With the clock ticking down on the season, senior quarterback Landon Arnold took some time to gather his thoughts at the edge of the sideline during a Burlington Central timeout.

Even true leaders need a minute to pull themselves together.

“I’m an emotional person,” Arnold said. “It’s on my shoulders so my team doesn’t have to worry about it. I just had to take a moment to reset and get my head back in the game.”

The road was too far gone for the Rockets to recover Saturday in a 49-21 loss to Fenwick at Triton in River Grove, but Arnold kept up his aggressive play in the Class 6A state quarterfinal game.

Arnold completed 13 of 25 passes for 171 yards as Burlington Central (10-2) passed more than usual while chasing most of the game. He also ran for 45 yards and caught a 3-yard TD pass.

Henry Deering added a 1-yard TD run and Gavin Bergemann caught five passes for 92 yards for the Rockets, who were denied a chance at their first-ever berth in the state semifinals.

Burlington Central’s Landon Arnold (3) runs for a gain past Fenwick’s Rocco Nero (25) and Josh Morgan (2) in a Class 6A state quarterfinal at Triton in River Grove on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025. (Talia Sprague / The Beacon-News)

Fenwick (9-3) piled up 534 yards of offense. Jamen Williams completed 19 of 22 passes for 220 yards, accounting for four TDs. Jake Thies ran for 239 yards and 3 TDs and added a TD catch.

Arnold, meanwhile, had to adapt his game Saturday and continued to absorb hits late into the fourth quarter. That leadership was no surprise to Burlington Central coach Brian Iossi.

“At halftime, that’s what we talked about — continuing to fight to the very end,” Iossi said. “Landon exemplifies that every time he’s out there. I think he’s a heck of a high school football player.

“Landon fought until the very end, just like all of our seniors.”

Burlington Central’s Landon Arnold (3) hands off the ball to Christian Livingston (10) against Fenwick during a Class 6A state quarterfinal game at Triton in River Grove on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025. (Talia Sprague / The Beacon-News)

The Rockets were already trailing 13-0 after running only three offensive plays. Arnold then engineered a 15-play, 80-yard drive, capped by his 5-yard TD run, to cut the deficit to 13-7.

It was the closest Burlington Central got the rest of the day.

Down 20-7 at halftime, the Rockets received the second-half kickoff. But after that drive stalled, Thies produced a 68-yard TD on the next play to essentially put the game away.

Arnold continued to battle, however. A 44-yard pass to Bergemann set up Deering’s TD run to get the deficit down to 28-14 with 7:18 left in the third quarter.

Burlington Central’s Gavin Bergemann (1) runs after a catch against Fenwick during a Class 6A state quarterfinal game at Triton in River Grove on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025. (Talia Sprague / The Beacon-News)

“I think it just kind of boosted us and got us to start going again, gave us the confidence that we needed,” Deering said. “We were down. We needed something big and that’s what happened.”

Arnold knew if it came down to passing, he would be ready.

“We’ve always had the ability to throw it,” Arnold said. “It came up (Saturday), so that’s what I did. I did better in the second half, started passing the ball a little bit more.”

Iossi had complete confidence in Arnold, who also caught a 3-yard TD pass from Sam Ames.

“He was capable of that all year,” Iossi said of Arnold. “That wasn’t our identity this year. Landon is more than capable of going out there and slinging it around.

“If our games dictated that he throw the ball 30 times a game, I would have no problem with it. He had a heck of a season. Super proud of him.”

Burlington Central’s Landon Arnold (3) dives for a first down past Fenwick’s Liam Cahill (44) during a Class 6A state quarterfinal game at Triton in River Grove on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025. (Talia Sprague / The Beacon-News)

Deering confirmed there’s nobody the team would rather rally around than Arnold.

“That kid is a stud,” Deering said. “That just shows true passion — someone who is born to work and do it. He does it for us.”

Arnold went through a lot in his four years, so he relished the fact that the Rockets became the fourth team in program history to reach the state quarterfinals.

“I’m so proud of these guys,” Arnold said. “We were 1-8 freshman year. No one believed in us.

“We just couldn’t end it better.”

Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/15/landon-arnold-burlington-central-fenwick-ihsa-football/