Fast Start Sparks Burroughs to 23-8 Win

Burroughs High began its season opener Friday by returning the opening kickoff 78 yards. And the Indians didn’t stop running until they had amassed 306 total yards to beat St. Francis, 23-8, in Burbank.

Burroughs’ Andre Banks, a hard-running, 5-foot-11 senior, rushed for 132 yards in 19 carries. Danny Suarez, a 5-8, 140-pound senior who ran back the opening kickoff, scored two touchdowns and had 197 all-purpose yards.

“(Suarez) is a little guy who goes down like a cold drink of water, but you gotta catch him first,” Burroughs Coach Butch McElwee said .

St. Francis was left thirsty most of the night. The Golden Knights looked confused, at best, on offense, and porous on defense. They were limited to 101 total yards and ran only 12 offensive plays in the first half.

Burroughs took a 2-0 lead when St. Francis’ fullback Pete Morales fumbled in his end zone with 7:15 left in the first quarter. Suarez capped an 11-minute drive in the second quarter with a two-yard run. Lionel Portugal’s conversion gave Burroughs a 9-0 halftime lead.

Burroughs extended its lead to 16-0 when quarterback Dennis Rodriguez, who completed nine of 15 passes for 70 yards, hit a wide-open Cliff Parker with a three-yard scoring pass on fourth and two.

St. Francis took advantage of a poor snap on a Burroughs’ punt to set up Jay Reynolds’ 14-yard scoring pass to Marty Konrad that cut Burroughs’ lead to 16-8.