LADUE — For a half, it was anybody's game. Then the Bombers of John Burroughs School took command.
Scoring on a pair of lengthy, time-consuming drives to open the second half and then adding another score after recovering a muffed kickoff return, Burroughs blew past visiting Westminster Christian Academy 35-10 in a football game played Friday afternoon.
The Bombers improved to 5-2 overall and to 3-2 in the Metro League. Westminster is 3-4 and 2-3.
"We had our shortcomings in the first half — some dropped balls, turnovers and other mistakes — but our coaches told us to stay calm and that we still had control, that we had a lot to say about who won this game,'' said Burroughs senior Shawn Edmonson, who led the way Friday with three rushing touchdowns as well as an interception. "I normally don't get that many running back reps, but today, because of injuries, we ran a little differently and I got my chance. It's really a credit to the offensive line; those guys did a great job of opening holes that gave myself and (fellow senior) Dylan Macon plenty of room to run. We seemed to have the ball throughout the second half. It's awfully hard to make a comeback when you never get the football."
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Edmondson had 12 carries for 57 yards and scored on runs of 4, 5 and 2 yards while Macon carried 24 times for 166 yards and a touchdown. Burroughs senior quarterback Max Steinbach had his team's other rushing touchdown; he ran for 50 yards while completing 6 of 8 passes for 52 yards.
"We started the week with our starting center and his backup out, so that forced us to do a little shuffling,'' Burroughs coach Marty Rodgers said. "We came in with a good plan and put it on our guys to go out and get it done. I thought our play on the offensive and defensive line today was outstanding. Eventually, we settled down and did a great job of executing and taking control."
The opening half was dominated by mistakes on both sides. Just three plays into the opening drive, Westminster sophomore quarterback Will Powers fumbled and the Bombers' Spencer King recovered near midfield. Ten plays later, Edmondson scored from 4 yards out. Kaden Bradley made the kick and Burroughs was up 7-0 with 6:59 to play in the first quarter.
The Wildcats' John Henry Stream picked off a pass late in the opening period, setting up a 31-yard field goal by Westminster's Stavros Afentoullis. With 45 seconds left in the first quarter, it was 7-3.
The Bombers stretched their lead early in the second quarter when Steinbach scored on a 39-yard run to the right. Bradley's kick made it 14-3 with 10:13 to play in the first half.
The Wildcats answered with their best drive of the day, marching 92 yards on 15 plays to cut the lead to 14-10. The drive featured a number of key passes from Powers and wrapped up when Isaiah Warren took a sweep left for an 11-yard touchdown with 44.3 seconds to play before halftime. Afentoullis' kick made it 14-10.
"At the half, our coaches reminded us that we were in control of the game, that our play would have a lot to say about who won or lost this game," Edmondson recalled. "We came out with that mindset, determined to get the job done."
Capping a drive that lasted better than 7 minutes to open the second half, Edmondson scored on a 5-yard run and Bradley added the kick to make it 21-10 with 4:47 to play in the third quarter.
Westminster controlled the ball for all but the last minute of the third quarter but turned it over on a fourth-down incompletion. Burroughs responded with another time-eating 15-play drive that finished with Edmondson's 2-yard scoring run with 4:32 to play. Bradley's kick made it 28-10.
When Bradley's kickoff was muffed, the Bombers' Luke Hohenbergh made the recovery at the Wildcats' 37. Macon ran the ball on four of the next five plays, battling through traffic for a 15-yard touchdown with 2:05 left. Bradley's kick closed out the 35-10 Burroughs' win.
"Dylan and Shawn did a great job for us today,'' Rodgers said. "They're guys who've been key to this program and it's nice to see them stepping up. And again, I have to credit our play on the line — those guys are incredibly smart and they work so hard. They did an incredible job of executing our scheme."
Westminster coach Cory Snyder credited the winners.
"The turnovers in the first half hurt and we had to settle for the field goal when a drive stalled,'' he said. "But at halftime, we felt good about where we were. I just thought (Burroughs) was the more physical football team and that allowed them to set a tone, especially after halftime. We had a pretty good idea of what they were going to do and we just weren't able to stop them."