Burbank High’s football team a year ago was arguably the best in school history and it couldn’t do what the 2017 Bulldogs did Friday night.
Playing against rival Burroughs, Burbank completed the Pacific League season unbeaten by winning 41-14 over the Indians.
“When you believe in something and everyone buys in you accomplish great things. I’m just really proud of them,” first-year Burbank coach Adam Colman said of his team.
Burbank (8-2, 7-0) didn’t get things rolling right away as Burroughs played tough defense all night.
Bulldogs quarterback Matthew Porras finished 21 of 32 for 239 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions.
An interception by Evan Osegueda prevented Burbank from scoring on its first drive.
Burroughs (4-5, 3-4) struggled to move the ball offensively in the first half, even though it was playing solid defense.
“Our dudes hung in there. With the injuries that we sustained, I couldn’t be more proud (of my team),” Burroughs coach Mike Reily said. “Hats off to coach Colman and his staff. Boy, did he inherit a big team full of athletes. We practiced against a couple of different fronts that we thought they’d be giving us and that’s exactly what they came out and gave us.”
Burbank broke up the scoring as Porras and fellow junior Duncan Smith hooked up on a 7-yard touchdown pass with 43 seconds left in the first half. It was the first of three touchdowns the pair would team up for.
“Everyone has been working together,” Porras said of his team. “All the hard we’ve been doing in the offseason and during the season, we’ve been all doing it for this moment.”
After Porras and Smith combined on Burbank’s second touchdown, Porras hooked up with Kaydon Spens on an 18-yard pass for the Bulldogs’ third touchdown.
“We worked so hard for this from the summer until now,” Smith said. “We expected this and to finally accomplish it is great.”
Burroughs fought back as Charlie Rodriguez ran back the ensuing kickoff to make it 21-7 with 4:01 left in the first half.
The Indians cut the deficit early in the third quarter when Burroughs junior quarterback Nathan Piper was able to sneak the ball past Burbank’s defense to a wide open Gavin Aguilar, who scored on a 66-yard pass play. Piper finished 9 of 16 passing for 158 yards.
But Burbank’s defense would not be fooled again.
Darnell Williams scored the first of his two touchdowns at the 3:31 mark of the third quarter to give Burbank a 28-14 advantage. Williams finished with 152 yards in 30 carries.
Burroughs running back Ben Peters had 45 yards in 11 carries.
Burbank, which will play in the CIF Southern Section Division 7, will learn its playoff fate Sunday afternoon when the Southern Section releases its pairings. The Bulldogs should expect to have a home game as a result of winning the league title outright.
Burroughs, which was slated to play in Division 8, will hope it has done enough to convince the CIF committee that it deserves a place in the playoffs as an at-large entry.
