By Rick Assad
Injuries to senior quarterback Sean Ghaman and senior quarterback/wide receiver Brandon Chapparo saw junior Ryder Celli-Recht start at quarterback for Burroughs High when it faced Montclair on Friday night at Memorial Field in a nonleague game.
Add to the mix three turnovers and the result was a 17-0 setback on an evening in which the Bears played their first game on a brand-new field.
The defense played well for the most part allowing just a first-half field goal but two touchdowns in the second half came in part to being overworked and a little bit tired.
Senior running back/outside linebacker Sho Fujita played with determination and desire for the Bears as he carried the ball 17 times and accounted for 81 yards and had one fumble.
Jose Calzadilla is the Burroughs head coach and feels that he and his staff didn’t do enough to make Celli-Recht succeed.
“We failed to prepare him for the speed of the game. It’s quick decision making that’s required at this level,” he said. “We will continue to try and make him better.”
Fujita fumbled the ball at the Burroughs 35-yard line after gaining two yards but luckily for the Bears (0-2), the Cavaliers (2-0) didn’t score and were forced to punt.
“Any number of turnovers is too many,” Calzadilla said. “We need to take care of the football much better. Sho won’t be okay with the fumble. He takes great pride in his craft. I dig that about him.”
On the first possession for Burroughs, it punted after three plays and saw Celli-Recht, who hit seven of 19 for 56 yards, find junior wide receiver/outside linebacker Nikolas Taylor (38 yards on four receptions) for seven yards on the third play of the drive.
The next time the Bears had the football, Celli-Recht unloaded the first of two interceptions, and it came on the seventh play of the march.
On the third possession of the game, the Bears were forced to punt after three plays gained one yard.
A fourth possession was another punt after three plays that lost two yards.
The fifth possession gained 19 yards that included Fujita picking up 14 yards on a run and a push from his teammates.
The initial possession of the second half saw the Bears use five plays before punting. The next possession was three plays and nine yards before punting the ball.
What followed was another three plays and a punt but the next drive was a five-play trek that accounted for 25 yards.
The next time that the Bears had possession of the ball, Fujita fumbled on the second play of the march.
On the final time that Burroughs had the football it ended with a Celli-Recht interception after an eight-play drive.
The Cavaliers led 3-0 on their first drive that began at the Montclair 37-yard line and ended at the Burroughs 14 when senior Jayden Bacerra nailed a 31-yard field goal with 2:55 left in the first period.
Senior running back Ray Ramirez scooted 48 yards into the end zone with 2:02 left in the third quarter for a 10-0 advantage.
The lead ballooned to 17-0 when senior running back Abraham Gil added a run from three yards and 8:17 remaining in the fourth quarter that capped a five-play, 69-yard drive.
The key play of the march was a 52-yard sprint by senior running back Anthony Player that put the ball at the Burroughs 13-yard line.
The next game for Burroughs will be next Friday at Santa Monica in a nonleague clash. The contest begins at 7 p.m.
