Thursday September 2nd vs. Burke

Mustangs running backs carry load in win

Millard North was back Thursday night to its running game, churning out 318 yards and throwing only four passes in a 21-10 win over Omaha Burke.

What’s different is that the No. 4 Mustangs aren’t making sophomore quarterback Isaac Aakre the workhorse.

Running backs Nick Bellus got 15 carries, for 93 yards and a touchdown; Chris Bailey 13 carries, for 58 yards; and Jacob Bergmeier six carries, for 128 yards and a touchdown against the No. 5 Bulldogs.

“We wanted to get north and south tonight,’’ Mustangs coach Fred Petito said. “We wanted to get our offensive line aggressive.’’

The change from a quarterback-centric offense is making defenses adjust.

“We tried to stay pretty simple and play our base defense,’’ Burke coach Paul Limongi said. “They got away from us a couple times. I was pretty pleased with how we played defense except for those breakdowns.’’

An estimated crowd of 2,600 at Buell Stadium saw Burke score first on Jimmie Forysthe’s pass to Dillon Plath for a 34-yard touchdown.

The lead lasted all of 74 seconds. Bergmeier, in motion on the play, broke a 70-yarder for a 7-7 tie.

Bellus scored from the 11, capping a 67-yard drive, with 48 seconds left in the first half for a 14-7 Mustangs lead.

Kyle Erickson, who started the past two years at quarterback, scored on a 8-yard run as a running back on Millard North’s first series of the second half.

The scoring ended when Burke got a 28-yard field goal by Ameer Pinto on its ensuing possession. Forsythe was called for an illegal forward pass, crossing the line of scrimmage, on third down.

It was one of 13 penalties marked off against Burke.

“We had a lot of mental errors, but those we can correct,’’ Limongi said.

Omaha Burke (1-1)..................7 0 3 0—10
Millard North (1-1)............................7 7 7 0—21
• Bke.: Dillon Plath 34-yard pass from Jimmie Forsythe (Pinto kick)
• MN: Jacob Bergmeier 70-yard run (Bayne kick)
• MN: Nick Bellus 11-yard run (Bayne kick)
• MN: Kyle Erickson 8-yard run (Bayne kick)
• Bke.: Ameer Pinto 28-yard field goal, 3rd.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: B, Jordan Nelson 16-91, Forsythe 18-16, DJ Avant 1-1, Jake Schneider 1-12, team 1-minus 2. MN, Bergmeier 6-128, Bellus 15-93, Chris Bailey 13-58, Isaac Aakre 9-22, Erickson 2-17.

PASSING: B, Forsythe 12-20-1 157, Plath 0-2-0 0. MN, Aake 1-4-0 37.

RECEIVING: B, Zach Oliver 2-50, Plath 2-41, Nelson 3-37, Taylor Hopkins 2-29, Avant 1-10. MN, Bellus 1-37.