The Burroughs High football team did not waste any time declaring which football team was the best in the city in 2023.
The Bears scored just 12 seconds into the contest and captured its first Foothill League title since 2015 with a 48-13 victory over host Burbank High Friday night at Memorial Field.
Burroughs recovered the opening kickoff to Burbank due to a miscommunication between Bulldog players.
Then on the first play from scrimmage, Santiago Sanchez scored on a 15-yard run.
“That really turned the momentum from the start,” Burroughs coach Jesse Craven said. “This is an awesome achievement for our team. Where we started four years ago to where we are now is a testament to these kids and the coaches.”
After Burbank (3-7 overall, 1-4 in league) was unable to get on the board on its first drive, Burroughs (9-1 overall, 5-0) scored on the first play of its second drive.
Ethan Hubbell took a pass over the middle from Chris Kulikov, turned to the left and won a 68-yard foot race past the Bulldog defense.
Kulikov completed five of his eight passes for 190 yards and three touchdowns. He also had three carries for 74 yards, one of which went for a touchdown.
“That was hard that they scored on the first play. We kind of shot ourselves in the foot,” Burbank coach Adam Colman said.
Burbank then went on a 14-play drive that ended with Joseph Caballero scoring on a four-yard run with 19.5 seconds left in the first quarter.
Caballero finished with 59 yards in 14 carries. Fellow junior Jacob Mendieta led the team with 68 yards in nine carries.
The Bears responded by taking seven plays in a drive that ended with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Aenas Pichardo.
Kulikov and Hubbell hooked up on a 77-yard touchdown later in the quarter, and Kulikov scored on a 44-yard run right through the middle of the Bulldog defense with 1:08 left in the half. That gave Burroughs a comfortable 34-6 lead going into the break.
Burbank remained tough and scored on a 12-yard touchdown by Sean Garrett with 4:23 left in the third quarter.
Jake Scozzola scored on a five-yard run with 2:41 left in the third quarter for Burroughs.
Roberto Gutierrez capped the night by scoring on a two-yard run with 4:40 left to play.
Burbank junior quarterback Daniel Zacariaz finished the night by completing seven of 18 passes for 50 yards with one interception. Zacariaz also had 40 yards rushing.
Burroughs will learn its CIF Southern Section playoff opponent on Sunday when the pairings are released.
