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Burke vs Wade Hampton

Burke takes on Wade Hampton in high school football playoff action Friday night at Stoney Field.

Del'Javon Simmons stood out on the football field Friday night, and it wasn't because he wore pink socks.

Burke's talented quarterback had an effort that bordered on surreal as the Bulldogs pounded Wade Hampton, 60-20, in the first round of the Class AA playoffs. The 5-10 senior carried 10 times for 157 yards and a touchdown, and completed 8 of 12 passes for 276 yards and six touchdowns.

Simmons, who wore the pink socks to increase awareness in breast cancer, would have thrown for nine touchdown passes, but Sidney Sanders suffered from slippery hands. He was wide open when he dropped two long passes that would have been sure touchdowns, and caught another pass for 54 yards that he fumbled into the end zone for a touchback.

"I told Sidney to take his gloves off," Simmons said with a laugh. "But he said that wasn't the problem. It was just one of those things."

Last week, the Bulldogs won their first region title since 1968, and coach Earl Brown said Friday was his team's first playoff victory since the turbulent year. The Bulldogs played in front of a big crowd at Stoney Field, and Simmons wanted to make an impression.

"We were going hard in practice this week, and this was the first time we had a playoff game at home in a long time," said Simmons, who was selected to play in the North-South All-Star game. "We wanted the community to be proud of us and to come out and support us again."

Simmons also had a key role on defense. He logged three tackles, including one for a loss. He recovered a fumble and returned an interception 80 yards late in the game as the Bulldogs won their ninth straight game to improve to 9-2. The Bulldogs will host Manning in the second round.

Michael Heyward added balance to Burke's attack with eight carries for 109 yards and a pair of scores. He also had two receptions for 78 yards and a score. Sanders recovered from the dropped passes and the fumble to finish with four catches for 123 yards and three touchdowns. Michael Jenkins tallied two catches for 51 yards and two touchdowns.

Brown had reason to smile with his team's offensive performance, despite Sanders' glitches.

"That's the first time that I've ever seen Sidney drop a pass," Brown said. "I figured it would be sooner or later. I just didn't expect what happened tonight. Hopefully, he got the bad game of his system."

Wade Hampton finished with a 3-8 record. Coach Jim Shuman was impressed with Simmons' individual effort and the Bulldogs' collective effort.

"He's a tremendous athlete," Shuman said of Simmons. "He runs, throws and has the ability to elude tacklers. I can see them going far in the playoffs. They play hard, and they play with heart. Their speed and athleticism were too much for us."

B--Sidney Sanders 12 pass from Del'Javon Simmons (run failed)

B--Simmons 7 run (run failed)

WH--Corinthian Williams 24 run (Carl Stevens run)

B--Michael Jenkins 24 pass from Simmons (Tyquan Scott pass from Simmons)

WH--Dondre Brown 3 run (run failed)

B--Sanders 54 pass from Simmons (run failed)

B--Sanders 2 pass from Simmons (pass failed)

B--Michael Heyward 45 run (pass failed)

WH--Shawn Barnes 53 pass from Steven Walker (run failed)

B--Heyward 3 run (Branden Bell pass from Simmons)

B--Jenkins 27 pass from Simmons (pass failed)

Burke--Heyward 57 pass from Simmons (Sanders pass from Simmons)

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