Omaha Sports Insider's Grace Yowell sits down with Omaha Burke head football coach Paul Limongi following the Bulldogs' 63-28 win over Norfolk.
The Bulldogs had a slower start Thursday night allowing Norfolk to hold a 14-6 lead in the second quarter. Burke then took control of the game but the Panthers were just 7 back in the third quarter.
"First play of the game we scored, then we had a few let downs. Norfolk came out and played hard, eventually we got things going," Limongi said.
Burke came back strong in the second half with crucial touchdown passes of 32 and 69 yards from junior quarterback Tyler Chadwick.
"Tyler's a great leader, he's got a great arm, has great poise for the offense," Limongi said.
Chadwick has a good amount of experience on the field playing some as a freshman and starting all 11 games his sophomore year.
"He's accurate, he's able to move around the pocket pretty well," Limongi said.
Junior running back James Burks rushed 13 times for 135 yard and two touchdowns against Norfolk.
"James is our top running back, he's a tough kid, he's not very big but good quickness, hard to bring down," Limongi said.
Limongi also mentioned that the Bulldogs will be depending on Burks to carry a good part of their running game load the rest of the season.
"We're confident that he's going to be able to get the job done," Limongi said.
Burke has a handful of young players this season one of those being sophomore wide receiver Xavier Watts. Watts had 6 catches for 239 yards and two touchdowns Thursday night.
"He's a competitor, most of the time if the balls close he's going to catch it, he has a great ability to run after the catch and make a few people miss and then has the speed to take it the distance," Limongi said.
Bulldogs' Chris Hickman plays both offense and defense for Burke.
"Our team kind of goes how Chris goes, he has a motor that is pretty non-stop, he's so valuable to our team," Limongi said. "The kids really look up to him, he's a vocal leader but he also leads by example," Limongi said.
Linebacker Nick Henrichs has already gained a lot of national attention including an offer from Nebraska. Henrichs plays a key role in Burkes defense.
"He's fast, great nose for the football and when he gets ya he puts a poundin on ya, he's tremendous," Limongi said.
No. 1 Omaha Burke (3-0) takes on Omaha South Friday, September 15th at 7 p.m.
