If there’s a bright spot in the aftermath of its most lopsided defeat thus far this season, it’s that the Burbank High football team is done playing the likely favorite to win the Pacific League championship.
Here’s another silver lining – Burbank didn’t sustain any injuries.
That’s about all that went right for Burbank, which struggled on both sides of the ball and suffered a 61-7 road loss against powerhouse Pasadena on Thursday in a league opener for both squads.
Not much went right for Burbank (2-4).
Burbank yielded 28 points in the first quarter and had three turnovers and a blocked punt in the first half. Pasadena, which won the league title before advancing to the CIF Southern Section Division VII semifinals last season, converted on Burbank’s miscues.
“Pasadena is a complete team, not just a skilled team,” said Burbank coach Adam Colman, whose team finished with 102 yards of offense and dropped its third game in a row. “If we play against them perfectly, then we can compete, but we didn’t.
“You just try to learn from a game like this in that every detail matters and you have to be ready to go the next time. We’ve got to find a way to cut down on turnovers and doing better on special teams.”
Pasadena (5-1) scored on all seven of its first-half possessions, leading to a running clock throughout the second half.
Pasadena didn’t waste any time getting started after it recovered the onside kick to begin the contest.
Pasadena quarterback Indiana Wijay, who completed nine of 12 passes for 196 yards and three touchdowns while playing just the first half, tossed a 16-yard touchdown pass to Baylin Brooks to make it 7-0 with 9:42 remaining in the first quarter.
On the ensuing possession, Burbank quarterback Dylan Robinson fumbled the snap at the Burbank 22-yard line. Running back Jonathan Meza then scored on a five-yard run to extend the lead to 14-0 with 8:14 to go in the first quarter.
After Burbank turned the ball over on downs, Micah McGavin scored on a five-yard run to make it 21-0 with 4:24 remaining.
Brooks blocked a punt on the next Burbank possession and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown to give Pasadena a 28-0 advantage with 2:10 to play.
Pasadena made it 34-0 on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Wijay to Cameron Mitchell with 11:10 left in the second quarter.
Burbank cut the deficit to 34-7 on a three-yard touchdown pass from Robinson to Zakk Estrada with 8:46 remaining in the first half.
Pasadena scored on its final two possessions in the first half. Marlan Wilson made it 41-7 on a 14-yard run with 8:03 to play in the second quarter before Brooks caught a 31-yard touchdown pass from Wijay with 3:57 to go to give Pasadena a 48-7 halftime advantage.
A six-yard touchdown run by reserve quarterback Zavontae Flournoy-Trice made it 55-7 with 1:34 remaining in the third quarter.
Pasadena, which last lost to Burbank in 2019, closed out the scoring on a three-yard touchdown run by Deon Mejia with 4:36 left in the fourth quarter.
“We learned that we can’t be careless with the ball,” Colman said. “We have to be a lot better.
“Our league coming in is Pasadena and then everybody else. We don’t know how the rest of the teams will stack up from Nos. 2-6. It can be in any order. It’s basically playoff football the rest of the way and we have to start winning some games.”
Burbank and Pasadena will next participate in league home games at 7 p.m. Oct. 7. Burbank will face Arcadia at Memorial Field and Pasadena will take on Burroughs.
