The members of the Burroughs High football team arrived in the San Gabriel Valley on Thursday knowing what was at stake.
Burroughs made the trek to take on Arcadia in a crucial Pacific League matchup with the added bonus of both squads jockeying for sole possession of first place.
It proved to be a one-sided contest as Burroughs rolled to a 41-7 victory and moved a step closer to winning its first league championship since 2015.
The eager Bears (7-1, 3-0 in league) got two touchdown receptions from Jake Scozzola and a long touchdown run from Noah Frenkel to upend the Apaches (5-3, 2-1). Burroughs and Arcadia each have two league games remaining.
“It was a pretty chill environment and we played a good game, though we do have some things that we need to clean up,” said Scozzola, who had seven catches for 89 yards. “We were able to execute when it mattered most and we want to be league champs. We wanted to stay locked in and it’s a very big win.”
Burroughs never trailed and snapped Arcadia’s five-game winning streak.
The Bears recovered the opening on-side kick at midfield and capitalized on their good fortune a short time later when Ethan Hubbell caught a 39-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Chris Kulikov with 10:30 remaining in the first quarter to make it 7-0.
“That was big to recover the kick and then turn it into points,” Burroughs coach Jesse Craven said. “That gave our guys more confidence and then we started to make plays on both sides of the ball.
“I thought our defense played well, especially against the run. It’s the way we’ve played defense all year. It’s good to be in first place, but we still have a lot of work to get done.”
Burroughs, which began league with wins against Pasadena and Muir, extended the lead to 14-0 on an 81-yard touchdown run by Frenkel with 39.3 seconds left in the first quarter.
“I saw some really good blocks from the line and found a hole,” said Frenkel, who finished with 95 yards rushing in six carries. ” I don’t think anybody even touched me. I just didn’t want to get caught.”
A 23-yard touchdown run by Santiago Sanchez gave the Bears a 20-0 cushion with 9:58 to play in the second quarter.
On the ensuing possession, Frenkel intercepted a pass in the end zone for a touchback with 5:30 to go in the first half. Burroughs took advantage of the miscue when Kulikov connected with Scozzola for a 45-yard touchdown pass to extend the advantage to 27-0 with 2:48 remaining in the first half.
Kulikov, who completed 14 of 18 passes for 224 yards and four total touchdowns in three quarters, lofted a 15-yard touchdown pass to Scozzola to make it 34-0 with 8:45 to play in the third quarter. Kulikov scored on a five-yard run with 4:41 to go in the third quarter to give the Bears a 41-0 lead.
Arcadia closed out the scoring on the next possession on a five-yard run by Keyonn Chatman with 4:24 left in third quarter. Chatman registered 110 yards rushing in 22 carries.
Burroughs will meet Crescenta Valley in a league home game at 7 p.m. Oct. 20 before closing out the regular season with a cross-town contest against Burbank at 7 p.m. Oct. 27.
Arcadia will take on Muir on Oct. 20 and Crescenta Valley on Oct. 27.
