Central drops third straight to start '08

Struggling to find offense through the first two games of the season, Burlington Central turned to its defense to jump-start the action Friday night against Byron in a Big Northern Conference crossover matchup.

And while the defense directly set up the game's first nine points for the Rockets, Byron charged back with 17 unanswered points to keep Central winless following a soggy 17-9 victory.

"I told them at the end (of the game) that there is some frustration and honestly I understand," said Central coach Aaron Wichman, whose team dropped to 0-3. "The seniors don't want to be in this situation. Nobody wants to be in this situation.

"Ultimately, it comes down to getting the job done or you don't get the job done and we haven't got the job done."

After getting stuffed on four plays deep inside Byron territory at the end of the first quarter, the Rockets returned the favor and forced the Tigers (1-2) to punt four plays later from their own 12-yard line on the first play of the second quarter. However, the snap sailed over the head of punter Kyle Smith and out of the end zone for a safety.

Seconds later, Central was knocking on Byron's door, threatening for more points after Tim Maroder returned the ensuing Byron free kick 32 yards to set up the Rockets at the Tigers' 18-yard line.

After a holding penalty and two running plays that managed only two yards, Maroder floated a fade pass to junior Kevin Kellish for a 27-yard gain on third-and-22 from the Byron 30-yard line -- the longest play of the night for either team.

One play later, the quarterback Maroder (15 rushes, 63 yards) kept the ball and scored from 2 yards out. Tim Vincent's extra-point kick gave Central a 9-0 lead with 10:42 left in the first half.

"We had momentum right away," Wichman said. "We need to work on being better building off of that when you have it. That's such a huge part of high school sports."

Any momentum Central had was all but gone by halftime after the Tigers pieced together an 8:59 drive that featured 15 plays and took the clock all the way down to the 1:48 mark of the second quarter. The killer was a 20-yard halfback pass from Andrew Smith to Kyle Smith on second-and-16 from the Central 46-yard line.

Also in the drive, Byron earned a first down on fourth-and-18 after pass-interference penalty was called on Central, setting up an automatic first down inside the 20-yard line. Tigers quarterback David Boyle eventually bowled in from 2 yards out to cut the deficit to 9-7.

In the second half, turnovers and penalties would prove costly for the Rockets. After holding the Tigers on their opening drive of the half, Central muffed the punt return and Byron recovered at Central's 14-yard line. Five plays later, Andrew Smith (15 rushes, 54 yards) pushed the lead to 14-9 with a 1-yard burst on third and goal.

"Our special teams killed us and those penalties killed us," said Wichman, whose team was held to minus-14 yards of offense in the third quarter. "We continue to fight hard and play hard, but I wish we would clean up our mistakes. We need to take more pride in all the little aspects of the game, like penalties and fielding punts."

Byron tacked on a 37-yard field goal with 11:07 left in the final quarter.

Central had a chance to get closer late in the fourth quarter, but a short pass by Maroder on fourth and goal from Byron's 5-yard line missed intended target Max Kling in the end zone. The Rockets later got the ball back with 25 seconds left at Byron's 23-yard line, but Maroder was picked off by Kyle Smith two plays later inside the 10-yard line to seal the defeat.

"I think we can be a pretty good ball club if we can go out and not hurt ourselves," Wichman said. "But that remains to be seen."