Tag Archives: Aram Araradian

Burbank Football Gets Another ‘Moral Victory’ in Loss

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Burbank High football coach Adam Colman is tired of playing great, but coming up short on the scoreboard.

(Photo by Ross A Benson)

Friday night Colman got a great effort from his young Bulldogs against a Moorpark High team loaded with players who will be playing their trade on Saturdays in future years.
In the end, the Bulldogs fell just short, losing the season opener 14-7 at Memorial Field.

“Downey a couple of years ago, Hart last year, the CIF championship, We’ve been really close in a lot of big-time time games. I just want to get one,” Colman said. “I’m tired of moral victories. That’s the frustrating part. But those kids played with a lot of heart. I think it took them a quarter to really believe.”
Colman said he schedules difficult opponents like Moorpark, which will be in the CIF Southern Section Division 3 playoffs this year should it qualify for the postseason.

“We’re a young team. There’s a lot of returners from last year, but they’re still young. For them to believe,” Colman said of his players. “There are some legit football players on that team. When you can line up with those guys and go toe to toe you probably should have won if you did a couple of things differently, you can never walk into a game scared.”

(Photo by Ross A Benson)

Burbank junior quarterback Aram Araradian, who has spent some time on the varsity the last two seasons, grew up quickly. He completed 13 of 27 passes for 227 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Running back Isaac Glover was solid, carrying the ball 18 times for 72 yards.

The Bulldogs hurt themselves on offense by being called for a false start 14 times. They had just two more penalties the rest of the game.
Burbank had a chance to strike in the second quarter after getting the ball on the Moorpark 3-yard line following a snap on a punt that went over the head of Blake Sturgill, who is also Moorpark’s quarterback.
But penalties prevented the Bulldogs from getting on the board.

The game remained scoreless until late in the first half when Sturgill scored on a 1-yard keeper. Moorpark surprisingly didn’t move the ball as well as one might expect given that it has a massive offensive line. Moorpark left tackle Jonah Monheim, who is 6-foot-5 and is 290 pounds hold offers from Alabama, Oklahoma, and USC among others. The Muskateers have three more linemen at more than 250 pounds as well as 6-foot-5, 250-pound tight end Lucas Egurbide.

(Photo by Ross A Benson)

Burbank tied things with 7:08 left in the third quarter as Araradian found Brandon Pena on a 31-yard touchdown.

Moorpark scored what turned out to be the winning touchdown with 4:09 left, as Sturgill hooked up with Ashton Benner on a 17-yard touchdown.

Burbank put together a nice drive to nearly tie things. But Moorpark sacked Araradian at the 25-yard line in the final minute of the game.

The Bulldogs go on the road next week against Golden Valley at Canyon High School in Canyon Country.

 

Burbank Football in a Good Position Again

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(Photo by Ross A Benson)

A pattern has developed for the Burbank High football program and that’s a good thing.

The team is generally young and talented in odd years and championship ready in even years.

(Photo by Ross A Benson)

Things don’t figure to change in 2019 as Burbank looks like it has more than enough talent to qualify for the CIF Southern Section playoffs for an eighth consecutive year.

Burbank once again has a number of solid underclassmen to go along with a solid but not as spectacular senior class.

“(There’s) a lot of guys that played important roles on last year’s team. They weren’t the guys getting their names in the paper or scoring the touchdowns necessarily, but they know what it takes, which is nice,” third-year head coach Adam Colman said. “Varsity isn’t a new experience for them. It is something that they are used to. They have a little chip on their shoulder to show now that we belong. It’s a fun group to coach. There’s a lot of competition. We’ve got a lot of positions that are two deep, two to three deep at most.”

(Photo by Ross A Benson)

Most notably gone from last season’s 7-4 squad are quarterback Matthew Porras (Whitworth University) and two-way stars Erik Harutyunyan (UC Berkley) and Duncan Smith (Fresno State).

They won’t easily be replaced.

Junior left-handed quarterback Aram Araradian (6-foot, 175 pounds) takes over for Porras but is hardly new to the role as he has seen game action on the varsity each of the last two seasons.

Senior running back Issac Glover (5-9, 195) who missed part of last season due to injury is back at full strength and will be the main threat out of the backfield. Junior Max Mendieta (5-7, 165) could also see time carrying the ball.

Araradian’s passing options are solid with senior Ben Burnham (6-1, 175), junior Brandon Pena (5-10, 165) and sophomore Jack Sapyta (5-10, 155) all returning.

Senior Vincent Vang (5-3, 125) is a slotback who will replace older brother Chadz Vang, who graduated.
Senior Devin Householder (6-3, 200) will take over the tight end position that was held down by Smith for the last two years.

The offensive line returns two starters in senior center Armando De La Cruz (5-7, 250), who will be a three-year starter, and senior Craig Rushton (6-2, 265).

Senior Seth Jones (6-2, 270) , who spent time at tight end last year, will also fill a role on the line. Juniors Rene Amirian (6-1, 235) and Danny Akopyan (5-9, 220) figure to also see significant playing time on the line. Another name to look for is sophomore Jakob Zuniga (6-2, 275), who transferred from Hoover since the Tornadoes will not play varsity football the next two seasons.

(Photo by Ross A Benson)

The defensive line will boast many of the same players who are also on the offensive line along with senior Thomas Chiaravalle (5-8, 205) and sophomore Steilen Varga (5-10, 265).

The linebacker core is led by senior Tyler Murphy (5-8, 185). Mendieta, Glover, and Householder also figure to see time as linebackers.

Others to watch for are juniors Austin Blacano (6-3, 225), Kube Raymond (5-10, 185) and Lucas Sheppe (6-1, 205).

In the defensive secondary, senior Ian Miller (5-10, 165) leads the way. Juniors Owen Cusumano (5-10, 165) and Jarren Flowers (6-0, 175) are also both very talented. Vang, senior Oaklee Spens (5-6, 150), senior Shawn Wilson (6-1, 170) and junior Kaze Gibbs (5-5, 145) figure to add depth.

Colman said there is no clear favorite for the Pacific League title.

“It is going to be very competitive across the board. Pretty much every team has improved since last year,” he said. “Top to bottom there are no sleepers. Everyone is going to be competitive. I could see it shaking out four or five different ways.”

 

 

 

Burbank Football Looking for a Ring

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The last two seasons have been arguably the best in school history for the Burbank High football team.
The Bulldogs still have a nice core intact from last season’s Pacific League championship team that went on to the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 7 playoffs. A few players remain from the 2016 team that played for the Division 8 CIF title game.
So the level of expectation is quite high once again for Burbank, under second-year head coach Adam Colman.
The Bulldogs moved up two divisions and will now play in Division 5.
“Whatever division we got put in goes without saying we want to win a ring. We’ve gotten really close the last two years. When you get that close you can taste it,” Colman said. “(Winning) League is obviously a goal, but that’s a stepping stone to bigger things. We all want to win a ring. Whatever division we are in we can’t control that. All we can control is what we do on the field.”

Matthew Porras will lead the Burbank offense once again in 2018. Photo By: Edward Tovmassian

Quarterback Matthew Porras was the co-Pacific League Player of the Year a season ago. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound quarterback who threw 30 touchdowns and over 2,600 yards a year ago, lost a few passing targets, but will still have a great one in senior Erik Harutyunyan (6-2, 190). Harutyunyan has been a star on both offense and defense the past two seasons. An outstanding student and a three-sport athlete, Harutyunyan should be on the radar of every Ivy League school.

Erik Harutyunyan is a three-year starter on both sides of the ball. Photo By: Edward Tovmassian

The other big target Porras will have is senior tight end Duncan Smith (6-4, 240) who has offers from many major colleges, many of which are in the Mountain West Conference. Junior Ben Burnham (6-1, 175) is another receiver who could shine.
Colman said sophomore Brandon Pena (5-10, 165) could be a star if he continues to work hard.
Running the ball, Burbank returns senior Chadz Vang (5-5, 140) who is extremely quick and changes direction very easily. Junior Issac Glover (5-9, 195) will give Burbank a back who can pick up yards in short yardage situations.
Freshman star running back Jack Sapyta (5-10, 140), who is also an accomplished sprinter in track and field, is expected to begin the season on the junior varsity team along with sophomore quarterback Aram Araradian (5-11, 170). Araradian saw time on varsity last season and is ready to go if needed.

Duncan Smith gives Burbank a huge target at tight end. Photo By: Edward Tovmassian

Burbank’s offensive line will be led seniors Kris Azizkhani (6-2, 300) and Esper Alsayegh (6-0, 260). Seniors Matthew Sanchez (5-11, 240), Oscar De La Cruz (5-10, 220) and junior Armando De La Cruz (5-9, 225) figure to fill out the rest of the group that will look to push the Bulldogs down the field.
Burbank’s defense line will be strong again, despite the loss of star Anthony Lira to graduation.
Karo Koshkaryan (6-3, 235) is a returning all league pick. Joining him will be Smith and Azizkhani. Also in the mix are juniors Seth Jones (6-2, 240) and Devin Housholder (6-1, 190).
Burbank is a little younger, but still very talented in the linebacker position.
Sophomore Max Mendieta (5-8, 185) is an excellent student and Colman said he has a “Nose for the ball.”
Sophomore Austin Blacano (6-2, 210), junior Tyler Murphy (5-9, 190) and senior Alejandro Martinez (6-1, 190) also figure to help out as linebackers.

Kris Azizkhani figures to play a key role on both sides of the ball for the Bulldogs. Photo By: Edward Tovmassian

Harutyunyan clearly leads the secondary and will be looking forward to matching up against Moorpark star and USC commit Drake London, when the teams meet in a nonleague contest in Burbank’s second game.
Junior Vincent Vang (5-6, 150), junior Ian Miller (5-10, 170), Burnham, Pena and sophomores Owen Cusumano (5-10, 155) and Jarren Flowers (6-0, 165) are all fighting for playing time in the secondary.