By Rick Assad
Failure to finish drives and missed tackles were the downfall of the Burbank High football team when it faced Crescenta Valley on Friday night at Moyse Field on the campus of Glendale High.
The Falcons turned in two long scoring plays that catapulted the hosts to a 34-14 Pacific League victory.
Burbank’s first touchdown came with 8:20 remaining in the second quarter as junior running back/defensive back/linebacker Joseph Caballero, who picked up 99 yards on 17 carries, scored on a six-yard burst that made it 7-6 in favor of the Bulldogs.
The other tally by Burbank occurred with 5:36 left in the game as junior quarterback Daniel Zacariaz hit junior running back/defensive back Max Kelley (59 yards on four catches) with a 26-yard toss that cut the Crescenta Valley advantage to 20 points.
“We had opportunities early and didn’t capitalize,” Burbank coach Adam Colman said. “It’s something we’ve been working on but just weren’t able to put it all together on the field.”
The Bulldogs came out on their initial possession and began the drive at the Burbank 35-yard line.
Methodically the visitors moved to the Falcon 32, but on fourth down, Zacariaz, who needed 10 yards for a first down, managed six yards on a scamper.
The Falcons then consumed eight plays and 74 yards as senior wide receiver/defensive back Bjorn Hermansen located the end zone on a six-yard romp with 1:45 left in the first quarter for a 6-0 lead.
Crescenta Valley (5-2 and 1-1 in league) struck on a two-play march and a 13-7 lead when senior quarterback senior quarterback Jacob Deno found sophomore wide receiver/defensive back Xavier Thompson on a 77-yard touchdown pass with 7:39 left in the first half for a 13-7 cushion.
There were several missed tackles by the Bulldogs that helped Thompson race to the end zone.
“Missed tackles were huge. There were two big plays that I think swung the game where we had the player for a loss, and he made a couple guys miss and turned it into a big play,” Colman said. “Those swings are huge in football.”
Colman added: “The margin for error is slim and when we don’t capitalize on our opportunities, it’s hard to win games,” he pointed out.
On the next series for Burbank (2-5 and 0-2 in league), it ended after a four-play march that netted one yard and a nine-yard punt from Zacariaz that placed the ball at the Burbank 40-yard line.
It took two plays before the Falcons led 20-7 as Deno and Hermansen hooked up on a 38-yard aerial and 5:55 left on the clock in the opening half.
Just before halftime, the Bulldogs moved from their own 33-yard line to the Burbank 47 but had to punt.
The second half opened in dramatic fashion for the Falcons as they scored on a 90-yard kickoff return by junior defensive back Tyler Matsuda and 11:44 left in the third quarter as they bolted to a 27-7 lead.
Another long drive by the Bulldogs resulted in no points as Burbank began the march at its 30-yard line and moved the ball to the Falcon 14-yard line, before an incomplete pass by Zacariaz on fourth down.
“It was a tough game, and we didn’t execute the way we wanted to,” said Zacariaz, who hit 12 of 26 attempts for 127 yards and one pick. “And CV came ready to play. We beat ourselves at the end of the day and it’s just how we respond from here.”
The Falcons didn’t score and were forced to kick the ball back to the Bulldogs, but Zacariaz was intercepted by senior wide receiver/linebacker Jake Dunleavy which set up the Falcons at the Crescenta Valley 40.
Eleven plays later sophomore running back/linebacker Leonidas Grant capped off the 60-yard excursion with a two-yard run into the end zone as 8:01 was left in the game as the Falcons jockeyed ahead 34-7.
Burbank senior wide receiver/defensive back Sean Garrett had two receptions for 30 yards and junior wide receiver Ezekiel Alvarez had three catches for 26 yards.
Burbank will host Muir, which fell to Burroughs 32-27, on Friday night in a league match that begins at 7 p.m.
