Burroughs football coach Jose Calzadilla knew he had to make some changes for his team, which entered winless before Thursday’s Pacific League road contest at Arcadia High.
Calzadilla didn’t get fancy. He just went back to the basics and his team came away 41-33 victors over the host Apaches.
“We had a handful of things that we wanted to do tonight and we saw some things and we made adjustments over the course of the game, but ultimately we knew we were going to run the ball,’’ said Calzadilla, who earned his first win as varsity head coach. “We knew we were going to go outside. They have some decent size inside. We had to keep them honest, but ultimately we were going to run the ball and take shots when they were available.”
Burroughs (1-4, 1-1 in league) got a fine effort on the ground from junior quarterback Brandon Chapparo and junior running back Sho Fujita.
Fujita carried the ball 33 times for 186 yards and three touchdowns.
Chapparo had 14 carries for 170 yards and a touchdown.
“It feels really good,” Fujita said. “It was a group effort. I couldn’t have done it without the team.”
Fujita scored on a 9-yard-run with 8:54 left in the first quarter to get the Bears on the board.
Arcadia (1-4, 1-1 in league) got on the board later in the quarter as Ethan Long scored on a 5-yard-run with 3:08 left in the quarter. The Apaches hit the goal post on the extra point and it bounced out, leaving Burroughs with a 7-6 advantage.
Fujita had a 4-yard touchdown at the 10:47 mark of the second quarter. Arcadia responded with a 5-yard touchdown run by AJ Pressnall.
Arcadia took its lone lead of the game later in the quarter when Pressnall hooked up with Aiden Reyes on a 74-yard touchdown pass.
Burroughs fought back behind backup Sean Gahman, who alternated with Chapparo throughout most of the contest.
Gahman hooked up with Brendan Smith on a 58-yard touchdown pass with 1:02 left in the third quarter.
The Bears scored a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter as Carson Shrode scored on a 9-yard run in his first carry of the game.
Fujita added a 10-yard touchdown with 1:55 left in the third quarter to put Burroughs up 34-19.
Arcadia cut the deficit to 34-25 with 8:44 left when Pressnall hooked up with Tyler Rangsuebsin on a 26-yard touchdown pass.
But Chapparo kept Burroughs moving. He scored on a 21-yard run with 3:08 left to play to make it 41-25.
Burroughs will host Glendale High next Friday at Memorial Field.
