Tag Archives: Ben Burnham

Burbank Boys Basketball Falls Short Against La Canada

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(Photo by Ross A Benson)

Getting to the CIF Southern Section playoffs for the Burbank High boys’ basketball team had to be somewhat of a surprise considering that Bulldogs coach Ernest Baskerville only became the coach just weeks before the season started and on the heels of a few key players transferring out of the school.

Burbank wasn’t fortunate enough to find a first-round playoff opponent that faced similar circumstances, as the Bulldogs traveled to La Canada High, which is coached by Tom Hofman. Hofman recently won his 700th game in his 33rd season as La Canada’s head coach.

When it was all said and done, Hofman’s Spartans handed the Bulldogs a 57-43 defeat in a Division 2A first-round contest.

“I have so much respect for Tom. He’s a great coach. He’s been here since I was in high school,” Baskerville said. “He’s always supported the things that I do. He wrote a letter of recommendation for me to get the job at Burbank.”

(Photo by Ross A Benson)

La Canada (24-5) held Burbank to 14 of 57 shooting for the contest, as it took the Bulldogs a while to get into a rhythm. La Canada also didn’t make things easy on Burbank by playing solid defense.

“Ryan Graves did a really good job on (Miles D’Agostin). He’s a really good player and he made him work for everything,” Hofman said of one of his star players. “That was one of the big keys for us. Ernest does a nice job with that team. He runs good stuff and they are hard to defend. I thought they’ve been under-ranked all year.”

Burbank (17-12) scored just four points in the first quarter and trailed 10-4 going into the second quarter.
The Bulldogs trailed 20-6 midway through the second quarter when Isaac Anglade banked in a shot off the glass to get the offense moving.

D’Agostin later hit a pair of three-point shots to help Burbank completely turn things around, as the Bulldogs trailed just 28-21 going into the halftime break.

Things looked good early on in the third quarter when D’Agostin hit three consecutive free throws to cut the deficit to 30-24.

(Photo by Ross A Benson)

But La Canada roared right back and got a huge boost when Graves completed a three-point play with just .9 seconds left in the quarter, pushing the lead to 44-30.

A pair of free throws by Erik Harutyunyan with 3:22 left in the final quarter cut things to 49-41.
But Burbank was unable to get any closer.

D’Agostin led Burbank with 17 points. Harutyunyan finished with 10 points, and Anglade finished with eight.

Ben Burnham had four points and Jalen Clark and Guram Dumbadze each had two points.

La Canada received 18 points each from Graves and junior Kyle Brown.

Burbank Boys Basketball Gets Hungry in Win Over Burroughs

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The Burbank High boys’ basketball knew that a win over Burroughs High in the regular season finale would guarantee a CIF Southern Section playoff berth.

As a result, the host Bulldogs played focused and determined in an 83-49 contest over the visiting Indians, who won the first meeting between the two rivals.

“They’ve been thinking about it the last two days,” Burbank coach Ernest Baskerville said of the playoffs. ‘They’ve been excited about playing this game. They understood the last time we played them, they kicked our butt.”

(Photo by Ross A Benson)

Burbank (17-11 overall, 8-6 in the league) jumped out to a 22-10 lead at the end of the first quarter and were never threatened by the Indians, who finish the season with an 11-16 overall mark, 4-10 in the league.

“They were ready to go from the beginning. They wanted revenge and they played well and shot the ball well and we got behind and couldn’t recover,” Burroughs coach Allan Ellis said.

Burbank converted 20 of 33 shots it took in the first half and hit five of 14 attempts from three-point range.

The Bulldogs led 47-23 at halftime and continued to shine in the third quarter by taking a 66-33 lead going into the final quarter.

Miles D’Agostin, who had six 3-pointers, finished with a game-high 22 points. Erik Harutyunyan had 18 points.

Guram Dumbadze had 12 points, Jalen Clark, Leo Tahmasian and Isaac Anglade each had seven for the Bulldogs. Ben Burnham and Jared Pasion each had three points. Kevin Sarkes and Abiel Pearl each had two points.

(Photo by Ross A Benson)

Burroughs was led by Nick Garcia, who had 14 points. Bryan Oasey had 13 points, Aaron Amanios had nine points and Emery Goulet had four points.

Sammy Solis and Evan Zamora each had three points. Carson Cardenaz had two points and Peter Filippi had one point.

Baskerville is hopeful the CIF playoff selection committee will look at the Bulldogs’ strength of schedule.

“Hopefully we get a good draw if you look at the teams we’ve played. We’ve played Camarillo, Valencia, Calabasas, King-Drew, Crossroads,” he said.

Burbank Boys Basketball Starts Strong Against Crossroads, Tapers Off

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By Rick Assad

 

After 16 minutes, it seemed that the Burbank High boys’ basketball team had matters in hand.

Its long-range jumpers were falling, its man-to-man defense was effective and its passing was crisp, which resulted in the Bulldogs holding a 15-point advantage at halftime over Crossroads in one of seven games held at the Burbank gym for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Showdown.

Chance Van Hook hit a three-pointer against Crossroads. (Photo by Ross A. Benson)

What occurred in the second half was the opposite as the Bulldogs struggled offensively, the defense opened up gapping holes for easy hoops including a bevy of slams and too many turnovers as the Roadrunners collected a 73-64 win on Monday afternoon.

Burbank (14-10) opened up by making seven of 17 in the first quarter and eight of 17 shots in the second for 44.1 percent and led 43-28.

The Bulldogs were successful on six of 23 field goals in the second half (26 percent) and were outscored by 24 points, including 19-6 in the third period.

“We play man-to-man,” Burbank coach Ernest Baskerville said of trying to defend Crossroads’ 6-10 freshman center Henri Adiassa. “We tried to front him. He’s a good player and he can play. When you have a height advantage, you have to take advantage of that.”

The Bulldogs had a tough time stopping Henri Adiassa, a 6-10 freshman who scored 20 points in the second half. (Photo by Ross A. Benson)

Baskerville continued: “I thought their point guard [Yukki Okubo] did a good job of being more active,” he noted.

Burbank senior point guard Miles D’Agostin, who had an off-night in an 18-point loss against visiting Crescenta Valley on Friday, found his stroke versus Crossroads, which produced point guard Baron Davis, who played two seasons at UCLA and 13 in the NBA where he averaged 16.1 points and 7.2 assists.

D’Agostin finished with a game-best 27 points, canning five three-pointers.

At the break, D’Agostin had 16 points after tallying 13 points in the opening quarter.

D’Agostin was held scoreless in the third quarter, but rebounded for 11 points in the fourth frame that included two treys including one with 1:03 left that cut the Roadrunners’ lead to 69-63.

Junior point guard Leo Tahmasian contributed nine points for the Bulldogs (21 of 57 for 36.8 percent) and canned two of Burbank’s 11 three-pointers.

Leo Tahmasian dropped in nine points in a nine-point loss to the Roadrunners. (Photo by Ross A. Benson)

The Roadrunners (12-10), who snapped a four-game losing streak, came out slowly in the initial period, making three of 15.

Crossroads (43.4 percent on 30 of 69) shot better in the second quarter, hitting six of 14 from the field.

Junior swingman Miles Ceballos, whose father Cedric Ceballos, a small forward who toiled 11 seasons in the NBA, including three with the Lakers, poured in nine of his 16 points in the second half.

The third quarter saw Adiassa, who had a game-high 27 rebounds, finally break out with six points.

But what followed for Adiassa was a 14-point explosion in the fourth quarter as junior point guard Okubo (16 points) repeatedly found him at the low box and simply lofted easy passes for three vicious and spinetingling slam dunks.

“Yeah, I just went in at halftime and started yelling,” Crossroads coach Anthony Davis said of trying to inspire his youthful, but talented team. “I try to keep my cool because we have a young team and you don’t want to lose them. I tried to pull out something to fire them up by any means to do that.”

Jared Pasion scored four points, but tries to defend against Crossroads, which won 73-64. (Photo by Ross A. Benson)

Davis continued: “We were more focused. We let them [Burbank] play comfortable. In the second half we tried to control the tempo,” he pointed out. “I have to be patient and not ride them for every mistake. They’re finding their way.”

Davis went on: “We have to play inside out with him,” he said of Adiassa, who is still learning the game. “I told him that when he’s in a rush, we’re in a rush.”

Okubo’s scoring output, like the game itself, came slowly at first as he tallied two points in the opening frame and four in the second.

Like Adiassa, Okubo took off in the second half as the 5-7 floor leader had four points in the third frame and six in the final period.

Junior point guard Mazen Wharton-Ali dropped in eight points for Crossroads, sophomore point guard T.J. Muhammad had six points, while sophomore shooting guard/small forward Shaqir O’Neal, whose father Shaquille O’Neal, a 15-time All-Star, four-time NBA champion and a Hall of Famer, came off the bench and tallied five points.

O’Neal’s bucket with 7:20 left on the clock in the fourth quarter handed the Roadrunners a 51-49 edge.

Burbank junior power forward Kevin Sarkes had six points while sophomore point guard Abiel Pearl dropped in five and senior point guard Jared Pasion scored four points.

Senior point guard Guram Dumbadze had three points, junior point guard Ben Burnham also had three as did senior shooting guard Chance Van Hook, , while senior point guard Isaac Anglade scored two points as did senior shooting guard Erik Harutyunyan.

Burbank Boys Hoops Struggles Versus Crescenta Valley, Lose 63-45

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By Rick Assad

 

When the Burbank High boys’ basketball team stepped onto the floor to face visiting Crescenta Valley on Friday night, they met a squad that was at times red-hot shooting the basketball and merely hot on other occasions.

The end result was predictable as the Falcons flew off to a 63-45 decision in a Pacific League encounter.

Erik Harutyunyan dropped in a team-best 13 points in a 63-45 loss to Crescenta Valley. (Photo by Ross A. Benson)

Crescenta Valley shot 50 percent from the floor (23 of 46 attempts) and knocked down seven three-pointers, including four in the second half when it outscored the Bulldogs 32-23.

“They protected the middle,” Burbank coach Ernest Baskerville said of Crescenta Valley’s defense. “We missed jump shots, period. The last time we hit jump shots. That’s what basketball is. Either you’re going to make them or miss them.”

Baskerville, in his first year at Burbank, added: “It’s all about who gets the most shots,” he said. “At the end of the day, we didn’t more shots than they did.”

Burbank was successful on 15 of 57 field goal attempts from the floor for 26.3 percent.

Ben Burnham, who scored three points, goes up for a jumper against the Falcons. (Photo by Ross A. Benson)

The Falcons (18-4 and 7-3 in league) made seven of 10 from the field in the third quarter and four of nine in the fourth period for 57.8 percent.

“We had a little bit of a sour taste in our mouth after that game,” Crescenta Valley coach Shawn Zargarian said of the 74-72 setback to the Bulldogs on December 14. “We don’t like to lose at home. Our guys had a lot of motivation.”

Zargarian added: “I think the three quarters where we controlled it, a lot of it was on the defensive end of the floor,” the former Falcon player noted. “We guarded ball-screens well. We stayed attached on their shooters.”

Crescenta Valley darted in front 41-28 with 2:25 showing in the third quarter when junior guard/forward Danny Khani (15 points) nailed three consecutive three-pointers which sealed Burbank’s fate as it trailed 52-35 heading into the fourth quarter.

Abiel Pearl tries to defend Tyler Carlson, who had a game-high 22 points. (Photo by Ross A. Benson)

“I thought Danny, who hit the three threes in the third quarter lifted us there and I thought he did a good job defensively,” Zargarian pointed out.

Burbank (14-9 and 5-5 in league) was looking at a deficit after each break, falling behind 16-6 heading to the second quarter and 31-22 at halftime as the Falcons made six of 12 in the initial frame and six of 15 in the second period for 44.4 percent.

The Falcons pulled ahead 11-3 with 2:05 left in the first frame on a hoop from junior point guard Tyler Carlson (game-best 22 points).

The Bulldogs struggled to locate the basket in the first period after hitting two of 15 and the second quarter on four of 13 and shot 21.4 percent at the half.

Burbank missed its first eight shots in the initial frame and finally broke the streak when junior shooting guard Leo Tahmasian (12 points) scored and later converted the first of two three-pointers in the same period.

Leo Tahmasian had 12 points for the Bulldogs. (Photo by Ross A. Benson)

The Bulldogs were paced by senior shooting guard Erik Harutyunyan with 13 points.

Carlson nailed four three-pointers over all and tallied a game-best 13 points at the intermission, dropping in eight in the first period and making two treys and scoring five points in the second quarter with one three-pointer.

Senior point guard Miles D’Agostin tallied 10 points for the Bulldogs, while sophomore shooting guard Abiel Pearl accounted for four points.

Junior shooting guard Ben Burnham had three points, junior power forward Kevin Sarkes added two points and senior shooting guard Guram Dumbadze had one point.

The Falcons hit 10 of 21 free throws while the Bulldogs, who made four three-pointers, converted 11 of 20 from the charity line.

Burbank will host Crossroads at noon on Monday as it celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day with seven games.

Burbank Boys Basketball Eases By Crescenta Valley 74-72

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By Rick Assad

 

A win is a win no matter how one finds it, and the Burbank High boys’ basketball team will gladly accept it.

On Friday night, in what may turn out to be a season-changer, the Bulldogs exhibited true grit and determination after leading throughout, and then holding off and escaping with a 74-72 victory over host Crescenta Valley in a Pacific League contest.

The Bulldogs shot 49 percent from the floor (26 of 53), but only went to the free-throw line 11 times and converted six.

“They shot 17 free throws to our one going into the fourth quarter,” first-year Burbank coach Ernest Baskerville said. “I told the team don’t let the fouls dictate how we’re going to play.”

Baskerville said his players have the green light, under one important proviso. “I let my guys shoot the ball, but they have to be open.”

Leo Tahmasian, shown in a game against Eagle Rock, scored 19 points in a 74-72 win over the Falcons. (Photo by Ross A Benson)

The key statistic was Burbank (6-4 and 2-2 in league) knocked down 14 three pointers.

The Falcons (10-2 and 2-2 in league) hit four.

Crescenta Valley did make 20 of 23 (86.9 percent) from the charity line and changed its philosophy in the second half when it went strong to the hoop rather than settle for outside jumpers like it did in the opening half.

“I was pleased with our first half defense,” Baskerville said. “We didn’t give up a lot of paint touches in the first half.”

Senior Miles D’Agostin and junior Leo Tahmasian each scored 19 points for the Bulldogs, who had 11 treys at the half when they built a 47-28 lead.

Leading the Crescenta Valley’s offensive was junior Tyler Carlson, who dropped in 16 points and it was Carlson’s three-pointer at the buzzer that fell short of the mark.

Burbank established a 20-10 advantage heading into the second quarter as D’Agostin made three treys while Tahmasian scored four points.

The Bulldogs went wild in the second quarter, nailing seven three-pointers with senior Jalen Clark (14 points) dropping in two and Tahmasian talling eight points, including two from three-point range.

Burbank shot 56.6 percent from the field at the half, making 17 of 30, while the Falcons drilled nine of 30 (30 percent) from the field and eight of nine charity tosses.

D’Agostin chipped in with 14 points at the intermission, Tahmasian had 12 points and Clark scored eight points.

Crescenta Valley, which shot 37.5 percent (24 of 64) from the field outscored Burbank 18-13 in the third period with Carlson scoring six points as the Falcons fell behind 60-46 .

The Falcons, who shot 44.1 percent in the second half (15 of 34 ) erupted for 26 points in the fourth quarter while the Bulldogs scored 14 points with D’Agostin and Tahmasian each dropping in five points.

Burbank junior Ben Burnham tallied eight points, sophomore Abiel Pearl accounted for seven, senior Guram Dumbadze added three points and senior Isaac Anglade accounted for two.

Boys Basketball Teams Have New Look

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The Burbank and Burroughs boys’ basketball teams will be hoping to move forward this season after both experienced mediocrity last season. Both are solid and should be ready to go for Pacific League play, which begins today.

Burbank
Things have changed for the Bulldogs as Ernest Baskerville, who once was the head coach at Providence High, has taken over for Jamayne Potts, who took the Village Christian position.
A few players have left the program with the change of coaches, but the Bulldogs have looked solid in the early part of the season.

(Photo by Ross A Benson)

“I love the fact that they’re all good kids and they’ll do anything I ask. I think the fact of the whole process of me becoming their coach that they bonded together a little more and said whomever we get we’re going to work hard for,” Baskerville said. “That’s what they’re doing, they are working really hard.”
Burbank has no superstars, but also doesn’t have any weaknesses.
Senior Erik Harutyunyan, at 6-foot-2, will generally take the toughest defensive assignments.
Senior Miles D’Agostin (5-10), nephew of former Burbank girls’ basketball coach John D’Agostin, has been very impressive in the early part of the season with his hustle and outside shooting capabilities.
At the point guard position the Bulldogs have senior Jared Pasion (5-9), senior Issac Anglade (5-10) and junior Ben Burnham (6-0).
On the wings and inside Burbank has a solid core of seniors. Chance Van Hook, Guram Dubadze, Satchel Bookchk and Clarence Tahmasian are all 6-2. Junior Kevin Sarkes is the tallest on the team at 6-4.
Junior Leo Tahmasian (6-0) and sophomore Abiel Pearl (6-1) have both show promise in the early part of the season.
Seniors Angel Ibarra (6-1) and Jalen Clark (6-0) have played key roles.

Burroughs

The Indians have grown up quickly with many new faces under third-year coach Allan Ellis.

Junior Nick Garcia, who played some quarterback in football, is expected to see significant minutes at the point guard position.
Senior Brian Oasey is a combo guard who could also see time at point guard.

The Indians will also look to juniors Emery Goulet, Carson Cardenaz and Evan Zamora as well as senior Aaron Amanios to make key contributions in the back court.

“I like my team this season because they are a resilient team that competes hard,” Ellis said. “League this season will be tough because we aren’t the most experienced team. But they are learning every day how to compete at the varsity level.”

In the front court, Burroughs will look to seniors Peter Filippi, Steven Johnson, Sammy Solis and Walker Miller.

Junior Ellington Simmons is coming of a fine football season as a receiver and will also give the Indians some height inside.

 

Strong Effort Not Enough for Burbank Boys Basketball

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(Photo by Ross A Benson)

The Burbank High boys’ basketball team knew  beating visiting Camarillo High would not be easy in the semifinals of the Burbank Tournament Friday.
Sure enough, Camarillo was as good as advertised in an 85-68 victory.
But the Bulldogs left coach Ernest Baskerville happy with the team’s effort.
“We never quit. We’ve seen this team put up over 100 points for two games. We tried to slow them down and keep them below 80,” Baskerville said. “That team, you think it is a one-man show, but it is not. He has multiple weapons.”

Camarillo (6-0) pressed all over the court and forced Burbank into 18 turnovers.
Camarillo’s 6-foot-6 UCLA-bound star Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 29 points. It was just the second time Jaquez scored less than 30 points through the first six games of the season.
“We all play together and we all know the ultimate goal is to win and we buy into that,” Jaquez said of his team.
Burbank (4-1) never led in the contest.

(Photo by Ross A Benson)

Camarillo led 17-12 at the end of the first quarter and extended the lead to 42-24 at halftime. Burbank trailed 68-38 at the end of three quarters, before battling back in the final quarter.

Miles D’Agostin led Burbank, as he finished with 24 points and hit four three-pointers. Teammate Abiel Pearl finished with 12 points, scoring all on three-point shots. Leo Tahmasian also hit a pair of three-pointers to finish with six points.
Erik Harutyunyan, who got in foul trouble early, finished with 13 points, all of which were scored in the second half.
Burbank trailed by as much as 33 points in the fourth quarter before fighting back to cut the deficit to as little as 82-67 with 1:15 left, when Pearl hit a three-pointer.
Jared Pasion had five points. Isaac Anglade, Clarence Tahmasian and Angel Ibarra each had two points. Ben Burnham and Satchel Bootchk each hit a free throw.

Burbank Boys Basketball Shoots Past Eagle Rock

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(Photo by Ross A Benson)

A new era in Burbank High basketball history began Monday night when the Bulldogs opened the season against visiting Eagle Rock High in a nonleague contest.
Ernest Baskerville has taken over as the head coach, but the Bulldogs showed they haven’t missed a beat, winning 86-64.
“I’ve got some guys that were hungry to have someone coach them,” said Baskerville, who only began coaching the team about a month ago. “They were really well coached beforehand and they were hoping someone would come in and continue doing what was being done.”
Burbank hit 14 of 30 attempts from three-point range, five of which came from senior Miles D’Agostin, who finished with a team-high 25 points.

“I’ve been watching him the whole time I’ve been working with him. He’s ready for a breakout season,” Baskerville said of D’Agostin, who played at the junior varsity level last year.
D’Agostin, who is the nephew of former Burbank girls’ basketball coach John D’Agostin, said he has enjoyed his short time with Baskerville.

“He just tells me to shoot, so I feel comfortable that he’s not going to get mad if I miss shots. He just tells me to be myself,” D’Agostin said.
Burbank never trailed in the contest but was never in full command until the fourth quarter.
After leading 21-18 at the end of the first quarter and 40-32 at halftime, Eagle Rock made things interesting in the third quarter, getting as close as 59-54 with less than a minute to play before the final quarter.

Burbank got a key three-point basket from Guram Dumbadze with two seconds left in the quarter to give the Bulldogs a 62-54 cushion heading into the final quarter.
In the fourth quarter, it was all Bulldogs, as Burbank limited Eagle Rockstar Mitchell Gravino Jr. to just four points in the fourth quarter. Gravino finished with a game-high 30 points.

(Photo by Ross A Benson)

 

Abiel Pearl, who finished with nine points, hit two key three-pointers in the final quarter.
Leo Tahmasian had 13 points for Burbank. Issac Anglade and Jared Pasion each had nine points. Angel Ibarra and Jalen Clark each had six points. Dumbadze had five points. Erik Harutyunyan had three points and Ben Burnham had one point.

 

Porras Lifts Burbank Football Past Burroughs

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Matthew Porras probably shouldn’t have even suited Friday night for Burbank High when the Bulldogs took on Burroughs in ‘The Big Game’ at Memorial Field.

Porras, who said he had been vomiting less than 24 hours earlier, threw a career-high and school record seven touchdown passes in a 54-20 over the Indians.

Burbank High Matthew Porras. Photo by © Ross A Benson

“He threw up three different times at walkthroughs yesterday,” Burbank coach Adam Colman said. “He’s such a warrior. He has meant so much to our program.”

Porras became Burbank’s single game, single season and career touchdown pass leader all in the same contest.

“This morning I threw up at about 5 in the morning. Then I had a bunch of fluids and came to school,” said Porras, who said he only had soup and saltines.

Burbank (7-3, 6-1) will now learn its fate Sunday in the CIF Southern Section playoffs.
“We were working out the day of the CIF championship last year. We talked about going after a ring.

That’s been our goal since day one,” Colman said.”We’ve got hopefully four more weeks to chase that.”

Burroughs (2-8, 2-5) came in as a heavy underdog but gave Burbank everything it had.

Burroughs Aiden Forrester # 17 runs back the opening kickoff. ( Photo by © Ross A Benson)

“The journey this team went on was huge,” Burroughs coach Rand Holdren said. “If we were to start the season from today, it is a different story. These kids left it all on the field tonight.”

Burroughs stunned the Bulldogs when junior Aiden Forrester returned the game’s opening kickoff back 90 yards for a touchdown.

Burbank came right back and scored after just four plays from scrimmage.

Porras hooked up with junior Isaac Glover on a 10-yard touchdown pass. Glover also scored Burbank’s lone rushing touchdown, which came at the 10:24 mark of the fourth quarter.

Porras ended up completing 20 of 30 passes for 305 yards with just one interception.
Porras and Erik Harutyunyan hooked up on a 13-yard touchdown with 3:25 left in the first quarter to make it 14-7.

Burbank High’s Erik Harutyuyan #8 turns the corner . ( Photo by © Ross A Benson)

Harutyunyan finished with eight catches for 173 yards and two touchdowns.

Porras and junior Ben Burnham hooked up on a 16-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left in the first quarter. It was the first of two touchdowns he would score.

Burbank, which also received a pair of touchdowns from tight end Duncan Smith, led 27-13 at halftime.

Burroughs quarterback Nathan Piper hooked up with Nick Garcia on a 9-yard touchdown with 3:22 left in the first half. The took would hook up later on a 31-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

Porras broke the single-game touchdown pass record when he hooked up with Burnham with 1:58 left to play.

Burroughs’ Andrew English had seven receptions for 69 yards.

Piper completed 15 of 30 passes for 171 yards in the final game of his career.

Burbank Football Opens Season With 45-12 Rout Over Monrovia

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By Rick Assad

 

No Burbank High football team in its long and proud history has played a game in the middle of August, but on Friday night at Memorial Field, that’s exactly what took place.

The Bulldogs, who won the Pacific League title and reached the CIF Southern Section Division VII semifinals in 2017 and the Division VIII championship game the year before, opened up the new campaign on a high note by taking out Monrovia 45-12 in a nonleague match.

Burbank senior quarterback Matthew Porras was nothing short of spectacular.

Senior quarterback Matthew Porras threw for six touchdowns and five in the first half. (Photo by Ross A. Benson)

Porras is a dual threat capable of churning out significant yardage on the ground.

Against the Wildcats, Porras threw for 256 yards with six touchdowns and one interception.

Five of the scoring tosses came in the first half as the Bulldogs scurried out to a 32-0 advantage and were never headed.

Monrovia (97 total net yards) came out in the second half and scored on a 90-yard kickoff return by sophomore cornerback/strong safety Adam Perry.

The Wildcats then cut the deficit to 32-12 when junior running back Maury Rams IV (13 yards on seven rushes) scored on an 11-yard burst with 9:05 left in the third period.

“We came out a little flat,” Burbank coach Adam Colman said of the start to the second half. “This is the third year in a row they’ve run a kick back on us. We gotta watch more film. It’s a first game after an eight-month layoff.”

Senior running back Chadz Vang is off and running in the sesaon opener. Photo By: Edward Tovmassian

Other than that, it was simply all Burbank, which extended its lead to 38-12 when Porras tossed a 19-yard strike to tight end Duncan Smith (four catches for 80 yards) with 5:36 showing, finalizing a nine-play, 73-yard march.

Burbank’s lead became 45-12 when senior offensive lineman Matthew Sanchez recovered the ball in the end zone with 6:22 left in the fourth period after Porras (98 yards on 19 carries) ran to the one-yard line, but fumbled.

The scoring parade started when Porras, who completed 19 of 30 passes, drilled senior running back Chadz Vang (53 yards on three receptions and 51 yards on seven rushes) with a 23-yard toss as 10:02 remained in the first quarter for a 6-0 cushion and capped an 85-yard, six-play march.

The Bulldogs won the battle up front and prevailed over the Wildcats. (Photo by Ross A. Benson)

“He played incredible,” Colman said of his field general. “That’s what you come to expect from him, being Player of the Year and everything. He’s a competitor. He’s highly intelligent. He understands what we’re trying to do and what the defense is trying to do.”

When Porras found Smith with a 35-yard aerial and 8:18 left in the initial frame, the advantage became 13-0.

After Porras located Vang with a 14-yard bullet and 11:53 left in the second quarter, Burbank’s margin was 20-0 as the Bulldogs (449 total yards) drove 76 yards and used six plays.

Porras then hooked up with senior running back Max Mendiata (41 yards on 12 carries) with an 11-yard pass and 6:18 showing as the Bulldogs pushed ahead 26-0 after moving the ball from the Monrovia 46-yard line while consuming nine plays.

The Bulldogs ended the opening half with a 10-yard offering from Porras to junior wide receiver Ben Burnham (three catches for 51 yards) with 14.4 seconds on the clock as Burbank marched 54 yards over 14 plays.

Senior wide receiver Erik Harutyunyan snared four catches for 30 yards, while junior tight end Seth Jones hauled in four receptions for 34 yards for Burbank, which will travel to Moorpark for a nonleague game next Friday with a 7 p.m. kickoff.