Burbank wins opener - Week 4

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL  WEEK 4: Burbank wins opener


Burbank Leader

FOOTBALL: Locals beat Pasadena, 35-14, to begin Pacific League play on a high note.
By Jeff Tully

PASADENA — Cody Cardenaz had to have his injured ankle heavily taped prior to his Burbank High football team taking on Pasadena Friday in the Pacific League opener for both squads.During the game, the senior wide receiver twisted his knee and had to hobble off the field.
Although he was injured, it wasn’t evident in his play, as Cardenaz caught three touchdown passes — including a school-record 98-yard effort — to help defeat host Pasadena, 35-14, at Pasadena City College.“I was a little banged up, but it didn’t bother me,” said Cardenaz, an all-league cornerback in 2007. “I just wanted to stay out there and do all that I could.”Cardenaz was involved in the record-setting pass play with 11:46 left in the game. With Burbank (3-1) pinned back at its own 2-yard line, senior quarterback Kevin Hunter scrambled to his left in the endzone. He found a streaking Cardenaz sprinting down the left sideline, and the receiver outran coverage and found the endzone.The play broke the record of 92 yards set in 1997 when quarterback Cliff Lohner hooked up with Juni Williams in a game against Hart.Cardenaz caught six passes for 201 yards. Hunter threw all three touchdowns, and a fourth to Cole Hazelwood on a 12-yard play in the second quarter. Hunter completed 11 of 17 passes for 257 yards. The other Burbank touchdown came on the ground. Darien Walker found the endzone on a 12-yard scamper with 9:24 left in the first half.Although his Bulldogs were able to get past Pasadena (0-4), Burbank Coach Ted Amorosi was not particularly pleased with his team’s performance — especially when his squad faces Crescenta Valley next week.“I’m not proud of this win,” Amorosi said. “I’m disappointed with this win because we played ugly. We didn’t play our brand of football. We played sort of down to what [Pasadena] was doing and we let them stay in the game when it should have been dead and gone by halftime.”


Burbank played well in the first half, jumping out to a 21-0 lead. However, it was aided a great deal by the 109 yards in penalties racked up in the first half by Pasadena.“This effort [Friday] will lose the game for us against Crescenta Valley,” Amorosi said. “We need to get better as a program. We still have a long way to go.”