Advertisement

The teams were tied 6-6 after a quarter, with Romeo’s touchdown coming on a 10-yard run by Ryan Burkard, set up by Sam Nicosia’s 62-yard kick return.

Romeo took command with a 21-point second quarter, beginning when Kyle Witgen recovered a loose ball in the Big Red end zone after a fumble by the Chippewa Valley punter. Quarterback Blake Laurain ran in for the two-point conversion.

Zack Bellas got an interception on Chippewa Valley’s next possession, paving the way for a 15-yard scoring run by Laurain. Romeo scored once more before the half on a 34-yard touchdown run by Burkard. Zack Bellas kicked the extra point, giving the Bulldogs a 27-6 lead at the half.

Romeo capped the game’s scoring following the third-quarter kickoff. After an 18-yard return by Brian Roth, Burkard ran for a 76-yard touchdown. Bellas tacked on the extra point.

“Although we did not pass the ball much, our scoring should be credited to the wide receivers,” Romeo coach Tim Warneck said. “The downfield blocking effort by players like Darryl Johnson, Donny Kern, Alex Brewer, Evan Sharron and Dane Davis opened up the big running plays we had.”

Burkard finished with 137 yards and three touchdowns on six carries. Bennedetto Bongiorno added 58 yards on four attempts.

Defensively, Taylor Shotwell and Anthony Iafrate each had 10 tackles, with Dan Bowers and Zac Luck adding nine apiece and Bellas chipping in seven along with an interception.

The Bulldogs improved to 4-1 with the win, their second straight.