FARGAS KOS BURROUGHS : NOTRE DAME 37, BUGGOUGHS 14.

Byline: Gary Miereanu Special to the Daily News

How do you stop Notre Dame High School tailback Justin Fargas?

Ask Manny Felix. The Burroughs safety lowered the boom on Fargas on the first play from scrimmage, knocking the Knights star senseless and, ultimately, out of the game for the majority of the first half.

Unfortunately for the host Indians, football games have two halves ... and Fargas recovered.

Fargas rushed for 277 yards and three touchdowns - all but 89 yards coming in the second half - to lead unbeaten Notre Dame over Burroughs, 37-14, Friday night in a non-league game.

``They hit me pretty good that first play, I felt kind of dizzy,'' Fargas recalled of the game-opening hit. ``The coaches thought I should sit out for a little while, like most of the first half, to make sure everything was all right.''

Fargas, it turns out, was fine by halftime. Limited to just eight carries, the junior tailback accumulated 89 yards while quarterback Jorge Piedra racked up another 90 rushing yards, including a 55-yard keeper for the first Knights score.

But the Knights were far from all right at halftime, giving Burroughs several opportunities and sneaking into the locker room with a 14-6 advantage and no momentum.

``I felt like they were taking the game to us, hitting hard and running well,'' Knights head coach Kevin Rooney said. ``But I also thought we ran the ball well in the first half, and Justin was coming back. I thought if we could get him the ball, he could gain some yards.''

Fargas wasted little time, driving around, over and through the Indians on the Knights' initial drive of the second half, which culminated with a 41-yard TD run. On Notre Dame's ensuing drive, Fargas ripped off a 49-yard scoring run.

Fargas added a 1-yard TD run midway through the fourth quarter to conclude his participation for the night, finishing with 277 yards on 20 carries. Despite back to back 200-plus-yard games (215 vs. Alemany in the first week), Fargas knows there are greater accomplishments in the future.

``You can't be satisfied, you have to keep trying to get better,'' Fargas said. ``As long as the offensive line does their job, it makes my job easy. But I am going to get a good sleep tonight.''

Burroughs quarterback J.K. Scott finished with 16 completions in 35 attempts for 177 yards, including touchdowns to Brian Criscuolo and Kyle Cremarosa. Justin Diez accounted for the other Notre Dame score on a 1-yard plunge.

Notre Dame had 503 total yards, with 440 coming on the ground.