Burleson has fast start as Elks, Florida commit defeat Cleburne in key district matchup

The Burleson Elks built a 21-0 lead in the first quarter en route to a commanding 49-21 victory Friday over rival Cleburne at Yellow Jacket Stadium. Burleson improved to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in District 5-5A Division 2 play while Cleburne fell to 4-2, 1-2.

The Elks received a big performance from senior quarterback and 3-star Florida commit Jalen Kitna, who completed 25 of 27 passes for 272 yards and three touchdowns.

After Burleson’s defense forced a three-and-out on the game’s first possession, the Elks took their initial drive 65 yards in seven plays — the seventh coming on a fourth-and-6 where Kitna connected with Conan Doyle for a 16-yard touchdown pass for a 7-0 lead.

With Cleburne looking for the answer, Burleson’s Tadarius Calton returned an interception 78 yards for a touchdown to put the Elks on top 14-0 with 5:21 left in the opening quarter.

Following another Cleburne three-and-out, the Elks started to pull away. After a 20-yard completion from Kitna to Aswan Bonner, Jarrett Austin scored from a yard out to make it 21-0 in the final seconds of the first quarter.

Bonner added a 19-yard touchdown run late in the second half to give the Elks a commanding 28-0 lead.

Cleburne’s offense finally got going on the ensuing possession. After two receptions by Jason Pugh, Cleo Chandler got loose for a 30-yard run to set up a 3-yard TD pass from Gunner Hammond to Chandler to make it a 28-7 game at halftime.

After a scoreless third quarter where Burleson possessed the ball for more than 10 minutes, the Elks scored three more touchdowns in the fourth — a 44-yard pass from Kitna to Bonner, a 3-yard pass from Kitna to Colin Maher and a 13-yard Austin run.

Chandler found the end zone two more times for Cleburne in the fourth on runs of 2 and 41 yards. Chandler led the Jackets with 148 rushing yards on 18 carries with three touchdowns.

In addition to Kitna’s big night, Austin rushed for 115 yards and scored twice on 16 carries while Bonner had five receptions for 82 yards with 24 rushing yards and two scores. Burleson out-gained Cleburne 411-311 in total yardage.

This story was originally published October 31, 2020 at 12:43 AM.