By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

After being kept in check for the majority of the first half, the Burns offense scored on their first four possessions in the second half for a 35-0 win over Elgin on Friday, Sept. 18.

Zach Dobson led the Hilanders’ offense as he rushed for 117 yards and threw for 129 more, including two long completions to Casey Heinz to set up scores.

A.J. Swartzlender ran for 84 yards on 13 carries and Landon Hanner added another 72 yards on 14 rushes.

Burns defense was solid the entire game, holding the Huskies to just 96 yards on the ground and 37 yards through the air.

Burns first scoring drive of the night began at their own 42-yard line with just 58 seconds left in the first half.

Following a 7-yard run by A.J. Swartzlender, Dobson found Heinz open down the left sideline for a 44-yard gain. The Hilanders reached the 1-yard line on a completion to Swartzlender, and a timeout stopped the clock with one second left.

Dobson followed his offensive line straight ahead on a sneak, and Burns led 6-0 at halftime.

Burns opened the second half with an eight-play, 80-yard scoring drive, which included a 47-yard completion to Heinz. The drive was capped off by an 18-yard touchdown run by Dobson.

An onside kick was recovered by the Hilanders’ Francis Cain, and Burns had the ball back at the Huskies 37-yard line. From there, Burns  put together a six-play scoring drive, finished off with a 5-yard run by Swartzlender to go ahead 20-0.

Burns’ next possession ended with another touchdown as Dobson executed a perfect option-pitch to Swartzlender that covered the final 18 yards.

The Huskies were forced to punt on their next possession and the Hilanders began their final scoring drive at their own 26-yard line. The 74-yard drive included a clutch fourth-down, 14-yard completion to Gus McConnell, and Dobson’s nine-yard TD run.

“We had a tough time moving the ball in the first half, but we adjusted our blocking schemes at halftime and the kids came out and moved the ball,” Burns coach Dally Swindlehurst said. “ And I thought our defense played well all game long.”

he Hilanders also converted all three of their fourth-down attempts during the game. “These kids believe they can do anything,” Swindlehurst said.

Burns is now 2-1 on the season, and will travel to Ontario on Friday, Sept. 25. Kickoff at 7 p.m. Mountain Time.

1   2   3   4   Final
Elgin        0   0   0    0    0
Burns       0   6  14  15   35

Second quarter
Bur — Zach Dobson 1 run (Kick failed) :00
Third quarter
Bur — Dobson 18 run ( Casey Heinz pass from Dobson) 7:01
Bur — A.J. Swartzlender 5 run (Kick failed) 5:12
Fourth quarter
Bur — Swartzlender 18 run (Landon Hanner pass from Dobson) 11:51
Burt — Dobson 9 run (George Swartzlender kick) 4:59
Individual statistics
RUSHING—Elgin, T. Hollgarth 11-62, Moore 10-16, Witherspoon 1-0, J. Hollgarth 2-6, Ja. Harris 3-18. Burns, Hanner 14-72, AJ Swartzlender 13-84, Dobson 16-117, Kness 2-7, Bennett 1-3, Stampke 1-3.
PASSING—Elgin, Moore 5-14-1 37. Burns, Dobson 6-13-0 129.
RECEIVING—Elgin, J. Hollgarth 1-2, Ju. Harris 3-29, T. Hollgarth 1-6. Burns, Swartzlender 3-24, Heinz 2-91, McConnell 1-14.