The bad news for the Burroughs High football Friday was that it lost 38-23 to Diamond Ranch High.
The good news for the Indians is that they likely will not have to a face as big and physical as Diamond Ranch in the Pacific League and perhaps beyond.
“We saw them on film and we knew they were big dudes,” Burroughs coach Mike Reily said. “They were bigger than the Diamond Ranch team we saw last year. We knew they were thick and they like to pound sand and run the ball and that they’d be eating up a lot of clock.”
Diamond Ranch coach Eric Martinez praised his large offensive line.
“They did a great job,” Martinez said. “We’re (averaging) about 6-3ish, about 270, maybe 280. It’s up there.”
Burroughs (1-1) fell behind early and had a tough time playing catch up.
“We had a good scheme in place, but we had guys that were not following that scheme and not executing on that scheme – tackling high, not doing the technique that we teach,” Reily said.
The Indians were down 17-0 in the first quarter when Ben Peters scored on a 70-yard touchdown run. Peters finished with 19 carries for 155 yards.
Diamond Ranch (2-2) scored once again on the first play of the second quarter to make it 24-7.
But Burroughs played solid defense the rest of the way.
Burroughs kicker Jonathan Rivas hit a 29-yard field goal with 6:45 left in the third quarter to make it 31-10.
The Indians got even closer when quarterback Nathan Piper hooked up with Devin Harrison on a 4 yard touchdown pass, making it 31-16.
But Diamond Ranch, which rushed for 312 yards as a team, always found a way to battle back.
Burroughs got a late touchdown from Hakeem Hickman, who scored on a 51-yard run.
Piper finished the day completing 15 of 27 passes for 172 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
The Indians open Pacific League play next Friday at Memorial Field against Pasadena High.
