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The Union Knights have ridden the legs of Wes Burnside to a district football championship.

Burnside rushed for 315 yards on 58 carries and scored the go-ahead touchdown with 2:07 to go, giving the eighth-ranked Knights a 41-35 win over No. 5 Marion in a Class 3A District 5 showdown last night at Thomas Park Field.

Even Burnside was stunned by the career-high numbers he put up against the Indians.

“Fifty-eight carries? Wow,” he said. “I knew we were going to be pounding it. We tried to do it last year, but we got away from that.”

Marion's Tyler Fisher (11) slips past Union's TJ Gray (64) in the first half of their game on Friday, Oct. 15, 2010, in Marion. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

The Knights (8-0 overall, 6-0 3A-5) never wavered from the talented junior Friday night, and he delivered. Burnside is the state’s leading rusher in all classes with 1,913 yards this season.

“He’s a good back. He really is,” said Marion Coach Tony Perkins. “He is very durable. But 58 carries … I don’t know how he survived.”

The game featured four lead changes and three ties. Burnside’s final touchdown, a 3-yarder, broke the final deadlock of 35-all.

Reid Monroe missed the point after, but it didn’t haunt the Knights.

Marion (7-1, 5-1) drove to the Union 45 before Hunter Zempel picked off Marion quarterback Tyler Fisher’s pass attempt with 1:03 left.

Both teams committed three turnovers.

Union trailed 28-17 midway through the third quarter, but Burnside’s 4-yard run and two-point conversion brought the Knights closer, then Trev Hadachek scored on a 3-yard run to put the Knights in front, 32-28, with 1:49 left in the quarter.

“We’re always good about coming back,” Burnside said. “We’ve come back lots of times.”

Cale Cannoy got loose for a 59-yard run on a quarterback option to give Marion a 35-32 lead, but Monroe’s 22-yard field goal tied it at 35-35 with 7:21 left in the game.

Brad Siebel’s pass interception set up Union’s winning drive.

The Knights went 26 yards in 10 plays, with Burnside toting it eight times on the game-winning drive.

“It was a great high school football game, but we had a few kids that weren’t ready to play,” Perkins said. “Our defensive tackles didn’t come to play. We made some costly mistakes, and you can’t do that against a quality team.”