Burse leads Modesto Christian to overwhelming win

By Richard T. Estrada
restrada@modbee.com

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SALIDA -- "Bring on Escalon."

That was the battle cry Friday after quarterback Isaiah Burse led Modesto Christian to a 64-7 rout of Colfax an a Sac-Joaquin Section Division 4B playoff opener.

"Some people think it was a fluke that we beat Escalon the first time," said Burse, whose top-seeded Crusaders (11-0) beat Escalon 21-16 two weeks ago. "We're not cocky about it, but we have something to prove."

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MC hosts No. 4 Escalon (10-1), which opened the playoffs with a 38-21 win over Hilmar. In another quarterfinal, No. 2 seed Central Catholic (10-1) hosts No. 3 Summerville (10-1) -- a rematch of last year's opener won by Central.

The Crusaders knew they were on their way to the semifinals almost from the opening kickoff -- which Burse returned 94 yards for a score. The play was called back for an illegal block, but that didn't matter.

With Burse at the controls of the Stanislaus District's most potent offense, the game became a scorefest.

A 65-yard drive led to Keaton Engel's 4-yard TD run 4 minutes into the game. Dustin Hayes intercepted Colfax's first pass and returned it 29 yards to the 16. Three plays later Kevin Roya went in for a 13-yard TD run. Burse's 2-point pass to 6-foot-5 Ray Nelson made it 14-0, and the rout was on.

By halftime, MC was up 44-7 and the folks from Colfax were stunned into silence. They knew the Falcons had no answer for Roya and Nelson, to say nothing of the explosive Burse.

Burse had 237 yards offense and a hand in four TDs in the first half. He had 127 yards rushing and two TDs, including a 48-yarder that went into the end zone, and 110 yards passing and two TDs, including a 63-yarder to Roya with 20 seconds left in the half.

Colfax, meanwhile, was helpless against a defensive front that forced four turnovers and took Pat Rawlins all but out of the game.

Rawlins had been averaging 147 yards and two TDs a game, but finished with 90 yards on 14 carries vs. MC. He had a 34-yard TD in the second period, his only big play.

"He was the key to their offense, so it was up to the defensive front to shut him down and pressure the quarterback," said 6-4, 225-pound noseguard Tyler Jamison, who dominated the interior gaps. "The tackles take care of the outside gaps and the linebackers are busy blitzing."

Flanked by defensive tackles Michael Fahlgren and Kris Mora, Jamison focused on Colfax's center and repeatedly pushed him into the backfield. The pressure from the front set led to three interceptions.

"We talked this week about making a statement in this game, coming out doing everything right," Jamison said. "Last time we beat Escalon, it was the first time in my nine years of football we did that. Now we we want to do that again."