By Rick Assad
It’s been tough sledding for the Burroughs High football team after failing to score any points for two straight games that included a loss to host Santa Monica 38-0 on Friday night in a nonleague game.
Similar to the previous contest played last week by the winless Bears, the visitors were forced to use backup quarterbacks in place of senior Sean Ghaman and senior Brandon Chapparo.
Four turnovers including an early pick-six didn’t help matters and the passing attack and running game were hardly visible.
Jose Calzadilla is the Burroughs head coach and realizes that playing reserve quarterbacks isn’t always productive.
“Yeah, it’s tough to catch up with backups (No. 3 and No. 4) and expect to just roll smoothly,” he said. “But we still need to make better decisions when it comes to protecting the football. We will get back to basics. Blocking and tackling and continuing to try and prepare our quarterbacks.”
Despite allowing five touchdowns and a field goal, the defense played fairly well at times and also had an interception by junior wide receiver/cornerback Gavin Tubbs.
“The defense played well but doesn’t win the football games,” Calzadilla said. 
The first time Burroughs (0-3) had the ball, the Bears used five plays and gained 13 yards before junior Michael Hernandez punted.
The next series by the Bears resulted in a touchdown by the Vikings after an interception thrown by junior quarterback Ryder Celli-Recht.
When Burroughs had the ball next, the Bears managed six plays and 19 yards before Hernandez punted.
On the Bears’ fourth series, Burroughs turned the ball over on the third play as senior running back Sho Fujita, who came into the game averaging 160 yards rushing and 44 yards receiving, fumbled.
Another punt by Hernandez followed after three plays picked up six yards. The opening half was concluded after an eight-yard run by junior running back Troy Acosta.
The Bears’ first possession of the second half concluded with a punt from Hernandez after three plays and a loss of seven yards.
Burroughs’ second series of the second half saw junior wide receiver/outside linebacker Nikolas Taylor get intercepted on the third play.
The next possession by the Bears resulted in a fumble by Taylor on the fifth play after a high snap from center.
The Vikings grabbed a 7-0 lead after Hernandez punted on their opening possession as Santa Monica (2-1) marched from its 27-yard line and the 12-play drive was capped off when junior quarterback Gryffin Glowacki (11 of 16 for 172 yards with one interception) found sophomore wide receiver/free safety Chandler Paysinger (six receptions for 87 yards) with a five-yard toss as 3:44 remained.
Santa Monica led 14-0 when Celli-Recht was intercepted by junior wide receiver/cornerback Estevan Padron, who brought the ball back 14 yards for a score and 3:32 left in the first quarter.
With 6:53 remaining on the clock in the second period, the Vikings extended their lead to 21-0 as senior running back/linebacker Saul Buendia highlighted a 74-yard, 10-play march when he ran two yards for the touchdown.
Santa Monica’s advantage swelled to 28-0 with 7:32 remaining in the third period as sophomore running back/linebacker Joshua Fernandez added a 21-yard burst that ended an eight-play, 63-yard trek.
Buendia tacked on his second scoring run when he carried the ball into the end zone from three yards and 3:33 left in the third quarter as the score became 35-0.
The final points of the one-sided game came on a 45-yard field goal from junior Grey Broderick, who also nailed five extra points, as thirty-four seconds remained.
Burroughs’ next game will be at Arroyo on Friday night with a 7 p.m. start.
