By Rick Assad
Spotting the hosts a 10-point halftime advantage looked precarious for the Burroughs High football team on Friday evening.
It turned out just fine as the visitors erased that deficit versus Hoover and tallied three second-half touchdowns and in the process secured a 21-10 decision in a Pacific League game.
Burroughs first-year head coach Jose Calzadilla explained what happened during the second half turnaround.
“Our kids were disappointed with their effort in the first half. But some adversity can be a good thing. The ability to overcome that is a lesson every team should learn,” he said. “Our guys did that tonight. I’m proud of them.”
Calzadilla added: “The kids came out in the second half and did what they had to do to win,” he said. “That’s all I could ask for.”
Over the last two games, Burroughs has forced five turnovers and the result is two victories.
Keith Recchia is the defensive coordinator and sees marked improvement.
“I felt our guys stepped up, limited their mistakes, and tackled well. Hoover had run five different offenses this year so we were not sure what we were going to see,” he explained. “Having patience on our side benefited us and our guys did a great job adjusting. Getting five turnovers in two games helps build confidence.”
All three Burroughs scores were garnered via the ground attack and was spearheaded by quarterback Brandon Chapparo, who scored one touchdown in the third quarter and one in the fourth period.
Chapparo’s 12-yard scoring run came with 9:08 left and trimmed Hoover’s lead to 10-7.
The score came after senior wide receiver/cornerback Brandan Smith intercepted senior quarterback A.J. Francisco that gave the ball to Burroughs (3-4 and 3-1 in league) at the Hoover 29-yard line.
Four plays moved the ball 17 yards before Chaparro, a junior, who carried the ball 14 times for 88 yards, waltzed into the end zone.
A time-consuming 90-yard, 11-play march saw the Bears run the ball each play as junior running back/cornerback Sho Fujita, who added a game-best 109 yards on 20 carries, had five rushes for 29 yards and Chapparo added three carries for 35 yards including the score for a 21-10 advantage as 6:26 remained.
The middle tally was made possible after a fumble on a pitch from Francisco to junior fullback/outside linebacker Dveen Aghanian as Burroughs received the ball at the Hoover 38.
The key gain on the six-play march was Chapparo’s 11-yard keeper and Fujita delivered four rushes for 14 yards before junior running back/cornerback Carson Shrode, who finished with 38 yards on eight carries, burst into the end zone from 13 yards with 4:06 left in the third quarter for a 14-10 lead.
“Our run game continues to evolve. We need to find new ways to help our quarterback,” Calzadilla said. “That’s on me. I will handle that.”
Chaparro passed for 115 yards on 11 of 19 attempts but had two interceptions.
Hoover (2-5 and 0-4 in league) took a 3-0 lead on a 28-yard field goal from junior wide receiver/kicker Jack Coopersmith with 4:18 remaining in the initial period.
The 61-yard, eight-play march was assisted by a 46-yard double pass from Francisco to junior wide receiver Angelo Bailey who then drilled junior quarterback/free safety Elliott Nussbaum that placed the ball on the Burroughs 26-yard line.
The Tornadoes moved in front 10-0 with 43 seconds left before halftime as Francisco hit Aghanian with an eight-yard pass that completed a two-play march and was made possible after senior wide receiver/cornerback Arman Asaduriyan picked off Chapparo and returned the errant toss 51 yards.
Recchia said his unit played well.
“We stuck to our game plan. I feel we played great in the first half. They had one big play to start the game that put them in field goal range, but from that moment our defense did a great job limiting opportunities,” he said. “Their touchdown came after a turnover that gave them the ball inside our 10-yard line, which is hard for any team to pull off a stop.”
The next game Burroughs plays will be Muir which is undefeated in league on Thursday with a 7:00 p.m. start time.
