×

Dunkirk hosts Burgard tonight for Senior Night

OBSERVER Photo by Ron Szot Dunkirk quarterback Phil Messina looks to pass during a game earlier this season. Messina’s Marauders put their 5-0 record on the line tonight against the Burgard Bulldogs at Dunkirk High School at 7:30 p.m.

The Dunkirk Marauders have started the season as well as could be. Now, there is just one more hurdle to clear before the iconic rivalry matchup with Fredonia to conclude the season. The team standing in the way tonight is the Burgard Bulldogs.

Burgard (2-3, 2-2) held a halftime lead over Fredonia last week, while forcing what is likely the worst half of football all season for the Hillbillies in the first half. Burgard showed it can play with the Hillbillies — at least for a half — but the Marauders may be a different story.

Dunkirk (5-0, 4-0) has already proven all it could prove so far during the regular season. The Marauders opened the year with a 58-14 blowout of Eden/North Collins, proving the team could keep its focus to properly prepare for the first game of the season. The Marauders topped Tonawanda a week later, without two-way starter Tywon Wright, who was ruled out for the season with a knee injury. Dunkirk then had blowout wins over Alden, Newfane on the road, and Class A1 Hamburg for Homecoming in Dunkirk last week. Through five weeks, the Marauders only trailed once in the second half, and have outscored their opponents 195-54. The team has won at home and on the road, through adversity, and even against a Class A1 school.

“We’ve done some really nice things,” said Dunkirk head coach Mike Sarratori. “One of the really nice things about our season is we’re improving every game. … There are so many good teams in (Class B1-3) it’s always a tough week. What we’ve done so far is pretty impressive, and I think our kids know it, but they know that (in relation to our goals) we’ve done nothing yet.”

Now, the Marauders have to get by Burgard.

“They’re very athletic, with some really good speed,” said Sarratori. “We just need to control No. 5 (DeMario Baines) and we need to control their jet sweeps and counters, and stay disciplined.”

The Bulldogs come in as one of the most experienced passing teams in the league. Burgard quarterback Dexter Lee has attempted 77 passes through the first five games, while Dunkirk as a team has only attempted 24 on the year. Burgard has nearly 700 yards through the air on the year, while Dunkirk has just 271 yards.

“We’re very familiar with passing teams,” said Sarratori. “Our defense has been playing very well lately. They’re not going to surprise us with their passing game.”

Sarratori also expressed confidence in his young quarterback Phil Messina.

“We’re confident in our passing ability,” said Sarratori. “We have a young quarterback who is more confident with every game. Maybe we’re not going to put the game in his hands completely, that’s not what we do best, but I have confidence in (Messina).”

If Dunkirk does what it does best, the Marauders will continue its dominant season for one more week.

“When you go against a team like Burgard that can hit you right away, on defense and on offense with big plays, we have to keep the ball away from them and control the ball. We want to break their will in 3rd and 4th quarter, and we’ve done that in games so far this year,” said Sarratori.

The biggest test of all for Dunkirk may be staying focused on Burgard, rather than looking ahead to a potential undefeated clash with Fredonia for the Class B3 title in the Orange Bowl next week.

Dunkirk, however, is not looking ahead.

“We haven’t brought up Fredonia,” said Sarratori. “We want to win a division title and have a home playoff game in our hands. To do those things, we have to beat Burgard first. Our kids are focused on the right things.”

NOTES: Tonight is Senior Night for Dunkirk’s 13 seniors. Sarratori called the class “a special group,” and credited every one of the players for contributing to the team in one way or another.

Follow the action with live updates on Twitter during the game @TheObserverNY and look for the game story in Saturday’s OBSERVER.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today