By Rick Assad
For much of Friday night’s Pacific League football game it seemed that Burroughs High could do whatever it wanted.
The Bears tallied seven touchdowns and didn’t allow Glendale to score at Moyse Field and registered a 49-0 thumping.
A running clock was used after the Bears’ fifth touchdown with 5:45 left in the third quarter.
Senior quarterback Mingus Allen threw four touchdown passes with two of them going to senior tight end/linebacker Rocco Melillo, who had three catches for 60 yards.
“I thought the game went really well. Everyone was clicking and the whole team did their jobs really well,” Allen said. “The wide receivers were getting open and making great catches. It was fun to just have a day with some dominant offense.”
Melillo’s 50-yard interception return in the first quarter gave the visitors a 14-0 edge.
Sophomore quarterback Brandon Chaparro also tossed a 19-yard scoring pass to senior wide receiver/cornerback Patrick Lima (43 yards on two receptions) that made it 42-0 and 8:10 left in the game.
Sophomore running back/linebacker Sho Fujita (37 yards on three carries) added the Bears’ final touchdown on a 42-yard run with 50 seconds left.
“I liked how our defense stepped up and made stops, especially in key moments,” Burroughs coach Laron Johnson said. “Offensively, the execution was solid, and we moved the ball effectively. Overall, the teamwork was impressive.”
The Bears’ stingy defense forced three turnovers and was all over the field making tackles that included two fumble recoveries and numerous plays for minus yards.
“Our guys did what they were supposed to do,” Burroughs defensive coordinator Keith Recchia said. “We made minimal mistakes and started ready and prepared to play. We have to keep the defensive momentum we’ve gained the last few weeks going into the second half of the season.”
On the night, Burroughs (4-1 and 2-0 in league) didn’t punt once but had one drive late in the first quarter that ended on a missed 32-yard field goal by senior Braden Turner.
Allen, who threw for 191 yards on 12 of 18 attempts, also took a knee to end the opening half and on fourth down and 11 at the Glendale 13-yard line, Allen threw an incomplete pass early in the second quarter.
The Bears scored 21 points in the initial frame and the first touchdown came after a Nitros’ punt when Allen hit Lima with a 24-yard toss and 9:13 left for a 7-0 lead.
The drive began at the Glendale 41 and the march consumed three plays.
On Glendale’s next possession, Melillo picked off a pass from junior field general Elijah Venegas with 8:17 remaining that gave Burroughs a 14-0 lead.
Glendale (1-4 and 0-2 in league) punted once more as Burroughs needed just one play to make it 21-0 on Allen’s 26-yard bullet to junior wide receiver/free safety Giordan Lewis (88 yards on three catches) as 6:39 remained in the frame.
The Bears’ lead swelled to 28-0 with 1:54 left before halftime as Allen unloaded a 13-yard toss to Melillo that capped a 75-yard, four-play march.
Allen’s final scoring pass went to Melillo and covered one yard and came with 5:45 left in the third period and ended a 13-play, 83-yard drive to open the second half that gave Burroughs a 35-0 advantage.
Senior running back/defensive back Julian Zubia had a strip and fumble recovery in the first period and junior defensive lineman David Mendez had a fumble recovery late in the fourth quarter that set up the final Burroughs score.
Next Friday at 7:30 p.m., Burroughs hosts Hoover in a league game at Memorial Field.
