Burlington Central comes out strong in second half to beat Dundee-Crown

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Whatever coach Brian Melvin and the Burlington Central coaching staff said at halftime Friday, it worked.

The Rockets scored 17 unanswered points in the second half to break a tie and defeated Dundee-Crown, 24-7, in their Fox Valley Conference game at Rocket Hill.

“There were no adjustments at halftime,” Melvin said. “We just talked. We did a better job with their spread offense defensively and we moved the ball on offense in the second half. Shawn (Adkerson) did a great job of leading us. He ran the offense well.”

The Rockets (2-1, 2-1 FVC) were able to get the victory despite standout senior running back Gavin Sarvis being limited to punting duties with a quadriceps injury.

Adkerson carried 18 times for 101 yards and touchdown runs of 6 and 2 yards, and also threw for another touchdown.

Adkerson’s touchdown pass came on a 6-yard toss to Jake Herman with 1 minute left in the third quarter.

“We made too many mental mistakes in the first half,” Adkerson said. “We played like we were capable of in the second half. We feel like we can be a playoff team and played better in the second half.”

The Rockets defense totally stymied the Chargers in the second half.

D-C (0-3, 0-3) managed only one first down and 27 yards of total offense in the second half.

“We stuck to the game plan in the first half, but the game got away from us a little in the second half,” D-C coach Mike Steinhaus said. “They made plays in the second half. We have some great young players and great senior leadership.”

Sophomore quarterback Zach Randl enjoyed a solid first half for the Chargers.

During the first 24 minutes, he completed 9-of-15 passes for 115 yards and a 9-yard touchdown to Hunter Guyon.

Junior running back Keegan Otte, who ran for 112 yards on 23 carries, gained 90 yards in the first half.

“We have a very talented junior running back (Otte) and Zach (Randl) is improving all the time,” Steinhaus said. “The future looks good.”

Randl’s brother Drew caught three passes for 41 yards and Henry Kennedy caught two passes for 55 yards.