After relying on its ground game for most of the night, Burlington Central went airborne to pull out a thrilling 21-17 Class 6A opening round win over Libertyville Saturday night at Rocket Hill.

The second-seeded Rockets will host No. 7 Harlem, 62-0 winners over Chicago Mather, next Saturday.

Through the first three quarters, Central quarterback Landon Arnold threw only six passes. Trailing 17-14 with 2:24 left to play, the Rockets began their sixth drive of the night on their own 27-yard line.

Arnold switched to his throwing game, executing eight straight passes. The senior’s final toss of the drive was a 34-yard touchdown strike to junior wide receiver Sam Ames in the left corner of the end zone with 1:04 left in the quarter.

“I ran my route. I trusted my quarterback and he put it

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