Lackey, Stone, Westlake win on the gridiron
Puts up 256 yards on ground as Lackey football rushes to a win
During the offseason, Lackey head football coach John Lush and offensive coordinator Jimari Jones talked about having a big and powerful running back.
Thus far in the 2016 season, their thoughts has come into fruition as Malik Burns has been the answer to the Chargers’ backfield.
For the third week in a row, the senior back rushed for more than 100-plus yards as he finished with 256 yards on 20 carries and four touchdowns in Friday night’s 35-6 win over the visiting St. Charles Spartans in Indian Head in a Southern Maryland Athletic Conference nondivision football contest.
Burns, who did not play in the fourth quarter, led a Lackey ground attack that ran for 436 yards on 53 yards and all five touchdowns scored in the contest. Much of the Chargers’ success against the Spartans defense came in big yardage up the middle or off tackle.
“I give it up to the O-line. They have been working the hardest and it all starts with the front five,” Burns said. “We are focused, this is the team that we really are. Last week in the [41-18 loss to host North Point] we didn’t play to our full potential.”
Burns put Lackey (2-1 overall) on the board 1 minute 38 seconds into the game on a 21-yard touchdown run, capping a 4-play, 56 yard drive.
He then scampered for a 66-yard run to the end zone in the first 49 seconds of the second quarter and added a 45-yard touchdown with 4:06 left in the first half, giving the Chargers the eventual 21-0 halftime lead.
“We were looking for someone to hand the ball off to that was big and so far Malik looks good,” Lush said. “He’s never played running back before and he’s getting better each week. He is learning on the fly and I expect him to continue to run well for us.”
St. Charles (1-2) scored its lone touchdown early in the third quarter when senior quarterback Marlon Brown found senior running back Alpha Barry on a 10-yard touchdown pass.
Brown completed 10 of 18 passes for 97 yards in the game.
Burns later scored his fourth touchdown of the night on a 16-yard jaunt to the end zone to push the Chargers lead to 28-6 after three.
Senior speedster Tre Gulley added a 16-yard rushing touchdown late in the fourth for Lackey.
Lackey was missing three starters on Friday, all stemming from injuries suffered in the North Point loss. Sophomore starting quarterback Robert Middleton fractured his right foot and junior defensive lineman Julian Lyons sprained his right shoulder. There are no timetables on when their return as of press time, while senior wide receiver/return specialist Dion Yelder is out for the season with a broken right foot.
The Lackey defense forced St. Charles to punt five times, including on its first four possessions and turn the ball over on three drives.
“We were very unsuccessful in terms of stopping their momentum in the run game,” St. Charles head coach Avery Williams said. “They gashed us pretty good at the line of scrimmage. My hats are off to that team, they work hard. We talk about improving every week, so we are going to go back to the drawing board, make adjustments and put our best foot forward next Friday night.”
Lackey sophomore linebacker Kam Adams recovered a fumble that halted a Spartans drive late in the third quarter.
“We had a tough loss last week, but we had a bounce back win,” said Adams, who had eight tackles and a sack. “We have a bend but don’t break defense. I have all the trust in the world with my brothers on the ‘D’ and tonight we came to play.”
Lackey will host county foe Thomas Stone for its homecoming at 7 p.m. Friday. Stone defeated Leonardtown in Week 3, 41-16. St. Charles will host Chopticon at 7 p.m. against a Braves that is still undefeated after a 27-6 win in Week 3 at McDonough.