California University of Pennsylvania football coach John Luckhardt added a dime package to his defensive scheme for the Vulcans' opener against East Stroudsburg and it paid huge dividends.

The Vulcans recorded nine sacks, intercepted two passes, and held the Warriors to minus-38 yards rushing and 53 yards total offense.

"I haven't used a dime package much before, but decided to add it to our defensive scheme during the spring," said Luckhardt. "It was a perfect fit for a team that likes to throw the ball as much as East Stroudsburg."

The star of California's dominating defense was Darren Burns, a 6-3, 215-pound outside linebacker. Burns, a graduate of McKeesport Area High School, recorded seven solo tackles, including a career high four sacks.

"With the dime package, I was rushing not only from the outside, but also to the inside," said Burns. "We did a great job of mixing up our defenses and coverages. It was a great effort from the entire defense."

Burns is a redshirt junior who begins his third year in the starting lineup.

"Darren came to McKeesport after playing down south," said Luckhart, referring to Burns' transfer from Alief Hastings High School in Houston, Texas, midway through his junior year. "He only played one year at McKeesport, and wasn't even a regular starter.

"He was one of a stable of running backs [coach] George Smith had that year. He was also very good on special teams."

Smith recommended Burns because of his great speed.

"I'm not sure of his 40-yard dash time, but I'm sure it's in the 4.5 range," said Luckhardt. "He's bigger than most backs and smaller than most linebackers."

Burns started two years at Hastings at wide receiver, but was academically ineligible his junior year.

"My family is originally from McKeesport," said Burns. "We moved to Houston when I was eight or nine. I moved back with my dad midway through my junior year and played at McKeesport my senior year."

Luckhardt moved Burns to outside linebacker to take advantage of his speed. With little or no experience on defense, the obvious move was to have Burns redshirt as a freshman.

"It was a great help having a year to learn the position and our defensive scheme," said Burns. "It also allowed me to get accustomed to college life and the academic workload."

Burns moved into the starting lineup in 2005 and recorded 21 solo tackles, 25 assists, four tackles for a loss, one sack, one pass breakup and one forced fumble in 10 starts.

"It was a little nerve-wracking at first," said Burns, referring to his first season of playing defense. "As the season went on, I felt more comfortable. All my hard work was paying off."

Burns had his most memorable game during the 2005 season.

"We beat Shippensburg on the road [41-13] and I had 11 tackles," said Burns. "It was the first time we beat Shippensburg in 14 years."

Last season, Burns made 11 starts and recorded 26 solo tackles, 19 assists, one sack, one interception and four pass breakups.

"Darren will be a four-year starter when he leaves California," said Luckhardt. "Not bad for a kid who didn't start in his senior year in high school."

California has shared the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division title the past two years.

"It's a great honor to be on two co-championship teams, but we don't want to share the title with anybody this year," said Burns, who is majoring in criminal justice. "We want to win the title outright and earn a berth in the NCAA Division III playoffs.

"I worked very hard during the summer with those goals in mind."