Yellow Pages
BURLINGTON — Even in a rivalry 104 games old, there’s still room for something new.
The 2009 version of the annual Battle of the Bridge between the Mount Vernon and Burlington-Edison football teams, the state’s longest running high school football rivalry, posted a few firsts in the Northwest Conference game.
Though records are not complete, it’s safe to say the rivalry has never seen a kicker make three field goals of 40 yards or longer. It’s never seen the University of Washington Marching Band.
It’s probably never featured a blocked punt bounce off a goalpost and be recovered for a touchdown. It’s probably never seen one team turn the ball over nine times, and it’s probably never had a team get shut out despite outgaining its opponent by almost 100 yards.
It has, however, seen its share of blowouts. Burlington-Edison’s 30-0 victory over Mount Vernon on Friday continued the Tigers’ recent stranglehold on the series. Burlington-Edison has won six straight and leads the overall series 56-39-9.
“This feels excellent,” Tiger Jacob Schifferl said. “The team played great. I couldn’t be happier right now.”
The Bulldogs (3-1 Northwest Conference, 5-1 overall) turned the ball over nine times, helping the Tigers (5-1, 5-1) start six possessions in Mount Vernon territory. All five offensive scores came on those six drives.
“We just made too many mistakes,” said Bulldogs’ coach Jaxon Schweikert, whose team also committed 11 penalties. “In our style of offense, when it goes bad, it can go really bad. When it goes well, it’s fun to watch, but it can get really ugly.”
The Tigers intercepted Bulldog quarterback Jake Weber-Koetje six times, forced three fumbles, and blocked a punt for touchdown.
“With a passing team like that, you have to show them something unique, something they haven’t seen,” Tigers’ coach Bruce Shearer said. “Coach (Herb) Lehman did a good job.”
