The Wilmington defense was hard to penetrate.

By CALEB PARDICK

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

SHARON, Pa. — The Sharon Tigers weren’t playing with fire Friday night, but they certainly got Burnsed.

Brothers Chris and Derrick Burns scored four touchdowns and accounted for 204 of Wilmington’s 376 total yards to lead the visiting Greyhounds to a 35-14 win in a District 10 Region 3 AA game.

Senior Chris Burns took on the bulk of the workload, rushing for 130 yards on 22 carries for Wilmington, which has won seven straight since dropping its season opener at Ford City Aug. 31. The Greyhounds’ average margin of victory in their seven wins is more than 32 points.

“After the first game, when you get shut out 24-0, you don’t do anything right at all, fumble the ball seven times, after that, you certainly would have to be surprised if someone told you that you’re going to win these games by two or three touchdowns,” Wilmington coach Terry Verrelli said. “So, yeah, we’re pleasantly surprised.”

Sharon’s only opportunity to grab the lead and control of the game came early in the first quarter when Billy Altman picked off a pass in his own red zone and returned it inside the Wilmington 10-yard line before being tracked down by Chris Burns. From there, the Wilmington defense allowed just one yard on three plays and caught a break when Terry Flaugher’s 25-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left.

Wilmington never looked back. Derrick Burns put the Greyhounds on the scoreboard first, finding the end zone on a 15-yard pitch-and-catch from quarterback Colin Fulkman.

After another defensive stand turned back the Tigers on 4th-and-1 at the Wilmington 46-yard line, the brothers Burns went back to work, combining to cover 52 yards on four carries to get inside the 5. Fulkman scored from two yards out on the next play to grab a 14-0 lead.

On the first play of the second quarter, a Chris Burns interception gave the ’Hounds the ball at the Sharon 23-yard line. Derrick Burns scored his second touchdown of the night on a 3-yard run five plays later. The younger Burns, a sophomore, racked up 55 yards on seven carries.

Complementing the Burns brothers in the rushing attack for Wilmington (7-1, 5-0) was junior Luke Yohman, who glided his way to 123 yards on just seven carries, which included runs of 39 and 55 yards.

“Whenever they key on my brother, it just gives me and Luke an opportunity to run, and it’s just a great feeling,” the younger Burns said. “It’s hard on the defense, because I think they think there’s just one player to stop, but with us, there’s not.”

Sharon (5-3, 2-3) showed signs of life when Altman returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards to make the score 21-7, but the elder Burns’ 15-yard touchdown run two possessions later took away what little momentum Sharon had. The senior running back scored on a 14-yard run in the third quarter to round out the scoring for Wilmington.

Sharon’s other score came on a 23-yard run by Maurice Pearson with 7:28 to play.

Chris Burns said he thought Yohman’s performance was vital to Wilmington’s success.

“Luke gives us a new dimension,” Chris said. “He’s playing awesome, and he’s really stepped up to the plate. To have a good offense, you have to have a balanced attack, and with him, Derrick and me, it makes it harder for the other team to stop us.”

Verrelli said it will be interesting to see if teams will be able to hold down his team’s three-pronged rushing attack.

“I think what makes Chris even more effective is the fact that if you key on him, the other ones will kill you,” Verrelli said.

“Yohman and Derrick Burns are just starting to come around. It took seven weeks, but I think we’ve found two backs that are going to hurt people if you’re going to just focus on Chris Burns.”