By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

If the Burns Hilanders wanted to make a statement about whether they deserved a spot in the 3A state playoffs, they certainly did with a 56-8 shellacking of Umatilla on Friday, Nov. 6.

Cole Potter rushed for 114 yards and scored four touchdowns, and the Hilander defense recovered four fumbles to secure the third, and final Eastern Oregon League (EOL) playoff berth.

The Hilanders wasted no time getting on the scoreboard as they put together a six-play, 60-yard scoring drive on their first possession. The key plays on the drive included a 21-yard pass from Zach Dobson to Potter and a 30-yard run by Landon Hanner. Potter scored on a 1-yard run and George Swartzlender kicked the extra point for a 7-0 Burns lead.

After fumbling the ball away on their first series, Umatilla forced Burns to punt, and then put together a 79-yard scoring drive of their own. Senior fullback Austin Bieren was the workhorse for the Vikings, rushing for 72 yards on nine carries including the final yard for the score.

Bieren also ran in the two-point conversion to give Umatilla an 8-7 lead with just two seconds gone in the second quarter.

The Hilanders were forced to punt on their next series, but they forced another Umatilla fumble and recovered the loose ball at midfield.

After three rushing plays took the ball to the Umatilla 39, Dobson heaved a pass downfield to Casey Thein who caught the ball at the 10, fought off two defenders and raced in for the score. Swartzlender ran in the two-point conversion attempt to give Burns a 15-8 lead.

After forcing the Vikings out on downs, Burns put together a 58-yard scoring drive, capped off by a 15-yard TD pass from Dobson to Potter with just 10 seconds left in the half.

Burns kicked off to Umatilla to get the second half under way, and for a while it looked like the Vikings would cut into the lead. Umatilla drove deep into Hilander territory, but the Burns defense stiffened and forced the Vikings out on downs at the 11-yard line.

Burns moved the ball out to the 45 with a pass completion to Thein and two runs by Dobson, and then Potter broke loose for a 55-yard sprint to the end zone to put Burns ahead 27-8.

The Hilander defense came up with another fumble recovery at the Umatilla 27, and Burns went up by 25 points when Hanner scored on an 11-yard run.

Umatilla’s fourth lost fumble came on their next series, and Potter’s 8-yard touchdown run finished off a the Hilanders’ ensuing 53-yard drive.

Umatilla then tried to go to the air, but Burns’ linebacker Chad Thompson picked off Andres Sanguino’s pass and returned it to the Umatilla 10.

On first down, the Burns coaching staff called for a counter play to Thompson. From his wingback position, Thompson took the inside handoff, turned the corner and bounced off two defenders on his way to the end zone and a 47-8 Hilander lead.

Starting at their own 20 on their next possession, Umatilla lost yardage on their next three plays, and rather than punt from their own end zone, Bieren stepped out of the back of the end zone for an intentional safety.

Burns’ final score of the night came on a 40-yard run by Francis Cain with just 1:35 left to play.

The win evened the Hilanders’ season record at 5-5, and raised their EOL record to 2-3. Nyssa also finished with a 2-3 league record, but Burns won the tie-breaker because they defeated Nyssa in head-to-head competition.

Vale claimed the top spot in the EOL this season with a 5-0 record, and Grant Union placed second with a 4-1 record.

Burns will now travel to Amity to take on the No. 1-ranked Warriors. The game will be played at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, at McMinnville High School.

Amity won the West Valley League with a 6-0 record and are 9-0 overall. They have also scored 432 points this season while giving up just 58 to their opponents.

1   2   3   4   Final
Uma         0   8   0   0       8
Burns       7  14 12  23    56

Individual statistics
RUSHING—Umatilla, Bieren 18-129, Betteran 7-14, Campos 11-22, Pankey 12-28, Chavez 1-(-1), Sanguino 1-0, Bruce 2-7, Bernal 2-(-3). Burns, Hanner 14-91, Potter 10-114, Dobson 9-37, Thompson 1-10, Kness 3-5, Cain 1-40.
PASSING—Umatilla, Pankey 1-2-0 11, Bieren 0-1-0 0, Sanguino 0-1-1 0. Burns, Dobson 5-7-0 97.
RECEIVING—Umatilla, Bieren 1-11. Burns, Potter 2-36, Thein 2-55, Hanner 1-6.