Burr-Kirven proves coach right — thriving with Huskies

There was talk when Ben Burr-Kirven was dominating on offense and defense at smallschool Sacred Heart Prep-Atherton, that it might not translate to Pac-12 football.

All along, his high school coach Pete Lavorato said, “Phooey,” that with his speed, smarts and instincts, BurrKirven was a natural for any level of the game.

Lavorato, who played 10 seasons in the Canadian Football League and was a CFL assistant coach, has coached 24 years at the high school level. “In all my years of football, I’ve only seen a few guys do what Ben does,” he told SportsStars magazine in 2014.

Burr-Kirven is proving his old coach right and making the Peninsula proud, as the leading tackler at Washington, the nation’s No. 6 team.

The speedy 6-foot, 222pound inside linebacker has 38 tackles for the Huskies (5-0) along with a sack. No one else on the team has more than 21 tackles.

As a three-year starter, BurrKirven led Sacred Heart Prep to a 39-3 record and three straight Central Coast Section championships, including an Open Division crown his senior year.

In 35 varsity games, he had 238 tackles to go along with 15 sacks and six interceptions.

Burr-Kirven and the Huskies host Cal on Saturday night.

Other locals on the Washington roster are backup quarterbacks Jake Haener (Monte Vista-Danville) and K.J. CartaSamuels (Bellarmine), linebacker Camilo Eifler (Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland), placekicker Peyton Henry (Monte Vista) and two former Milpitas defensive linemen, Vita Vea and Jason Scrempos.

Yale women’s volleyball:

Kelley Wirth (CampolindoMoraga) leads Yale (8-4) with 140 kills (no one else has more than 92) to go with 24 digs and 27 block assists.

The 6-foot junior is one of five Bay Area natives on the Yale roster, joining freshman outside hitter McKenzie Cook (Redwood-Larkspur), senior setter Kelsey Crawford (Mitty), junior middle blocker Shreya Dixit (Harker-San Jose) and sophomore setter Franny Arnautou (University).

Arnautou leads the team with 264 assists followed by Crawford with 156.