Sports : Burnside leading 3A rushers as Union sets new records

Wes Burnside carries the ball vs. Marion in last year's Union victory..

Union Senior Wes Burnside leads 3A runners with 455 yards after two games.

When the Vinton-Shellsburg Vikings end their season vs. Union on Oct. 21, they will have one defensive game plan: Stop Wes Burnside.

That, however, is easier said than done. Burnside has rushed for 455 yards on 45 carries in the first two Union wins, for a 10.1 yard per carry average. He has already scored six touchdowns, the longest of which was 78 yards.

Yet, stopping Burnside -- the 2010 Iowapreps.com Junior of the Year and a recipient of a letter of interest from the Iowa Hawkeyes -- is not the only challenge facing defenses trying to stop the Union offense. QB Trev Hadachek has accounted for 300 total yards, with 183 in passes and 117 in rushing. He also caught a 20-yard pass from Jay Scheel.

Union is 2-0 heading into district play vs. Center Point-Urbana this week. The Knights came from behind to defeat Decorah, 20-17, then easily defeated Independence, 57-0.

Head Coach Joe Hadachek says stat keeper Gregg McLaughlin has determined that Union set two new records vs. Independence.

1) In 1998 the Union Knight football team set the record for rushing yardage with 399 yards. On Friday the Knights totaled 415 yards to break the record.

2)The second record was total offensive yardage. Unionhad 549 yards in total offense with 134 in the air and 415 on the ground. The old record was 521 yards vs. Jesup in 1996.

Players of the Week for Performances vs Independence:

Offensive POW: Chase Hansen, Tanner Heckt, Hunter Zempel, Wes Burnside

Defensive POW: Josh Clark, Jon Porter

Special Teams POW: Brady Petersen

Offensive Scout POW: Jon Porter

Defensive Scout POW: Tedd Schmitz