Give Tommy Burbee a small gap, and he can slither through it.
Burbee, a 6-foot-1 junior running back, ripped off an 84-yard touchdown run against Penn with 1:59 left in the first half Friday night as host Valparaiso rolled to a dominant 34-14 win.
Burbee was just one cog in the rushing machine for the Vikings (1-0). He finished with 168 yards on 15 carries for Valparaiso, which was ranked No. 1 in the preseason by the Post-Tribune.
It was a statement win for the Vikings, who rushed for 277 yards. They set the tone early when Cooper Jones blocked a punt after Penn’s first drive.
The Kingsmen (0-1) were never close.
Penn fell to 26-8 overall against the Vikings. Winning by a 20-point margin against the Kingsmen doesn’t happen often.
Burbee was happy to be part of it.
“It’s so big for these seniors,” Burbee said of the victory. “It’s all starting to hit me now. I kept saying to myself, ‘It’s a normal game, it’s a normal game.’ I just had to keep focused. I’m glad we were able to do it.”
Burbee said it was the offensive line that helped him punch it into the end zone on his long run. He picked up two huge blocks on that play.
The first came when wide receiver Antonio Osorio sprung him at the line of scrimmage. The last one came when Luke Patterson, another wide receiver, blocked a defender at the 20.
Burbee said the play just unfolded flawlessly.
“My line was perfect,” he said. “Everyone was going the other way. When you are running, you don’t see anything. Everything was just straight downhill.”
Valparaiso coach Bill Marshall couldn’t wait to unleash Burbee.
Burbee played on the JV last season because Jesse Harper and Jackson Kurth were ahead of him. Both graduated.
“If anyone was watching the junior varsity games last year, they knew about Tommy,” Marshall said. “He is just explosive. It’s his time to shine.”
Burbee wasn’t the only player who shined. Hayden Vinyard added 75 yards rushing on 10 carries.
The Vikings also were stingy on defense, allowing only 186 yards.
Burbee said the offensive line “opened a million holes. It’s a force to be reckoned with.”
Peyton Krutz, a senior linebacker, was flying around in Penn’s backfield all night.
Krutz credited the defensive line for opening up big gaps for him.
“Our line makes it easy for us,” Krutz said.
Krutz said the Vikings have one of the best summer programs in the state.
“Our whole summer we were preparing,” Krutz said. “I saw what they were going to do a thousand times.”
