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Burroughs, Burbank Football Ready to Clash on Friday

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By Rick Assad

Situated slightly less than two miles apart, Burroughs High and Burbank are long and fierce rivals, regardless of the sport or event.

On Friday night at Memorial Field, these two will face off on the football field for the 69th meeting in the annual Big Game, which commenced in 1949.

This time, there is a slightly unique twist because it is believed to be the first time that both schools are being coached by alumni of their respective schools.

Adam Colman, the first-year coach at Burbank, is a former Bulldog quarterback, while Mike Reily, the second-year Burroughs coach, was once an offensvive lineman for the Indians.

Drew Pendleton is a two-way threat for the Bulldogs. Photo By: Edward Tovmassian

“I think that will be cool, but it’s about the kids,” Colman said of the upcoming match and the fact he and Reily will be on each team’s sideline. “Being a part of the Big Game, growing up watching it, playing in it, it’s an experience. It’s a fun experience for everyone, no matter what role you’re in.”

Colman knows Burroughs, with a 4-4 overall record and a 3-3 mark in the Pacific League, will be ready.

“They’ve got a really good team,” he said. “They’ve got an amazing offense. They’ve put up huge numbers all year. I think our defense will be up for the challenge.”

Reily’s squad has suffered some key injuries, but he won’t use this as an excuse.

“You’ll see who gets cleared and then game plan with those individuals and have a plan B,C and D if certain individuals are not able to go,” Reily said.

Reily knows the Bulldogs own a share of the league banner after holding off Muir 38-31 last Friday.

“Burbank is the team in the league,” Reily said. “They’re the big daddies. It is never ideal to go into that type of a game with the injuries that we have sustained, but that’s part of the deal.”

Burroughs quarterback Nathan Piper will be ready to face Burbank on Friday. (Photo by © Ross A Benson)

Reily is quietly confident in his staff and team.

“Our football coaching staff has a lot of experience, a lot of football IQ,” he said. “I have no doubt that we’ll be able to come up with the schemes that will help make us successful. It’s just a matter of being able to get those kids healthy enough to execute that scheme.”

Burroughs leads the all-time series 42-26 over Burbank, but the Bulldogs, who are 7-2 and 6-0 in league, have claimed four of the last five games.

Burbank is led offensively by quarterback Matthew Porras. The junior has thrown for 1,770 yards with 20 touchdowns has five interceptions and rushed for 307 yards with two scores.

Senior tailback Darnell Williams has the most yards on the ground with 577 and has tallied eight touchdowns.

Darnell Williams is Burbank’s top rusher. Photo By: Edward Tovmassian

Junior Chadz Vang has accumulated 325 rushing yards with three touchdowns.

Senior wide receiver Drew Pendleton has snared 39 passes for 754 yards and eight scores.

Junior Erick Harutyunyan has 19 receptions for 263 yards and four scores and junior tight end Duncan Smith has 461 yards on 37 catches for six touchdowns.

Burbank’s defense is spearheaded by Pendleton, a linebacker with 63 tackles, including 45 solo.

Senior defensive back Christian Fajardo has 43 tackles including 31 solo, senior linebacker Blake Quinteros has 41 tackles, 23 solo with three sacks, Smith, a defensive end, has 32 tackles with 21 solo and five sacks and senior defensive lineman Anthony Lira has 33 tackles with four sacks.

Senior Andrew Rovira has converted 28 extra points and nailed three of six field goals. He kicked a 48-yard field goal last week.

Junior Nathan Piper is a capable quarterback for the Indians, and if given time, will find his receivers.

Ben Peters is dynamic and will be tough to handle. (Photo by © Ross A Benson)

When the Indians run the ball it will likely be in the hands of senior Ben Peters, a prolific running back who has topped 300 yards in several games.

Peters also toils at linebacker and defensive back.

Joining Peters in the backfield is senior Hakeem Hickman, who has been highly productive and also plays linebacker.

Senior wide receiver/defensive back Cerain Baker will not play after being ejected during the Indians’ 49-14 win over Hoover last week.

Seniors Gavin Aguilar, Charlie Rodriguez, Devin Harrison and David Lennstrom are steady targets for Piper and all play defensive back except for Rodriguez, who plays linebacker.

If it’s a close game, it could be decided by the foot of senior place kicker Jonathan Rivas.

Burroughs Football Can’t Handle Doyle, CV

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Crescenta Valley High quarterback Cole Doyle grew up in the shadows of Memorial Field.

(Photo by © Ross A Benson)

A former student at St. Finbar School, Doyle spent Friday evening causing havoc to host Burroughs in a 38-14 Pacific League win.

“It was an important game. Burroughs is always a good matchup for us,” said Doyle, who is a junior. “We’ve been practicing hard for them all week. Even with the injuries we had, our guys stepped up and pulled out the ‘W’ tonight.”

With his team facing injuries in the backfield, Doyle became his team’s top threat on the ground as he rushed for 160 yards and a pair of touchdowns in 15 carries.  He also passed for 88 yards.

Crescenta Valley (7-0, 4-0) will now face Burbank High next Friday at Moyse Field on the campus of Glendale High in a battle of the two remaining unbeaten teams in league.

(Photo by © Ross A Benson)

“They are a very well coached team. They have a staff that has a lot of football IQ. We know it is always a great chess match when you play Crescenta Valley High School,” Burroughs coach Mike Reily said. “I’m a little disappointed and a little concerned with what we did to ourselves. We weren’t executing some of the schemes that we had prepared all week. I’m a little bummed that we didn’t come and play like we had prepared all week.”

Burroughs (3-3, 2-2) was locked in a 7-7 tie with the Falcons at then of the first quarter.

Burroughs quarterback Nathan Piper hooked up with Cerain Baker on a 20-yard touchdown with24 seconds left in the first quarter, tying things at 7.

From then on it was almost all Falcons, who went on a 31-0 run to put the game out of reach for the Indians.

Burroughs did not score again until the fourth quarter when Hakeem Hickman scored on a one-yard run with 3:18 left to play.

(Photo by © Ross A Benson)

Indians running back Ben Peters finished with 123 yards rushing in 27 carries.

Piper finished the game completing 9 of 21 passes for 100 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Burroughs will host Muir High next Friday at Memorial Field. Prior to the game Burroughs will have the newest members of its Sports Hall of Fame inducted in a ceremony.

 

Piper Sets School Record as Burroughs Football Beats Glendale 81-14

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Nathan Piper’s intentions before the Burroughs High football game at Glendale High Thursday night were simply to help lead his team to victory.

Piper did that and a lot more as the Indians defeated the Nitros 81-14 in a Pacific League contest.

The junior quarterback completed 28 of 32 passes for a school record 430 yards and four touchdown passes. The previous record was set by future University of Washington quarterback J.K. Scott in 1996, who threw for 418 yards in a playoff game against Dominguez High of Compton.

“I didn’t know I had the record. After the first drive in the third quarter I got pulled out,” said Piper, who also had a rushing touchdown. “That’s when coach said he had good news and bad news for me and that I’d be coming out.”

Charlie Rodriguez tries to push past Glendale’s Karl Steckermeier. (Photo By Salvador Cabezas)

Burroughs (3-2) also set a school record for the most points scored in a single game.  The Indians had 623 yards of offense, also a school record. The previous school record was 610 yards against Arcadia in 2008.

“Nathan will be the first to tell you that it’s a team effort,” Burroughs coach Mike Reily said.

Burroughs got four rushing touchdowns from Ben Peters, who finished with nine carries and 114 yards.

Cerain Baker had 11 receptions for 233 yards and three touchdowns.

Burroughs backup quarterback Andrew English even got involved in the action and scored two rushing touchdowns. He finished with 40 yards in four carries.

Ben Peters had four touchdowns for Burroughs. (Photo By Salvador Cabezas)

Sophomore Aiden Forrester returned a fumble 25 yards for a touchdown following a kickoff.

David Lennstrom had a 37-yard touchdown reception from Piper.

The Indians led 28-0 at the end of the first quarter and 49-0 at halftime. The third quarter was not played with a running clock, as is customary when teams trail by 35 or more points at the intermission.

While Burroughs players celebrated the victory, Reily said the celebration won’t last too long.

“We have a big football game next week against Crescenta Valley,” he said. “We’re going to celebrate this one for the next 10 or 12 hours or so and then watch some film and get ready for next week.”

 

Burroughs Football Drops 31-26 Decision To Arcadia

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By Rick Assad

For at least one half, the Burroughs High football team seemed to be in control of Friday night’s Pacific League match at Arcadia.

Then it went south somewhat in the second half as the Indians were outscored 17-3 and lost 31-26.

Even so, Burroughs (319 total net yards) still had an opportunity to rally on its final possession, but Arcadia’s defense stiffened on fourth and two from the Apache 16-yard line after stopping senior wide receiver David Lennstrom on a sweep for a six-yard loss.

Burroughs quarterback Nathan Piper is about to hand the ball to Ben Peters, who had 180 yards on 40 carries. (Photo courtesy Stephen Garden)

“A lot of it had to do with us making the proverbial shooting ourselves in the foot,” Burroughs coach Mike Reily said. “Their D line is a very active bunch and I think their defensive line played a more physical game in the second half than they did in the first half.”

Reily went on: “They gave us some fits more in that second half than they did in the first half,” he noted. “I don’t think it’s anything scheme-wise that they had done differently. It’s just us making a mistake here and there which just adds up to lost opportunities and lost points and then stalled drives.”

The potential winning drive began at the Indians 13-yard line and saw senior running back Ben Peters carry the ball 10 times for 45 yards.

Senior wide receiver Charlie Rodriguez caught nine passes for 55 yards, senior wide receiver Devin Harrison made three receptions for 22 yards and senior linebacker Hakeem Hickman recovered a fumble in the first quarter.

When Burroughs and Arcadia meet on the football field, it’s usually physical as Alex Perez makes the tackle. (Photo courtesy Stephen Garden)

“Defensively we made some adjustments and we were able to slow them down a little bit,” Arcadia coach Andrew Policky said of the second half. “They’re tough, physical up front and they run the ball. We made enough plays to get it done.”

The scoring began on the opening series as Burroughs (2-2 and 1-1 in league) used eight plays that covered 62 yards and was capped off when junior quarterback Nathan Piper (18 of 36 for 146 yards) hit senior wide receiver Cerian Baker (team-high 67 yards on five receptions) with a 23-yard strike and 9:13 left in the first quarter for a 7-0 edge.

On Arcadia’s initial series, it was forced to punt which set up the Indians at the Apache 45-yard line.

It took nine plays to make it 10-0 after senior Jonathan Rivas split the uprights on a 33-yard field goal as 3:16 remained in the first period.

Senior linebacker Hakeem Hickman recovers a fumble in the first quarter against Arcadia. (Photo courtesy Stephen Garden)

With 2:54 left in the same frame, Arcadia (3-2 and 2-0 in league) trimmed the lead to 10-7 on senior quarterback Max Davila’s seven-yard toss to junior tight end Jake Medders.

The Indians made it 16-7 on the ensuing kickoff when sophomore running back Aiden Forrester brought the football back 90 yards.

The Indians darted ahead 23-7 with 9:24 left on the clock in the second quarter when Peters, who ended his night with 41 carries for 190 yards, scored on a two-yard run.

Arcadia shaved the lead to 23-14 when junior wide receiver Rolandiss Whitener returned a punt 58 yards with 5:03 left before the intermission.

When Davila (13 of 27 for 175 yards) drilled Whitener (99 yards on four receptions) on a 50-yard slant that ended a four-play, 65-yard drive, the Apaches (202 total yards) drew within 23-21 with just under 10 minutes left in the third quarter.

“Rolandiss made some big plays for us tonight,” said Policky, who also coached Hoover for two seasons. “Punt for a touchdown. The home run on the slant route for a touchdown. Made a ridiculous circus catch down there on the last drive to get us that last field goal. Unbelievable individual effort by him.”

Arcadia stormed ahead 28-23 when senior running back Andre Lewis (35 yards on nine carries) dotted the end zone on a 17-yard burst with 8:28 showing in the third period.

Arcadia’s cushion was sliced to 28-26 with 4:23 left in the third quarter when Rivas nailed a 23-yard field goal that ended a 49-yard, 13-play march.

Senior Randy Ludwig’s 31-yard field goal attempt with 18 seconds remaining in the third quarter increased Arcadia’s lead to 31-26.

Burroughs will have a Pacific League contest at Glendale’s Moyse Field on Thursday with a 7 p.m. kickoff.

 

Burroughs, Pasadena Battle In Shoot-Out; Indians Win, 45-34

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By Rick Assad

An all-out offensive explosion took place at Memorial Field on Friday between Burroughs High and Pasadena.

Effective running, timely passing and a key interception by senior defensive back Cerain Baker in the waning moments with the ball on the Burroughs 48-yard line were on display and when it was over, the Indians held off the Bulldogs 45-34 in a Pacific League opening match.

Ben Peters ran for 302 yards on 45 carries and scored four touchdowns in a 45-34 win over visiting Pasadena. (Photo by Ross A. Benson)

“I thought it would be a little bit more of a defensive game,” Burroughs coach Mike Reily said. “I wasn’t quite expecting this many points on either side of the ball to be honest with you. But what a great battle. What a great game from a spectator perspective. The kind of back and forth and the drama. It was a fun game.”

Senior running back Ben Peters carried the ball 45 times and accounted for 302 yards with four touchdowns. This was the ninth most yards ever gained on the ground in school history.

Pasadena (269 total net yards) forged ahead 14-13 heading into the second quarter, but Burroughs outscored the Bulldogs 18-6 in the second period and moved in front 31-20. The Indians led 38-28 after three quarters.

Reily was asked what he liked the most about his team. “Their no quit attitude,” he said as the Indians improved to 2-1 and are 1-0 in league. “We told them that Pasadena is a squad where they’re going to rally and they’re going to be right back in the game. We had a decision to make whether to keep fighting or whether we quit and our kids decided not to quit and decided to keep fighting and I was excited to see that from my squad.”

Nathan Piper’s steady hand directed the offense to a victory over the Bulldogs in a Pacific League opener. (Photo by Ross A. Benson)

Junior quarterback Nathan Piper’s five-yard toss to senior wide receiver Charlie Rodriguez (56 yards on five receptions) broke the seal with 10:21 left for a 6-0 lead and an 11-yard scamper from Peters made it 13-0 with 5:13 on the clock.

Piper finished his night by completing 13 of 20 for 178 yards with three interceptions.

Senior defensive back Hakeem Hickman’s fumble recovery made it possible for Peters to contribute a two-yard scoring run with 10:06 remaining before the half as the Indians led 21-14.

With less than three minutes on the clock before the intermission, Piper’s 23-yard toss found senior wide receiver David Lennstrom as Burroughs (504 total yards) danced ahead 28-20.

After senior kicker Jonathan Rivas drilled a 26-yard field goal, the lead swelled to 31-20 with eight seconds left.

Peters located the end zone on a one-yard run with 1:32 remaining in the third frame that made it 38-28 and his five-yard dash with 7:14 on the ticker in the fourth quarter saw the Indians jump out to a 45-34 edge.

When Pasadena senior tailback Jaloni West scurried in from 36 yards and 4:26 left in the opening stanza, the Bulldogs were within 13-6.

West (46 rushing yards on six carries and two receptions for 16 yards) later caught an 11-yard toss from senior quarterback Daron Derderian (five of 12 for 47 yards) with 8:28 left in the second quarter that shaved the advantage to 21-20.

The Indians’ defense tries to disrupt Pasadena senior quarterback Hakeem Herring, who led the Bulldogs to a pair of scores in the second half. (Photo by Ross A. Benson)

Senior cornerback Kalonji West picked off Piper and scurried 44 yards with 3:11 left in the third period and when Derderian’s two-point toss to senior wide receiver Jalen Jolley (91 yards on six catches) was successful, the Bulldogs led 14-13.

“They were very athletic and great looking kids and well coached,” said Reily of the Bulldogs, who are 0-4 and 0-1 in league.

Pasadena senior field general Hakeem Herring (13 of 22 for 171 yards and one pick) had an eight-yard scoring toss to sophomore wide receiver Xavier Harris (17 yards on two catches) with 4:07 on the clock in the third quarter as the Bulldogs drew within 31-28.

Herring also chimed in with a nine-yard pass to Harris and 10:17 showing in the fourth period that lowered the margin to 38-34.

Burroughs Football Opens Red Hot in Win

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A week after having seen its game cancelled due to the La Tuna Fire, how the Burroughs High football team would respond for its opener against Royal High of Simi Valley was a mystery.

But the Indians left little doubt as to how ready they were, earning a 45-30 nonleague win over the host Highlanders Friday night.

“We were a little concerned because they (Royal) played two games already and we had not played any,” Burroughs coach Mike Reily said. “We weren’t sure if we were going to come out a little rusty because we haven’t had any live game competition.  But we came out and did some good things.”

Cerain Baker looks to get past a defender. Photo courtesy Stephen Garden.

Playing in what he considered his first varsity game, junior quarterback Nathan Piper finished 25 of 34 passing for 325 yards with three touchdown passes and just one interception.

The passing yardage was the eighth highest total in school history for a single game. Piper also completed 14 consecutive passes at one point.

“I hope we can do this every game.  We wanted to play that first game so bad,” Piper said. “We were fired up for that game. We saw our (junior varsity) come back and tie the game (today). That fired us up too.”

Burroughs (1-0) opened the scoring at the 7:03 mark of the first quarter as Jonathan Rivas hit an 18-yard field goal.

Piper hooked up with Ryan Macasaddu on an 11-yard touchdown with 30 seconds left in the first quarter to give the Indians a 10-0 advantage.

Nathan Piper attempts a pass. Photo Courtesy Stephen Garden

Royal (1-2) fought back behind the arm of junior quarterback Ezekiel Savage, who completed 28 of 54 passes for 367 yards.

But every time Royal would make things interesting, Burroughs had an answer.

Running back Ben Peters, who was battling the stomach flu, still managed to have 20 carries for 146 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown run.

Receiver Cerain Baker had nine receptions for 126 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Defensively Evan Osegueda and Alex Perez came up big as both intercepted Savage in the third quarter.

Burroughs got a pair of rushing touchdowns from Hakeem Hickman,  who finished with 57 yards in nine carries.

The Indians hit the road again next week, this time traveling to Diamond Ranch High in Pomona.

 

Burroughs Football Looking for Balanced Group

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A year ago much of the talk around the Burroughs High football team was star running back Chance Bell and offensive lineman Jesse Chamberlain.  While both did all they could, their supporting cast struggled.

(Photo by © Ross A. Benson)

Since then both Bell and Chamberlain have moved on to major college football and the Indians, who finished 4-6 last season, have become a team that is more versatile.

“We’re hoping to improve much from last season. It is no secret that we didn’t accomplish any of the goals we had set forth. We didn’t perform to what our expectations were,” second-year coach Mike Reily said. “We’re expecting to come in and play better team football and compete for a league championship.”

Burroughs opens the season at home Sept. 1 against West Ranch of Stevenson Ranch.

Offensively, Burroughs will hand over the keys to the offense to junior quarterback Nathan Piper (6-0, 150). Piper will be backed up by fellow junior Andrew English (5-7, 175). Last season Piper moved up to the varsity late in the season and completed 10 of 20 passes attempted.

Senior Ben Peters (5-9, 170) will try to fill the void of the loss of Bell as the Indians’ top ball carrier.

Burroughs is experienced in the receiver position as seniors Cerain Baker (6-2, 195) and Gavin Aguilar (6-3, 180) both return. Baker had 13 receptions for 156 yards and Aguilar had 14 receptions for 200 yards last season. Senior Devin Harrison (6-0, 170) is a slot receiver who had 12 receptions for 117 yards last season. Charlie Rodriguez (5-11, 185) is a newcomer from the junior varsity.

(Photo by © Ross A. Benson)

The offensive line has some experience.

Senior Ryan Bernal (6-2, 240) is the left tackle. Kevin Hebri (5-10, 210) joins him at left guard. Senior Erwin Hernandez (5-6, 270) is slated to play center. Jacob Real (5-11, 275) and Adam Sporkin (6-2, 230) are the other starting linemen.

“Our kids are gelling really well. There is some great team camaraderie going on,” Reily said. “It was a great summer and a great spring before that.  We have some great leadership that I’m really excited about.  We have kids who are willing to put the team in front of their own individual goals and are willing to come out and work hard every day. “

Defensively, Burroughs will have seniors Robert Howe (5-11, 180) and Danny Duran (5-8, 185) joining Hebri in putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Last season Howe had 29 tackles, Duran had 32 and Hebri had 21.

The linebackers group is led by seniors Brian Gutierrez (5-8, 185) and Hakeem Hickman (5-11, 200). Hickman had 26 tackles last season. Junior Daniel Gonzalez (5-9, 175) and sophomore Henry Diaz (6-0, 185) also figure to play key roles.

(Photo by © Ross A. Benson)

Junior Thomas Wilson (5-6, 150) and Peters could find themselves playing in hybrid roles on defense. Peters had 56 tackles last season.

In the secondary, Aguilar and Baker will be joined by sophomore Alex Perez (5-9, 135) as safeties.

The cornerback spots are held by seniors Evan Osegueda (5-8, 170), Ryan Macasaddu (5-8, 140) junior Nathan Turner (5-5, 135) and Wilson. Osegueda had 60 tackles last season, the second most of the team.

Senior Jonathan Rivas (5-10, 200) will handle the kicking duties. The punting job is up for grabs as Rivas, senior David Lennstrom (6-1, 160) and sophomore Aiden Forrester (5-11, 155) are all capable of handling the duties.

 

Burroughs Football Too Tough for Pasadena

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Quality veteran coaching is definitely a key factor in high school football and it played a key role Friday night as Burroughs High defeated host Pasadena 43-8 in a Pacific League contest.

Although Burroughs coach Mike Reily is in his first year as head coach after 14 seasons as an assistant, several of the Indians’ assistant coaches have been together for many years.

“Defensively we have some experienced coaches who have been doing this a long time and who put together packages that we think are going to be effective against what we see,” Reily said. “Quite honestly, what we thought we were going to see tonight isn’t exactly what they came out in. We had to go make some adjustments to our adjustments that we had all week. We got it figured out and settled things down and started rolling like we wanted to.”

Burroughs’ defense held Pasadena to 69 yards rushing as a team. Pasadena’s passing game was held to just 62 yards.

Burroughs (3-2, 2-0 in league) also intercepted three Pasadena passes. Preston Hernandez had two of those interceptions and Ben Peters had the other.

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Offensively Burroughs was once again led by San Diego State commit Chance Bell, who had 24 carries for 177 yards and three touchdowns.

Bell scored on a 7-yard run with 8:10 left in the first quarter to open the scoring.

Quarterback Hayden Zepeda hooked up with Cerain Baker on a 27-yard touchdown with 5:37 left in the first quarter to make it 14-0.

Zepeda scored on a quarterback keeper at the 11:13 mark of the second quarter to make it 21-0.

After a Pasadena (0-5, 0-2) touchdown and two-point conversion made it 21-8, Bell scored on a 46-yard run with 2:21 left in the first half.

Hernandez returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown at the 5:58 mark of the third quarter.

Bell added a 9-yard touchdown run 3:05 left in the third quarter to make it 40-8.

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Jonathan Rivas kicked a 39-yard field goal 6:47 to play, giving Burroughs a 35-point advantage.

The rest of the game was played with a running clock.

Burroughs will host Arcadia High next Friday at Memorial Field.

“I haven’t had a chance to see them on film. They are a well-coached group and an athletic group,” Reily said of Arcadia. “Like I told these guys, we’re going to celebrate tonight and enjoy this victory but we’ve got our hands full come Monday morning. There is no off week or easy week by any means.”