There is no better time than the present to anoint another Independence Bank Player of the Week. Independence Bank is proud to sponsor a weekly article highlighting players in the areas where Independence Bank flourishes who embody the same type of revolutionary service to their respective football teams which has made Independence Bank unique and special in the banking industry.
Independence Bank has a goal of achieving everyday excellence, and this week we are focusing on a player who was instrumental in helping to lead his team to the Class 5A State Football Championship as only a freshman and then polished off an incredible sophomore season at one of the harder places to break into any starting lineup, one of the premier programs in Kentucky’s second largest classification. Going into his Junior season, after the sophomore campaign he was able to piece together, leaves no doubt that Class of 2022’s Luke Burton is ready to take his place among Kentucky’s most promising next-level prospects.
Burton’s South Warren High School is located right down the road from three Warren County Independence Bank branches. There is one on 877 Fairview Avenue in the Williamsburg Square; one on 2415 Nashville Road; and a third on 1950 Scottsville Road. Go on down and see our friends at Independence Bank and give them both the opportunity and privilege to earn your business and demonstrate what makes them the best in the banking business and the fastest growing financial institution in Kentucky.
We have constantly maintained there is no All-State team anywhere which doesn’t completely miss on players who should have been included but weren’t. None of our teams are any different.
Famously, in 2017, we missed on a running-back who had run for 2,004-yards from scrimmage and scored 29-rushing TDs for a 5A school. Not that any of our RBs on that team should have been taken off but, clearly, we missed on that player.
Well, Luke Burton from South Warren High School will go on the list of our famous misses. He had a dynamite freshman campaign where he probably should have made the KPGFootball Freshman All-State team. As a freshman regular on a Class 5A State Football Champion, Burton tallied 43-tackles and 5 TFLs.
He followed up his freshman campaign in spectacular fashion. Burton led the Spartan defense in 2019, taking over in that category from the spectacular Pete Cross who graduated at the cessation of the 2018 school year. Burton had 83-tackles, 12 TFLs, 5 QB-sacks, while both forcing and recovering a fumble. He even played some at the RB position where he deploys offensively.
Coming into the junior year, the year we really see players take-off, it will be interesting to see how much Burton plays offensively. There is no doubt the defense will revolve around him.
South Warren, who won the Class 4A State Football Championship in 2015 before being realigned into 5A and winning that title in 2018, had a disappointing season by its standards only. After polishing off a 15-0 in 2018, the Spartans (in the same district with powerhouse Bowling Green High School) exited the playoffs in the second round and finished 10-2. Having young stars around like Burton certainly lends to a rosy picture for the Spartans coming into the 2020 season.
After all, the Spartans do have Kobe Martin returning in the offensive backfield. All Martin did in 2019 was lead South Warren in rushing, gaining 1,167 of the team’s 1,922 rushing yards on the year, or nearly 61% of the team’s total ground production. Martin’s defensive position? Linebacker!
Congratulations to Luke Burton, both for his Revolutionary Play in 2019 and that which is to come in 2020, all of which has earned him this week’s recognition from the fastest growing bank in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, your friends at Independence Bank.
This is Coach HB Lyon, reporting for Kentucky Prep Gridiron and reminding you that WE’RE JUST CALLING IT LIKE WE SEE IT!
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