't result in Burlington points were an interception on the first drive of the 3rd (Akron couldn't capitalize, and had to punt on the ensuing drive) and the last drive when Burlington ran and then kneeled it out.

Oh the fumbles...

Akron fumbled 3 times (two were from Jourdan Hottinger, the other on an exchange from Hottinger to another back), once in the first half and twice in the second half. Burlington scored all three times off the turnovers. Simply put, that is what championship teams do.

I struggled all weekend on what to make of this game. On one hand each team dominated one half, it was just that Burlington scored more points in the half they won. On the other hand, I have seen this from Akron teams of the last couple of years. Jourdan Hottinger is a tremendous offensive force (29 carries, 156 yards, 2 TDs rushing) but he has had an issue with putting the ball on the turf. When you are playing a team like Burlington they turn it into 21 points and that can't be overcome.

I have no doubt Akron is a good team and a championship contender. I also continue to worry about the offensive turnovers this team shows occasionally. The single-wing offense is great for ball control and grinding a game out. It is not great at coming from behind.

Burlington is the class of 1A until someone beats them. They have decent size, a lot of speed, and multiple weapons. The scored on offense, defense (Shane Whitemore fumble return for TD), and on special teams (Coley David punt return for a TD...why are teams still kicking to him???). The option game for Burlington will keep teams guessing, they throw enough to keep you honest, and both backs have the burst to take it to the house...

but...

Akron showed (at least for one half) that Burlington can be beat.

Next week Woodlin vs. Lone Star