The good news is that the season is still very young and there is still lots of football to be played. Burroughs High showed lots of promise in its season opener Friday night as the Bears defeated visiting Fillmore High 17-7 at Memorial Field.
“This was a good fight it out win against a good team,” Burroughs coach Jesse Craven said.
Burroughs (1-0) got on the board on just the third play from scrimmage.
Junior quarterback Chris Kulikov hooked up with junior receiver Ethan Hubbell, who was able to shake off his defender and race 58 yards down the left sideline for the touchdown.
Brodie Kemp’s extra point made it 7-0 for the Bears with 10:19 left in the first quarter.
Kulikov and Hubbell hooked up again later in the quarter on a 25-yard touchdown to help Burroughs make it 14-0.
But Fillmore shook off the early struggles and took advantage of a Burroughs turnover.
Sophomore quarterback Anthony Tafoya hooked up with tight end Jarod Uridel on a 23-yard screen pass with 1:01 left in the first quarter.
But from then on the defenses on both sides took over.
Burroughs was unable to punch the ball in from the 1-yard-line in the second quarter, as Fillmore took over on downs.
“We know they are capable of great things and they need some tough opponents, so I appreciate Burroughs giving us a tough one early on,” Fillmore coach Charlie Weis said of his team, which was a Division 10 playoff quarterfinalist last year.
Much of the second half was played in the middle of the field. Burroughs did get a cushion though as Kemp kicked a 32-yard field goal with 10 minutes to play to give the Bears a 10-point lead.
Craven said having more depth than in the past is definitely a luxury.
“Being able to rotate linemen late in the fourth quarter helps a lot,” he said. “There’s a lot of young guys. We have a tough preseason schedule. Every week is (going to be) tough competition.”
Kulikov completed 16 of 26 passes for 206 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in his Burroughs debut.
Marcus Manahan had 16 carries for 68 yards to lead Burroughs on the ground.
Hubbell finished with three receptions for 101 yards and two touchdowns.
Ryan Hernandez had five receptions for 48 yards. Dilan Webster caught four passes for 28 yards.
Burroughs will host St. Genevieve next Friday at Memorial Field.
