SHP’s Burr-Kirven is king of gridiron

With the two running backs ahead of him out with leg cramps, head coach Pete Lavorato turned to the 6-foot, 200-pound Burr-Kirven. On his first offensive series of the season, he blasted through the Terra Nova defensive front and rumbled for a 47-yard score on his third carry of the season. On his fourth and final carry, he broke off an 80-yard scoring run.

Its the stuff of movies in all respects except one: Burr-Kirven was expected to be that kind of player. The best player in the Central Coast Section.

So, despite missing five games, Burr-Kirven returned for the most important games of the season — the Bay Division season and the playoffs. Burr-Kirven was the icing on the cake that saw the Gators capture a number of firsts: first Bay Division championship, a CCS Open Division championship and a perfect 13-0 record.

The cherry on top is Burr-Kirven being selected as the San Mateo Daily Journal’s 2014 Football Player of the Year.

“It was definitely a weird season,” Burr-Kirven said. “We were a great team whether I was playing or not. I knew if I did play my best, it would be a benefit for everyone. Hopefully, I [could] make us great.”

He did precisely that. And despite his truncated season, Burr-Kirven put up offensive numbers that put him among the elite in CCS. While his total numbers aren’t off-the-charts, his per carry average was pretty impressive. In eight game — five Bay Division and three CCS games — Burr-Kirven averaged 107.8 yards per game, which was the ninth-best average in CCS. His average of 8.1 carries was fourth, while his 19 touchdowns was good for eighth in CCS.

Needless to say, Burr-Kirven was an elite performer in CCS.

“I think he is the best high school football player I’ve ever coached or ever seen play,” SHP coach Pete Lavorato said. “He’s just special.”

Lavorato’s original plan was to use Burr-Kirven sparingly on offense until the Gators got to the playoffs. But with the two players ahead of him in the running back rotation banged up, Burr-Kirven was in the backfield in his first game back. He rushed for 143 yards and two touchdowns on just four carries in a 49-28 win over Terra Nova and he simply never stopped.

“I think beating Terra Nova was a big thing,” Burr-Kirven said. “(After that win we thought) this is the year we’re going to do something special.”

When the Gators did get to the playoffs — garnering the No. 1 seed in the Open Division — Burr-Kirven turned his game up another notch. In three playoff games, against perennial powers Oak Grove, Los Gatos and Bellarmine, Burr-Kirven scored twice in each game, combining to rush for 387 yards.

Despite all the accolades Burr-Kirven receives for his offensive prowess, it’s his defensive abilities that led University of Washington to offer his a scholarship to play linebacker. Burr-Kirven made such an impact in a short amount of time on defense, he was named PAL Bay Division Defensive Player of the Year.

“What’s the old saying? Make everyone around you better? That’s what he brings,” Lavorato said. “It doesn’t matter if he’s running the ball or playing defense. … He’s equally good on both sides of the ball.”

Regardless of which side of the Burr-Kirven plays, you can expect one thing: 100 percent effort on every single play. Burr-Kirven attacks each play like he’s been shot out of cannon, disregarding his own body and inflicting as much punishment on the opposition as possible.

“Off the field, I’m a pretty laid back guy,” Burr-Kirven said. “Once I get on the field, I get a different mindset.”

Burr-Kirven said when he was a sophomore, an older player told him that all the good one have a little bit of “psycho” in them. In other words, they play with a crazed intensity that takes Burr-Kirven right to the edge.

“The best players always play like psychos. I want people to be scared of me,” Burr-Kirven said. “(My style) is a little bit reckless, a little bit wild. I normally do a pretty good of playing right up to the cusp of what is OK.”

Lavorato said it’s that attitude that separates Burr-Kirven from a lot of other players.

“That’s what I’m talking about. He’s special. He’s different from everyone else. He plays every play like it’s his last ever, like it’s the most important play ever,” Lavorato said. “There are always six or seven plays … that will be the difference between winning and losing. You don’t know which ones they are, so you have to play hard every single play. Unfortunately, not everyone does that. Except Ben. He plays hard every single play.”