Scheduling nonleague opponents is not easy because schools generally look to find opponents of similar characteristics while not having to travel too far.
Friday night Burbank High hosted St. Genevieve of Panorama City, which has long been considered the friendliest opponent amongst Catholic schools in the San Fernando Valley.
Times are changing though and that was reflected Friday night as the Valiants took care of business in a hurry in a 54-21 win over the host Bulldogs, who were playing on their own campus.
“They can turn it on. Pac-12 scouts were out here tonight. They’ve got a stable there,” Burbank coach Adam Colman said of St. Genevieve’s running backs.
The Valiants (4-0) were led by running back Camdan McWright, who finished with 14 carries for 205 yards and four touchdowns. He has 12 touchdowns this season.
“This was a great team win going into the bye week,” said McWright, who was being scouted by the University of Utah.
Burbank (1-4) got creative on the first play from scrimmage as Nick Franco took a hand off from Dylan Robinson and threw a pass downfield to a wide open Jagg Richer, who scored a 71-yard touchdown.
“We had a nice start. It was nice to have some energy. It was nice to get back on the right track. Hopefully that is the kind of stuff we can build on,” Colman said.
While Burbank’s start was indeed impressive, the manner in which St. Genevieve rebounded was eye opening as quarterback Benjamin Macias hooked up with Billy Parra on a 36-yard touchdown with 10:59 left in the first quarter.
The Valiants intercepted Robinson three times and their run game began to flourish.
St. Genevieve’s Caleb Gardner had five carries for 94 yards and a touchdown. Xavier White had five carries 82 yards and two touchdowns.
The Valiants went up 41-7 before Burbank cut the deficit with 6:17 left in the third quarter as Robinson found Jonathan Powell on a 4-yard touchdown pass while facing a fourth-down situation.
The Bulldogs added a fourth quarter touchdown as Rony Preza scored on a 4-yard run.
Robinson finished 9 of 23 for 100 yards passing for the Bulldogs. Preza finished with 26 yards rushing.
