Nick Brown and the Burroughs Nation celebrate victory over Burbank
(Burbank)- Cristobal Escobar’s 21-yard field goal at the buzzer gave Burroughs a 38-35 victory over Burbank, but it was the passing tandem of brothers Lucas and Tyler Yanez that brought the Indians back from a 28-0 deficit and secured for them the Pacific League crown on Thursday night.
Quarterback Lucas Yanez (14-27-224-3Td-Int) found his brother, wide receiver Tyler Yanez eight times on the night for 125 yards and two touchdows, but it was in the second half and down the stretch when the more cosmic connection of brother to brother trumped quarterback to receiver.
Burroughs' Tyler Yanez out leaps Burbank's Mitch Camacho for a touchdown in the third quarter.
The Indians found themselves down at the start of the third quarter 28-14, but a 43-yard run by Lucas Yanez carried the ball into Bulldog territory. On second and 15 from the 22, Lucas Yanez scrambling to his right was cut off, turned his back to the goal line, spun around and fired into the end zone where Tyler Yanez out leaped Mitch Camacho for the grab and score.
With 5:10 remaining in the quarter, leading 28-21, Burbank pieced together a dominant drive highlighted by the hard running of Ulises Ochoa (36-183 yards rushing) and a catch and run to fullback Steve Rivera for 26-yards. Quarterback Adam Colman finished the advance on the first play of the fourth quarter with a one yard sneak.
Burroughs answered back with a 20-yard run by Tadeo Zuniga and a 33-yard pass to Matt Volland. Zander Anding drew the Indians closer with a 9-yard run to make it 35-28.
The Bulldogs came back quickly with a 32 yard pass from Colman to Quortney Brazier and a 29-yard run by Ochoa. After setting up shop with a first and ten at the Indian 18 they would eventually push the ball to the ten on fourth down, but opted to go for it instead of the field goal. When Colman’s pass fell incomplete Burroughs had dodged a bullet with 6:16 to play.
A false start moved Burroughs back to its own five. On the first play Lucas Yanez went 6-yards to Anding but Burbank was able to strip the ball away from him. Brazier came up with it and the Bulldogs were back in business at the 16. From here Ochoa ran twice for 4-yards and Colman’s third down pass fell incomplete in the end zone.
This time Burbank HC Hector Valencia decided to kick the field goal, but back up quarterback Zak Tomlinson was barely able to corral the high snap. Rolling to his right, under pressure, he lobbed the ball into the end zone where it fell incomplete.
A missed field goal would have given the Indians the ball at their own 20, but a turnover on downs left them pinned at the 13 with 1:44 to play.
Quickly in a third and ten after Zach Meier had a deep ball go off his hands. On the biggest down of the night Lucas Yanez went 23-yards to Tyler Yanez up the sideline on a deep route for the first down.
Two plays later facing a third and four the sure handed Matt Volland had the ball go off his hands, and Burroughs was facing a fourth and four from its own 42. On another “biggest down of the night” Lucas Yanez found his brother, Tyler Yanez, on a shorter out route and squeezed the ball in for seven yards and a first down at the 49.
On the next play Lucas pumped with shoulders, the Burbank defenders bought the out route, and Tyler turned up field along the western sideline to haul in his brother’s 51-yard touchdown pass to tie the score.
With the score tied at 35 and 1:37 to play, the Bulldogs played for the win but Colman under a heavy pass rush most of the second half missed on three consecutive passes. Forced to punt Burbank gave the ball back to Burroughs at the Indians 44 with 1:15 to remaining.
On first down Volland made a 25-yard catch down the middle of the field in heavy traffic. Two plays later with Lucas Yanez went to Tyler Yanez for 11-yards on an out route. Two plays after that Lucas went to Tyler again for 9-yards on another out route. Zuniga carried the ball one more time and then out came Escobar to kick the game winner.
Snap down, kick good, but the Bulldogs had called time out to ice him. A few moments later snap, hold, and Escobar’s boot gave Burroughs the Pacific crown.
Did the timeout throw Escobar off?
“You kidding me,” said Indians HC Keith Knoop. “He’s a soccer player it didn’t bother him.
Keith Knoop and wife Julie enjoying the moment.
“I’m used to us spotting teams 10 points, 14 points, even 21 points,” said Knoop. “But 28 points? No way. This is exciting and that is a really good football team at Burbank. They were better than us tonight. We couldn’t do anything with them in the first half fortunately our defense stepped up in the second half.”
What will become footnote, to a game that will be remembered as a classic, was the total dominance of Burbank through the first 15 minutes. Three touchdowns by Ochoa, Colman directing the offense at will, and a defense that limited the Indians to one first down on their first three possessions.
On the sixth play of the opening drive Colman (13-24-199-Td) hit Ryan Thanarantam for a 10-yard touchdown. Six minutes later, following a Burroughs three and out, Ochoa scored on a 3-yard run to finish a 70-yard drive over 12 plays.
A heartbeat later, on the Indians next possession a Lucas Yanez’ pass went off the hands of Anthony Carter and into Ochoa’s. The Bulldog standout returned it 38-yards to make it 21-0.
Ochoa’s third touchdown came at the end of a 64-yard drive on an 8-yard run with 7:58 to left in the second quarter.
Down 28-0, needing to respond, Burroughs’ Volland returned the ensuing kick off to the Burbank 3. Four plays later Anding scored on a 14-yard run.
The Indians cut the lead in half before the break when Lucas Yanez went 20-yards to tight end Nick Brown.
The victory locked up Burroughs spot at the top of the Pacific, secured second place for Arcadia, and third for the Bulldogs.
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