POCATELLO — Pocatello had done its homework. On 4th-and-short, the film showed, Burley never actually punted. There was always some sort of trickeration, some sort of wild play seemingly drawn up on Madden.

On the first drive of the game, the Indians got their test. Burley had 4th-and-1 from its own 29 and lined up in punt formation. Poky linebacker Hunter Killian readied for something bizarre. The Bobcat punter bobbled a high snap and darted to his left. Killian met him at the line of scrimmage and unloaded a 6-foot-1, 180-pound grenade.

“That’s not unique to tonight,” Poky coach Dave Spillett said of his all-state junior. “I have a hard time believing there’s a better defensive player in the state this year … He’s the heart and soul of our football team."

If that’s the case, then he pulled double duty Friday night, reinvigorating the Indians’ heart and soul while simultaneously crushing the Bobcats' within two minutes. In Pocatello's 37-6 victory over Burley (2-4) on Friday night, Killian’s play was the tone-setter for the whole game, an infliction of strength and power that lasted 48 minutes.

“In all three phases, they were making big plays,” Spillett said of his team. “We knew we were going to see a lot of trick plays from these guys -- we probably saw six -- and our guys did their job. They’re all trusting each other.”

For the second-straight week, the Pocatello defense held its opponent to under seven points. And for the second-straight week, the Indians' offense had no trouble taking advantage.

Because of two Burley punting miscues, Pocatello started its first two drives inside the 40. Quarterback Zach Park hit Matt Christensen over the middle for a 10-yard score then scampered into the end zone for the Indians’ second score of the first quarter.

Poky’s first 10 plays ended in 14 points, which brought out quite the smile under Spillett’s blue mask. All week, he preached to his team the importance of their first few minutes. He wanted the Indians to “start fast and put them away early." Less than 10 minutes in, he got his wish.

“Quick 14 points in the first quarter,” Killian said. “It sealed the deal right from the beginning."

In the first half alone, Park was 9 of 14 for 153 yards and four total touchdowns. Receivers Ryan Payne and Casey Bruner found open space whenever they wanted against Burley’s man-to-man coverage. And when the score grew lopsided, tailback Ryken EchoHawk found ways to move the chains.

“They were blitzing a lot, so we had the pass game open and went off of that,” Park said.

In the second quarter, with Poky (5-1) up 21-0, EchoHawk ran back a Burley punt past midfield, a big gain negated by a block in the back penalty. The refs, though, spent minutes sorting out four other flags for an extracurricular scuffle that carried onto the sidelines. The penalties offset, but that's not the point — it could have been a spot where Burley, a team without momentum, found a spark.

On the next play, Park hit Payne for a 62-yard touchdown. If there was hope for the Bobcats, Payne loaded it in a cannon and blasted it to the moon.

“I don’t think there’s anyone who can defend us one-on-one,” Spillett said.

Park produced fireworks on offense and the Indians’ defensive line made sure that whoever threw the ball for Burley -- the Bobcats had four different players attempt a pass -- wasn’t going to have a second to go through his reads. The Indians’ four-man front forced Burley’s quarterbacks out of the pocket, ensuring that nearly any complete pass was a short one near the sideline.

“Our defensive line was killing it. They were putting pressure on the quarterback all night,” Killian said. “That’s what I was telling them all night, they’re just better than the person in front of them.

“We just knew we were the better team. There was no reason those guys should have even gotten close to the end zone.”

That sound bite from Killian is about as overzealous as you’ll hear a Poky player.

The Indians improved to 5-1 Friday night and will spend all of next week trying to forget that. Spillett has instilled the we-just-take-it-one-week-it-at-a-time mentality, hammering home the goal of going 1-0 each week. Aside from its Black and Blue Bowl loss to Highland, Poky’s done just that.

Next week, the Indians play Shelley at home before finishing their season against Preston and Century -- the two other teams in the 4A Southeast Idaho Conference.

“We’re definitely looking at these next few games and we’re excited. We’re ready,” Park said. “We’re only going to get better.”

If that’s the case, a special finish may be in store for Indians.

POCATELLO 37, BURLEY 6

Burley 0 0 0 6 — 6

Pocatello 14 14 2 7 — 37

First quarter:

Poky: Zach Park 10-yard pass to Matt Christensen (Kade Jensen kick good), 8:13

Poky: Zach Park 11-yard run (Jensen kick good), 2:20

Second quarter:

Poky: Park 16-yard pass to Ryan Payne (Jensen kick good), 7:02

Poky: Park 62-yard pass to Ryan Payne (Jensen kick good), 4:22

Third quarter:

Poky: Krue Hales and Ashton Gossett combine for a safety, 1:38

Fourth quarter:

Poky: Keon Woods 6-yard run (Jensen kick good), 4:09

Bur: Prestyn Ramos 45-yard pass from Caleb Loveland (conversion try no good), 1:34

INDIVIDUAL STATS

PASSING: Poky — Zach Park 17-26-244-3-0, Dreyson Contreras 3-4-21-0-0 … Bur — Treven Fenstermaker 9-15-62-0-1, Caleb Loveland 4-9-81-1-0, Ramsey Trevino 0-1-0-0-0, Slayder Watterson 0-1-0-0-0.

RUSHING: Poky — Ryken EchoHawk 9-44, Zach Park 5-24-1, Keon Woods 2-19-1, Ryan Payne 1-12, Parker Aplington 2-6, Chance Crittenden 1-(-2) … Bur — Treven Fenstermaker 6-26, Judson Mathis 4-24, Ramsey Trevino 3-11, Slayder Watterson 1-4, Prestyn Ramos 2-0, Caleb Loveland 1-(-4)

RECEIVING: Poky — Ryan Payne 6-119-2, Casey Bruner 3-59, Kade Jensen 4-37, Matt Christensen 2-23-1, Ryken EchoHawk 3-17, Parker Aplington 1-6, Noah Marley 1-4 … Bur — Prestyn Ramos 2-54-1, Breyden Fairchild 6-46, Slayder Watterson 2-24, McCray Mort 4-19, Michael Miller 1-9