Luke Burns

Valley Falls Dragons have put together five straight seasons of 12 or more wins together and start this season primed for another winning mark on the year, but goal and mindset is not just on winning season but reaching a plateau last reached in 2001 by the Dragons that is the State tournament.

The Dragons are off to a fast start this season heading into the holiday break with a 5-1 mark including a pair of wins over KC Christian (69-53) and Centralia (59-56) last week.

One of the big reasons for the team’s early success this season is one of the key returning players in senior, Luke Burns who has led the team in scoring in five of the six games. Burns registered the highest scoring night for his Dragons squad in all five victories this season, enjoying a great senior year thus far.

Luke posted 20 points against a tough Centralia team as Valley Falls battled back from a halftime deficit to notch the three-point win, while he followed that performance up with 17 points against KC Christian in the final game before the holiday break.

The season started with a bang for Valley Falls as Luke tallied 17 points against ACCHS in a route of the Tigers, 72-28. Dragons followed that win up with wins over Oskaloosa, 75-32 and West Franklin, 63-50 in which Burns posted 16 and 22 points, respectively. In the lone loss of the season Luke notched 12 points against Wellsville.

Luke on the season has been shooting from the floor with proficiency for Valley Falls connecting on 49% of his shots from inside the arc and 33% from behind the arc, while posting 17.5 ppg and 3.3 apg.

In his final year of high school the senior continues to shine athletically, showcasing his athleticism on the football field, basketball court and baseball diamond continually and has earned All-State honors in all three sports over the course of this athletic career.

Luke will need to continue to his strong performance alongside his teammates for the Dragons to reach the winning plateau again this season and challenge for a State tournament bid.