Big plays from Jason Berango ignite Burlington Central to win over Genoa-Kingston

If the complete victory is when every aspect of the team contributes in a big way, the Burlington Central Rockets could claim one Friday night in Big Northern East play.

Jason Berango ran for 211 yards on 28 carries, the defense came up with two key interceptions and a handful of crucial stops, and David Streder returned a kick 80 yards for a touchdown as the Rockets won their homecoming game 33-12 over Genoa-Kingston.

“We had people making big plays all over the place all night long,” said Berango, who started it off with a 71-yard cutback TD run off the right side in the first quarter for a 6-0 Rockets lead.

Streder’s TD return broke a 6-6 tie in the first quarter and gave Central (3-2, 3-0) a 12-6 lead right after the Cogs had tied it on Joe Murray’s 9-yard TD reception of a Griffin McNeal pass.

“I wasn’t even supposed to be in the game,” Streder said. “We had a ball dropped on a kick earlier so they told me to go in. The play opened up wide for me. The blocking was great. We wanted to get momentum back then.”

Genoa-Kingston (2-3, 2-1) had drives end at the Central 11 and 14 in the first half and the Cogs at one point had run off 39 plays to 11 for Central, but never tied the score again.

Starting linebacker Bradley Sorensen was pressed into a running back role after Dan Le suffered an ankle injury, and he turned in a 21-yard burst up the middle for a TD early in the fourth quarter. The 2-point conversion run by quarterback Robert Doubek gave Central a 20-6 lead.

But the Cogs answered with a McNeal-to-Holly 58-yard TD pass one play from scrimmage after Sorensen’s run, then got the ball back trailing 20-12 following a punt with 6 1/2 minutes left and were looking for the tie at midfield.

Central’s defense stepped up again as senior linebacker Craig Kein picked off a third-down toss at the Rockets’ 46 and Trevor Davison sealed the win with a 29-yard TD run around left end. Sorensen then added an interception and 32-yard TD return for good measure.

“We just can’t get in a hole early on,” Genoa-Kingston coach Travis Frederick said. “We gave up that kick return — special teams ended up costing us another game. We felt we moved the ball down there and couldn’t score any points the first half.

“But I was proud of the effort. We were right there.”

Central ran for 298 yards and the defense held McNeal to 139 yards passing on 9-for-25, while limiting the Cogs’ ground attack to 133 yards.

“Except for one big pass and one blown responsibility on the option, our defense had a good day,” Rockets coach Rich Crabel said. “When we’re on, that’s the way our kids play.”