Burton’s quest for a district championship continues this week on homecoming.
The Panthers aim to continue stacking wins on Friday night when the Milano Eagles (2-5, 2-2 district) come to town.
Burton (7-0, 4-0 district) defeated Somerville 42-23 last week behind the legs and arm of junior quarterback Kayden Patterson. He ran for four touchdowns while tossing up two touchdowns to senior wide receiver Eli Simank to provide the Panthers’ offensive spark.
Burton coach Jason Hodde said after Friday’s game Patterson’s performance is particularly impressive given he did not come off the field through heavy offensive and defensive workloads.
“You do not see a lot of quarterbacks doing that,” he said Friday. “A lot of them just play offense and they will not play defense. He did it all.”
Patterson credited his offensive line for a second straight week, including junior Houston Hodde. Hodde added an interception on defense while leading the Panther offensive line as the Burton center.
“We got a lot of guys that can just hit the hole and we make it,” Hodde said after Friday’s game. “It does not necessarily have to be the biggest hole, they just hit it and they are gone.”
He also said that Burton’s skill players have their linemen’s back if they miss a block with the skill players picking them up before the next play.
Panther coach Jason Hodde told the Banner-Press earlier this week that his linemen are playing particularly well this year. Burton is one of few teams in the district whose linemen play both ways.
“There is a lot of physicality that goes with that group and they have been doing a good job,” he said.
Yet, he believes his linemen can improve further. Blocking consistency is a focus as well as getting into more game shape, a problem that was exacerbated by two straight bye weeks midseason.
“It sounds odd to say this since we are deep in October, but they are still kind of finding their groove again,” Hodde said. “This was two games off of that stretch, so hopefully this week we will have a little better look and then the next week just continues to get better.”
Burton’s desire to improve extends to other areas as well. Hodde said missed assignments and tackles led to big plays from Somerville running back Ja’Keith Daniels last week. He also wants his offense to finish drives better as two third-quarter drives in Somerville territory stalled out and led to missed fourth-down plays.
Last week’s win gave Burton a bit of revenge after Somerville beat the Panthers in a classic 42-41 game last season. Houston Hodde said this year’s win came after an offseason and summer program of thinking about how to get back at the Yeguas and take victory this year.
The Panthers will go from starting a new head-to-head winning streak last week to building on an existing one this week against Milano.
Burton has controlled the head-to-head series against Milano in recent years. The Panthers take an eight-game head-to-head winning streak into this year’s meeting. Burton has scored at least 40 points in its last four matchups against Milano while also allowing seven points or fewer in the last five meetings.
Jason Hodde said the Panthers have been fortunate to put up the games they have in recent success against Milano. He maintains strong respect for the Eagles and their working mentality.
“Sometimes they do not show up with the most talent, but they show up with a lot of heart,” Hodde said. “They are always a tough opponent.”
Milano has struggled to find momentum throughout this season. The Eagles have allowed at least 43 points in their five games outside of their forfeit wins against McDade and Snook.
Iola and Granger both scored more than 50 points against Milano in district play, including Granger’s 59-0 win over the Eagles last week.
Sophomore Ayden Fernandez took over quarterback responsibilities during district play. He completed four of his 11 passes last week for 67 yards, but threw three interceptions. He also ran the ball 10 times for 10 yards.
Milano senior Peyton Steinbecker, who had been the primary quarterback early in the season, is still a primary running option for the Eagles. He earned 26 yards on 18 carries last week.
Fellow Milano senior Troy Montoya is slowly finding his stride on both ends of the football. He earned a season-high seven tackles against Granger last week, including two tackles for a loss. He also caught two passes for 51 yards, making up most of his 75 receiving yards on the season.
“They are a very scrappy bunch,” Hodde said. “We like a lot of the matchups this week, but we are saying that on paper. We have to go out and get the job done. We got to execute and do the things we need to do to win the game.”
Hodde said his team is taking things in stride during a busy homecoming week. He did not have a read on the buzz of the school early in the week after Monday’s off day, but he anticipates a business-like mentality from the Panthers based on last year’s experience.
“Traditionally here, we have had good homecoming performances,” he said. “This group actually handles homecoming really well. Last year being our first one in (several years), you would think that would be a big distraction and they came out and handled that well.”
Friday’s kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Panther Stadium. Homecoming festivities will take place throughout the night, including the crowning of the homecoming queen and king at halftime.