Bulldogs Take Burbank!
By Juan Carlos Salas
(Burbank) – The Bulldogs of Burbank High battled themselves into a share of the Pacific League Title, defeating rival Burroughs, 28-21, in front of a capacity crowd at Memorial Field on Friday night.
“In the start of the season it was one our goals. There were a lot people rooting for us,” said Burbank Head Coach Hector Valencia. “They were hoping that we’d get the league title. And we had a lot of support this year.”
Down by one point late in the fourth quarter, Burbank drove 60 yards to the Burroughs two. Ulises Ochoa dove through the line to score the game-winning touchdown and give his team the 28-21 lead after a successful two-point conversion.
“Our kids don’t give up and never let down,” said Valencia “They know that sooner or later we are going get our system going.”
The Bulldogs had help from Sam Bethany’s two touchdowns along with Christopher Alcala’s lone score while Burroughs’s Dalton Williams found the end zone twice.
The Indians went ahead on its first drive with William’s first touchdown, a 15-yard run he managed after stiff-arming his defender to the ground.
Burbank couldn’t get any offense going including missing a field goal. But after some possession changes, Bethany found the end zone making the score 7-6 after a shuffle pass by quarterback Adam Colman for the 1-yard touchdown.
“We had couple of games which we had a late start. But we believe in our system that eventually we are going to get it going,” said Valencia of his team’s performance. “Today is what we have been doing all year.”
Late in the second quarter, Bethany got his second touchdown of the night, catching an 8-yard pass in the corner of the end zone from Colman. The Bulldogs made up for its botched extra point attempt by completing a two-point conversion with a pass to Jackson Diamond, extending its lead 14-7.
The third quarter started with irony. Burroughs’ Charlie Hosea picked-off Colman only to see Indian quarterback Lucas Yanez cough up the ball and have MacKey Smith recover it for Burbank.
Moments later Colman again turned over the ball via a fumble, which Justin Mayorga returned 36 yards for an Indian touchdown.
As it seemed Burroughs gained momentum, Burbank snatched it back with an 80-yard drive, including a 43-yard run by Ochoa and a 26-yard pass to Jackson Diamond.
Alcala completed the drive with a 4-yard run with a sweeping run across the field to the end zone and giving Burbank the lead 20-14.
The Indians answered quickly after Williams broke some tackles and ran loose along the Burroughs sideline for a 79-yard touchdown to close out the third quarter.
Burbank controlled the fourth quarter as Burroughs showed tired legs, which Colman and Ochoa took advantage.
“I am proud of our team. I am happy that we got [the title] but I am just happy watching the smiles,” said Valencia. “To be honest, this is a memory that they are going to remember for the rest of their lives.”
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