By Rick Assad
With a full moon shining brightly, the Burbank High football team saw few things go well when it faced Arcadia in a Pacific League match on Friday night at Memorial Field.
The Apaches scored through the air and on the ground, and for good measure added a fumble recovery and an interception for touchdowns.
When the clock hit triple zeroes, the score read 54-0 in favor of the Apaches.
Burbank senior quarterback Dylan Robinson (five of eight for 86 yards and seven carries for minus 27 yards) tried his best to move the ball down the field but was harassed countless times in the backfield and turned the ball over once on a fumble that led to a six-yard touchdown run by senior wide receiver Derek Ganter Jr. (15 yards on three carries) with 2:21 left in the second quarter that made it 28-0.
Sophomore Daniel Zacariaz (six of 15 passes for 100 yards) took over in the second half and was intercepted and fumbled.
Senior running back/wide receiver Zakk Estrada played well after gaining 156 yards on six receptions and 11 yards on three rushes.
Adam Colman played quarterback at Burbank and said this team needs to run the ball in order to be successful.
“Our offense is built to run the ball. We utilize that double tight look. We’ve got a running quarterback, but the entire year we’re playing from behind,” he said. “It’s really hard to execute when your philosophy is ground and pound, protect the lead, run the clock when you’re constantly playing catch up and then when we get into those passing situations, that’s not what we’re built for. We don’t have the players on the edge to win shootouts like that.”
Burbank (2-5 and 0-2 in league), which started the season 2-1, has now lost four consecutive games.
“It started bad and got worse. We’ve been trying. We’re trying and we’re trying different things,” Colman said of getting back to a winning mode. “We’re changing things up. It’s not like we’re doing the same thing and hope it changes. We’ll try something new next week. Hopefully that’s the fix.”
Even with a running clock in the fourth quarter, the Apaches tallied two scores.
The Apaches seized command 14-0 after the first quarter and then added three touchdowns in the second period for a 35-0 edge.
Colman said that the Bulldogs need to get back to the basics.
“It’s the fundamentals of football. We need to tackle better, and we need to block better,” he said. “We’re not tacking and we’re not blocking. If you can’t do those two things football is really, really, really hard.”
Arcadia, which began the season with four straight losses, took a 41-0 lead into the fourth frame.
Sophomore quarterback Keyon Mills passed for five touchdowns and Ganter was on the receiving end of three of those tosses.
Ganter’s first touchdown came on a 36-yard pass from Mills (12 of 14 for 320 yards) with 13 seconds left in the opening half that made it 35-0 on a one-play drive.
When Ganter (114 yards on four receptions) snared a 27-yard strike from Mills and 4:57 left in the third quarter the Apaches (2-5 and 1-1 in league) zipped in front 41-0, capping a 12-play, 78-yard trek.
Arcadia’s advantage swelled to 48-0 on a drive that consumed six plays and covered 57 yards after Ganter grabbed a 44-yard aerial from Mills with 10:04 left in the game.
The march was made possible when Zacariaz went back to pass with the ball at the Arcadia four-yard line and third down, but a sturdy rush saw him lose the ball at the Arcadia 43.
Mills began the scoring spree with a six-yard toss to sophomore tight end Derek Rowan (21 yards on two catches) that made it 7-0 as 9:46 remained in the initial frame. The drive began at the Burbank 34 and took four plays.
When Mills located junior wide receiver Mikal Reed (156 yards and five receptions) with a 58-yard bomb, the Apaches took control 21-0 as 8:12 was left on the clock in the second period.
Arcadia’s march commenced at the Apache five-yard line and needed eight plays.
Senior defensive tackle Elijah Zertuche picked up Robinson’s fumble and waltzed into the end zone after running 55 yards that made it 14-0 with 5:14 left in the first period.
Arcadia’s final tally came with 7:10 left in the fourth quarter as senior strong safety Cardell Mayfield picked off Zacariaz and returned the ball 32 yards to make it 54-0.
Burbank will try to pick up its first league win when it hosts Crescenta Valley on Friday. The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
