Indians just short of ‘W’

Not many expected much from host Burroughs High on Thursday when it

hosted St. Francis -- the second-ranked football team in CIF Southern

Section Division III.

And while the end result might have been prognosticated by many,

the Indians’ performance certainly wasn’t.

“I think we woke up a few people tonight,” said Burroughs Coach

Keith Knoop after his team was edged by St. Francis, 13-10, in a

nonleague contest at Memorial Field.

“We’re a better team than them. ... We decided to make the mental

errors we knew we couldn’t make in the second half.”

The mental errors were low lighted by four turnovers, all of them

in the second half, two of them leading to 10 Golden Knight points

and the Indians’ first loss of the season.

It overshadowed a stellar night for senior standout Thomas Kyle,

who played running back, cornerback and quarterback on Thursday. He

tallied 142 of his team’s sparse 208 total yards, as he rushed for

104 yards in 18 carries and caught a team-high three balls for 38

yards.

Knoop put Kyle at quarterback in the second half, in hopes the

senior could help drive the Indians to a game-winning score.

“That last drive, he lives for that,” said Knoop of Kyle, who also

had a fumble recovery and blanketed St. Francis standout receiver

Scott Stephens on the defensive side of the ball.

Starting at the Indian 26 with 3:52 left in the game, Kyle drove

Burroughs 43 yards in six plays, rushing five times for 39 yards. He

came up short on a fourth-and-nine play, though, as the Indians

couldn’t score.

Defensively, Burroughs (2-1) shined against the undefeated Golden

Knights (3-0), as St. Francis’ only touchdown came off senior

defensive end Alex Bonifer’s 16-yard return of a fumble recovery.

“That was our offense tonight,” said St. Francis Coach Jim Bonds,

who saw Burroughs hold his offense to just 171 yards. “That’s a good

football team out there.”

Burroughs’ offense set the tone in the first half.

Junior kicker Anthony Seiler tied the game at 3 with 9:34

remaining in the first half on a 36-yard field goal.

Kyle gave the Indians the lead on his team’s ensuing drive.

He scored the Indians’ lone touchdown on a controversial two-yard

run with 5:42 left in the opening half to put Burroughs ahead, 10-3.

Kyle appeared to be stopped on a third-and-goal play, but the

officials never whistled the play dead and he wiggled loose for a

score.

Consequently, the Golden Knights’ score didn’t come without

controversy, either.

Indian starting quarterback Kevin Sanchez was hit on a play and

the ball was jarred loose. Sanchez argued his arm was going forward

when he was hit, which should result in an incomplete pass rather

than a fumble. His argument, of course, didn’t stand.

Senior Tony Banuelos, Jr., the usual starting quarterback, sat out

the game with an injured knee, but Knoop said he should be back for

next week’s nonleague game against host Chaminade.

Sanchez ended the night 10 of 17 for 110 yards and one interception.

Defensively, Eadler and Jake Ferrer added interceptions but were

helpless to stop the game-winning field goal with 3:59 left in the

fourth quarter.

The score came after two consecutive five-yard penalties against

the Indians pushed Golden Knight kicker Neil Favor 10 yards closer

and also nullified a 35-yard attempt, which hooked and was wide to

the left.

Said Knoop: “We knew, defensively, we would shut them down.”