Big Burton ends St. Vincent unbeaten streak

Burton ends St. Vincent streak in San Francisco.|

A wave of early touchdowns by home-standing Burton of San Francisco proved too much for St. Vincent to overcome as the Mustangs fell from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 54-21 setback in the City on Saturday afternoon.

Burton, from the Academic City Schools League (AAA), came into the game with a 2-0 record, but a bit unknown to the Division V Mustangs, who were overwhelmed in the first half before settling in to play on even terms with the Pumas in the final two periods. Burton was a sixth-place finisher in league play last season.

The Pumas rushed to a commanding 28-0 halftime lead in a streak that included a 97-yard run from scrimmage by their athletic quarterback, Alfonso Smith, before the Mustangs regrouped to display some offense of their own with quarterback Trent Free under center. It was the first time in five games that St. Vincent was shut out in the first half.

St. Vincent alternated scores with the Pumas in the second half and cut into the margin with a 21-point third quarter to make the score 34-21, but a kickoff return for a score by Smith took the wind out of a comeback.

Free was able to put a couple of touchdowns on the board with a 28-yard pass to Marcus Mathias and a follow-up 19-yard toss to 6-foot, 6-inch Rory Morgan as St. Vincent rallied to temporarily make a game of it. Earlier, Free had been intercepted by Johna Mati to prevent the quick-striking Mustangs from moving the ball with a renewed sense of urgency.

In one sequence, Mathias came back to intercept a Burton pass before he was immediately rewarded with a touchdown catch of his own. It was the sixth interception of the campaign for Mathias.

With the Burton defensive players tiring, Daniel Burleson began to find running lanes behind some improved blocking up front. He broke away for a 16-yard gainer to spearhead another St. Vincent drive near the end of the period.

Later in the quarter, Burleson slashed into the end zone from 3 yards out to put the final score on the board for the revitalized Mustangs. Burleson finished with 89 yards on the ground to lead the team in individual rushing.

Transfer Devaneaux Sagaral from Cardinal Newman got his first taste of action this season, and he got the Mustangs a series of short gainers in relief of Burleson.

Quarterback Free wound up tossing for a total of 150 yards on a sunny but windy afternoon with a completion rate of 50 percent (8-16-1). Three of his tosses were to the rangy Morgan for 89 yards and one touchdown.

Defensively, Gio Antonini was never impressed by a host of Burton’s bigger linemen, and he made the first stops of the game on the first Puma series to force a Burton punt. Antonini had four individual tackles, including one for loss in the first half and 13 overall. The leading Mustang defender got strong help from Burleson, Shamus Edens and the ball-hawking Mathias.

“We were overmatched, and a bit intimidated,” said Mustang coach Trent Herzog, “I was happy though the way we bounced back in the second half. They have some good athletes. Their quarterback has a lot of ability and he can play somewhere, maybe in another position.”

“I thought Antonini, Edens and Mathias played well on defense. Mathias had a good second half. Burleson ran the ball much better in the second as well. We knew by scouting that we were in for a tough game going in. Dante Antonini played tough in our defensive backfield by not allowing anybody on his side deep.”

Burton improved to 3-0 in the young season, while St. Vincent slipped to 4-1 midway through a 9-game free-lance schedule in 2018.

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