Burnet offense too much for King in Bulldogs’ 56-27 win
Burnet High School sophomore receiver Steven Gallardo (left) jumps over junior receiver Joel Johnson to get away from Kingsville King defenders Darius Wallace (22) and David Posada. Photo by Pablo Rivera
JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF
SAN ANTONIO — Kingsville King might have struck first, but once the Burnet High School football team got going, the Bulldogs didn’t stop.
The Bulldogs (10-2) defeated the Brahmas (7-5) 56-27 on Nov. 21 in the area round of the Class 4A playoffs.
Next up is Waco Robinson at 8 p.m. Nov. 28 at Baylor University’s McLane Stadium, located on South Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Waco. Robinson beat La Vernia 31-28.
Burnet head coach Kurt Jones said he was pleased with the way the players competed.
“Proud of our kids, proud of our coaching staff,” he said. “It’s exciting to win again and keep the season rolling into Thanksgiving and late November.”
The Brahmas took the opening drive of the contest 75 yards for a touchdown when Ryan Martinez caught a 20-yard pass from quarterback Nick Avelar for a 7-0 advantage.
“I know King is well-coached and disciplined,” Jones said. “I told our kids we were in a dog fight.”
It took Burnet junior quarterback Austin Moore four minutes and seven seconds to march the Bulldogs 78 yards for a touchdown. Junior running back Brock Foster capped the drive with a three-yard run for a 7-7 score.
And that’s when the “dog fight” ended and an avalanche of Burnet scores began.
The next Bulldogs touchdown came from a 77-yard interception return by senior linebacker Kody Hall for a 14-7 advantage.
Two Brahma punts resulted in two touchdown runs by senior running back Eric Walker for one yard and seven yards to put Burnet up 28-7
Avaler directed a 77-yard drive and called his own number for an 11-yard touchdown to trim the deficit to 28-14 at the half.
The Bulldogs didn’t let up in the second half.
The offense got touchdowns from Walker on a six-yard run, sophomore running back Steven Gallardo on a two-yard run, Moore on a four-yard run and an 18-yard Moore pass to Joel Johnson.
Moore threw for more than 300 yards, Johnson had more than 140 receiving yards and Walker rushed for more than 180 yards, all unofficial.
“Our offense bounced back,” Jones said. “I thought we were very efficient with the run and the pass. That’s what we try to do.”
Meanwhile, King struggled to score points.
“I thought our defense came up with stops at critical times,” Jones said.
jfierro@thepicayune.com
TEAM STATS
BURNET — First downs, 25; total net yards, 526; rushes-yards, 35-262; passing, 309; interceptions, 0; completions-attempts-interceptions, 25-32-0; fumbles-lost, 1-0; penalties-yards, 4-45
KING — First downs, 16; total net yards, 309; rushes-yards, 41-197; passing, 142; interceptions, 1; completions-attempts-interceptions, 7-12-1; fumbles-lost, 1-0; penalties-yards, 4-30
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING – (Burnet) Eric Walker 23-180-3 TD, Steven Gallardo 2-35-1 TD, Brock Foster 5-17-1 TD, Briggs 1-15, Jes Craig 1-11, Austin Moore 3-4-1 TD. (King) Roger Arkadie 15-65, Nick Avelar 19-92, Ryan Martinez 3-12, Quincy Arkadie 3-31, Darius Wallace 1-(-3)
PASSING – (Burnet) Moore- 24-31-306-1 TD, Rowdy Edwards 1-1-3. (King) N. Avelar 7-12-142-3 TD-1 INT
RECEIVING – (Burnet) J. Johnson 8-145-1 TD, Gallardo 7-81, Jones 8-63, Walker 1-17, Wynn 1-3. (King) Martinez 3-104-2 TD, Hector Cantu 1-8, Adrian Bernal 1-4, Adrian Rivera 2-26