Burris plays like vet in first playoff start

"It just kind of shocked me that I was a 10th-grader." -DeEdward Burris Everything seems to come easy for Gaffney sophomore quarterback DeEdward Burris.

In just his sixth career start, Burris completed 12 of his 21 passes for 250 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 100 yards on 20 carries in the Indians' impressive 40-10 victory over Summerville in the opening round of the Class AAAA Division I playoffs.

"Sometimes we forget he's just a sophomore," said Gaffney coach Phil Strickland following Friday night's game.

Burris remembered that fact on the bus ride to Summerville.

"It hit me today when I was on the bus," Burris said. "It just kind of shocked me that I was a 10th-grader and leading us to the playoffs."

It was the Green Wave defense that was shellshocked on Friday.

Burris and the Indians amassed 524 yards of total offense against a unit that was giving up an average of only 230 yards a game.

Playing in his first playoff game, Burris did admit he was a little jittery.

"I was a little nervous, but (Coach Phil Strickland) told me to settle down and just play like it was a regular season game."

The game plan was to establish the run, then go to the air when the Green Wave defense was softened up. Burris praised the offensive line and running back Jeremiah Cochran for executing the game plan to perfection.

"Jeremiah ran good and it opened up the pass," Burris said. "The offensive line did well even though we were switching out our centers."

With its ground game clicking, Burris was able to find wide receivers Jeff Brown and Emison Hughes, who each topped the 100-yard receiving mark. They both caught touchdown passes as well.

After a disappointing 6-5 regular season, Burris said the Indians are approaching the playoffs with a new attitude.

"We look at it like everybody is 0-0," he said. "We feel like this is the beginning of a new season. We don't think about our record. It's like the season just started."