Burnett, Fairfield run over St. Joseph’s

Cut right, side-step left, reverse field — all Fairfield had to do was hand it off to No. 5.

It was Charlie Burnett’s night, and there wasn’t much St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy could do about it.

Burnett carried Fairfield (1-0) to a 47-15 win over the Wolves (0-2) on Friday night at State College’s Memorial Field.

Burnett, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound sophomore, had nine carries for 166 rushing yards and three touchdowns. He also returned a punt for a score.

SJCA coach Steve Guthoff had tapes on two Fairfield scrimmages, but Burnett wasn’t featured in either.

“They didn’t use him in the scrimmages … He’s somebody we didn’t see a whole lot of,” Guthoff said with an exhausted laugh. “He would’ve piqued our attention. We would’ve tried to gameplan for him.”

Fairfield coach Darwin Seiler said Burnett contributed as a freshman and was excited to see what he’d do in the Knights’ season opener.

He wasn’t disappointed.

“We know he’s a good player,” Seiler said. “But you don’t necessarily anticipate that the first game of the year.”

Burnett made his impact felt early on. After an opening-series three-and-out by SJCA, the shifty runner returned the Wolves’ punt 45 yards to the house.

When Fairfield got the ball on offense, it took Burnett only two runs — 16 and 29 yards — to reach the end zone again. On the 29-yard score, Burnett slipped by a trio of tacklers, switched directions, and ran from the right hash-mark to the left pylon.

It wasn’t the last time the Wolves’ defense was breezed by.

Burnett, who finished with an average of 18.4 yards per carry, ripped through SJCA tacklers for a couple more rushing touchdowns. Fairfield quarterback Darian Mort scampered for a score in the second quarter, and Daniel Miller punched home a pair of short touchdowns in the second half.

All six offensive touchdowns were scored on the ground.

“We established the run,” Seiler said. “Believe it or not, we have a legitimate passing game.”

The Knights just didn’t need it.

For the Wolves, starting quarterback Brendan Robinson left the game in the second quarter after taking a shot to his mid-section.

Christian Chirieleison took over and handled the situation well. The sophomore completed 10 of 17 attempts for 118 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

Both touchdowns — a 21-yard connection to Zach Decarmine and a 10-yard toss to Jake Stormer — came late in the fourth quarter.

While the scores didn’t matter much toward the scoreboard, Guthoff was proud of his stand-in signal-caller.

“He doesn’t get many reps during the week,” Guthoff said of Chirieleison. “He stepped in and did an awesome job.”

The Wolves, who face Perkiomen next week in pursuit of their first win of 2016, showed some flashes of improvement from last Friday’s 54-0 drubbing at the hands of Bald Eagle Area.

But Guthoff made a notable observation.

“I was pleased with the way we were able to play against their second group, but unfortunately, we’ll have to play against teams’ first teams,” the coach said. “We’re going to get there … We’ll get where we need to get.”

This story was originally published September 2, 2016 at 11:59 PM with the headline "Burnett, Fairfield run over St. Joseph’s."