ALL-AREA FOOTBALL: Burnum named Coach of the Year

Scott Burnum is passionate about sports.

His wife Lisa will share the story of the tears Scott shed when the San Francisco Giants won the World Series in 2010, yet chuckle that he was dry-eyed when their first son was born six years ago.

For nearly 25 years, Burnum has coached.

He’s dedicated to Pierce High – his wardrobe consists only of royal blue and gold.

Any athletic event – if his Bears are competing – he’ll be there.

He’s hard-nosed and can be intimidating to some, but he feeds off the passion of others.

Like some coaches, he avoids the honor of the Appeal-Democrat’s Coach of the Year for his team’s best season in seven years. Instead, he redirects the attention to his head assistant Chuck Wayman, former football coach Doug Kaelin, current athletic director Gary Teague, and of course, his players.

“When I see people do whatever they can for us, that makes me coach that much harder,” Burnum said.
Last season didn’t go as planned. The Bears finished 4-6, some players bickered amongst themselves and off-the-field issues sent Burnum back to the drawing board.

He came back rejuvenated and brought his roots with him.

With a stiff upbringing of team-first attitude from his father, Burnum reunited a squad that was divided last season.

“Our philosophy is simple, it’s a team, and you stay true to that,” he said. “It’s a second family out here, and they bought into that. We wanted them begging us to play.”

Coach Wayman handed out “Bear Pride” wrist bands – most of the players are still wearing them.
Don’t even think of asking for names on the back of the jersey, it’s an old adage, but Burnum held to it.

“It’s not about the name on the back of the jersey, it’s about the name on the front,” he said.

Team spirit took the players by storm.

The junior class especially bought in, seniors Chris Tapia and Christian Diaz made constant visits to “coach’s house” and Taylor Cabral stepped into a role of the “silent leader.”

“(Chris and Christian) probably came over more than I wanted,” he chuckled. “But it was such a great group of players this year.”
DVDs containing a detailed scouting report of Pierce’s next opponent were handed out on Mondays, and Burnum wasn’t disappointed with his players’ homework.

“I knew they had watched it, because some of the guys knew exactly what to do,” he said. “Practices became completely different.”

Two of the team’s biggest wins this season displayed as much.

On Sept. 23, the Bears’ goal-line stand against Live Oak at home made waves across the town of Arbuckle. Pierce won 21-20 after a dramatic final two minutes.

Live Oak marched down the field for a last-second score and was within one point of sending the game to overtime, though failed on a two-point conversion with no time left.

“It was pretty intense,” Burnum said. “(Romario) Acosta got out of a sack, then we intercepted it, but there was a roughing the passer call. I looked over at Chuck and said, ‘How many times do we got to beat these guys?’
“It was pretty exhilarating. On film, you can see me jumping up and down, running out on the field doing a couple of 360s right after the game,” he laughed.

Burnum also rejoices in his team’s efforts on the road against Willows on Oct. 28 – a game he spent countless hours preparing for.

“We had just got our butts kicked by Durham two weeks before and we were coming off a win over Trinity, but Willows was for the league championship,” he said. “That was a game where the preparation paid off.”

Defensive lineman Chaz Benton recorded four sacks and Pierce dominated in a 35-14 victory that propelled the Bears back into the postseason discussion with a share of the Sacramento Valley League title.

“I can’t remember when Pierce last beat Willows,” he said. “Everything just went right. The team played hard and we called all the right plays.”

Plays that called the number of “go-to” running back Isaiah Garcia, who carried the ball 19 times for 274 yards and a pair of scores, and amassed more than 2,000 yards for 28 touchdowns during Pierce’s 9-2 run.

“The kids realized that Garcia was our go-to guy when he began to break a few early in the season,” Burnum said about his standout.

After falling to eventual Northern Section champion Willows in the playoff semifinals and winter sports began to sweep through the campus, Burnum rested, knowing his team put together a great season.

But he realized after devoting his entire summer and fall to his football team, he neglected another one.

“I just checked my fantasy team, and I’m in the playoffs somehow,” he laughed. “I haven’t paid any attention to it all season.”

Of course not, he was wearing royal blue and gold.