Burbank Comes From Behind to Stay Undefeated

Burbank pulls out late victory
Bulldogs score winning touchdown in final two minutes to earn 33-27 league win against Arcadia.

By Jeff Tully
Published: Saturday, October 31, 2009

ARCADIA — The Burbank High football team had 3:11 and one final drive to keep its hopes of a Pacific League championship alive.Trailing Arcadia on Friday late in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs needed to march 55 yards and score a touchdown to give them a chance at winning the contest against the Apaches.

Burbank proved up to the task, as the team scored the winning touchdown with 1:55 remaining to complete a 33-27 come-from-behind victory at Arcadia. The win was important for the Bulldogs (7-1, 5-0 in league) because it kept them undefeated in league and tied for first place with cross-town rival Burroughs (6-2, 5-0).

Burbank Coach Hector Valencia said his squad’s winning drive shows the true character of his Bulldogs.“They had the confidence that they could come back and win the game for us,” said Valencia, who is in his first year. “They weren’t about to give up. That’s what’s great about this team; they were not going to quit.”The winning drive was capped by a 19-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Adam Colman to Anthony Cervantes. On the play, Cervantes came across the field, dove and outstretched the ball, coming down with the prize in the end zone. Colman ran in the two-point conversion attempt to give the Bulldogs a six-point lead.

The Apaches (1-6-1, 1-4) tried to mount a winning drive, but Burbank defender Sam Bethany intercepted a pass with 50 seconds remaining to seal the victory.“Adam just did a great job for us tonight,” Valencia said. “He threw a lot of good passes that were dropped.” Colman completed 11 of 22 passes for 242 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Burbank fell behind, 21-18, at the half and trailed, 27-25, with 4:55 left in the contest. The Burbank defense did a solid job shutting down the Arcadia running game, as it gained just 54 yards.However, they couldn’t stop its passing game and quarterback Garrett Tuck. Tuck completed 23 of 36 passes for 241 yards and three touchdowns.“We made a lot of mental mistakes, especially in the first half,” said Valencia, whose team committed 10 penalties for 83 yards in the first half alone.

Burbank Officer in FBI Probe Kills Self

I do not know if this officer went to school here in Burbank, but this is a very sad time for the Burbank Police Department and the City of Burbank. To read more click on the link below.

Burbank Police Officer Kills Self

Burbank High's Frosh Team Wins Again!

The Burbank High School Frosh Team wins another game by beating Arcadia 30 - 8.Burbank High's quarterback #18 is hit after throwing a completed pass for a touchdown.

Burbank's quarterback #18 hands the ball off to Burbank's #17 while Burbank's #89 blocks Arcadia.

A Burbank High player catches the ball after an Arcadia punt.



Burbank High's #17 runs with the ball for a few yards.

Here Burbank #18 who is the quarterback and also a kicker kicks the ball off to Arcadia after
a Burbank touchdown.

A brief video clip of a Burbank running play against Arcadia.



Arcadia kicks the ball off to Burbank after scoring their only touchdown of the game.

Burbank vs Arcadia Friday

BURBANK VS. ARCADIA

• WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday.

• WHERE: Arcadia High.

• RECORDS: The Bulldogs are 6-1, 4-0 in the Pacific League; the Apaches are 1-5-1, 1-3.

• LAST WEEK: Burbank defeated Hoover, 48-13; Arcadia lost to Burroughs, 35-25.

• OUTLOOK: Four down and three to go in the Bulldogs’ quest for their first Pacific League championship in 37 years. A win against the Nitros, along with a victory Nov. 5 against Pasadena, and Burbank will be playing for a league title when its plays cross-town rival Burroughs in the final regular-season game Nov. 13.

The Bulldogs — winners of five straight — have their offense playing well. The Bulldogs lead the league in points scored with 266, as the squad averages 38 points a game. The team’s defense has also been solid, as it allows just 15.4 points a game. Arcadia showed it can pass the ball and run the ball with efficiency in last week’s loss to Burroughs. The Apaches’ lone win came with in a 34-16 league victory against Glendale on Oct. 1

• SOMETHING INTERESTING: The Bulldogs still remain among the top teams in the CIF Southern Section Southeast Division, as the team is ranked No. 4 in this week’s poll.

Wordless Tuesday

This is a model of a chopper used in Vietnam that was on display at the Vietnam Traveling Wall in Van Nuys last week. I took the photo because on the nose of the chopper is a photo of a Bulldog!

BHS Girl's Volleyball help cause, win match

Bulldogs help cause, win match
GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL: Burbank joins Crescenta Valley in raising funds for breast cancer research, and locals able to win Pacific League contest in three games.

By Gabriel Rizk, Burbank Leader
Published: Saturday, October 24, 2009

LA CRESCENTA — Kills, aces and assists played their normal prominent role in deciding the Pacific League girls’ volleyball match between host Crescenta Valley High and Burbank on Thursday afternoon. But by far the most important statistics in the Bulldogs’ 26-24, 25-15, 25-23 win were digs. As part of The Falcons’ Dig Pink Breast Cancer Awareness Rally in conjunction with the Sideout Foundation, money was raised for breast cancer research with each ball dug by both teams.

“They say one in eight women will be affected by breast cancer, so just on my team that means one of my girls will get breast cancer in their lifetime,” said Crescenta Valley Coach Jennifer Ryan, who initiated the Falcons’ involvement in the nationwide program last season, inspired partly by a former player whose aunt died of breast cancer and her own grandmother, who is a survivor of the disease. “It’s something that they need to be aware of. Hopefully in their lifetime, maybe a cure will be found.

”Players from both squads collected donation pledges leading up to the match, which also included a raffle. Ryan said that the totals raised from pledges will take some time to compile and the final figure should be tallied by Nov. 4. Last year’s event, which featured Burroughs and Crescenta Valley, raised more than $1,000 in pledges.“I think it’s important for [our team] to do stuff for other people and learn about [breast cancer],” Burbank Coach Sarah Brown said of the event that was timed to coincide with Breast Cancer Awareness Month. “The girls were all up for it and excited about it. Any sort of fundraiser or charity thing that you can do with something that you love doing is great.”

Burbank got the best of Crescenta Valley for the second time this season, improving its third-place league record to 8-2 and gaining more ground on the fourth-place Falcons, who lost their second league match in a row and third in their last four. Senior opposite hitter Natalie Burns led the Bulldogs with 10 kills and three aces while junior outside hitter Leah Gagliardi was Crescenta Valley’s top offensive performer with 10 kills.

Burbank led the first game until Crescenta Valley pulled even at 19. The Falcons would battle to tie the game twice more at 23 and 24 but could never get a lead. They made their move earlier in the second game, pulling ahead, 5-4, on a roof by Gagliardi and led 12-11 on a kill from setter Payton Wheeler. But Burbank took full control with a 6-0 run, sparked by a kill from Narine Kirakosyan that broke a 12-12 tie and gave the Bulldogs an 18-13 lead.

“I told them we had to come out hard and stick to the game plan,” said Brown, whose team closed out the second game on a 7-3 run. “Our serving increased a ton in the second game and I think that helped us a lot in the third game.”The two teams were virtually neck-and-neck throughout the third game until the Bulldogs took a 20-17 edge and soon had the Falcons’ backs against the wall at 23-19. Crescenta Valley rallied to within one point on kills from Tiffani Wilcox and Julia Adams, but once again, Burbank was able to hold on.

Burbank High Varsity beats Hoover 48-13

Burbank's Cole Hazlewood and Jackson Diamond celebrate after Hazlewood scored a touchdown against Hoover. (Roger Wilson/The Leader)

Colman leads Burbank to a 48-13 win against Hoover to remain perfect in league play.

By Edgar Melik-Stepanyan, Burbank Leader
Published: Saturday, October 24, 2009

GLENDALE — The Hoover High football team was intent on stopping Burbank’s potent running attack on Friday night. And the Tornadoes did contain the Bulldogs’ ground game. But Burbank has more than just a strong running game. It also has an efficient aerial assault, one that Hoover couldn’t contain. Burbank quarterback Adam Colman picked apart the Tornadoes’ defense for four passing touchdowns — in addition to two rushing scores — in a 48-13 Pacific League victory at Moyse Field.

“They’ve been running the ball wild on everyone,” Tornado Coach Chris Long said. “We tried to stop the running game.”Burbank (6-1, 4-0 in league) had 59 rushing yards in the first half, as the Tornadoes’ original game plan worked. It also had 213 passing yards, as Colman threw all of his scores in the first half, all of which came against a man-to-man defense that put seven or eight defenders in the box.

Burbank’s onslaught started late in the first quarter. Colman connected with Sam Bethany for a 28-yard score to give Burbank a 14-0 lead, as the touchdown came 23 seconds after a Hoover fumble and 47 seconds after his first rushing touchdown. Almost every time Colman touched the ball in the first half, he created havoc, as Burbank ran just 28 plays in the first half for 272 yards, an average of 9.7 yards per play.“When they were trying to stop the run, we knew we had a shot [down field],” Bulldogs Coach Hector Valencia said. “We have guys who have been playing together for years. Guys have been playing together for so long that they know the offense in and out.

”A 29-yard scoring strike to Cole Hazlewood, and 39- and 67-yard receiving touchdowns by Jackson Diamond gave Burbank a 34-6 halftime lead. Hazlewood got behind the Hoover secondary for a wide open score, as did Diamond on his first touchdown. Diamond’s other score came on a deep pass down the right sideline.“The deep ball killed us,” Long said. Colman was 12 of 17 for 262 passing yards. Diamond caught three passes for 107 yards and Bethany had five receptions for 87 yards.

Hoover’s offense struggled against a strong Bulldog defense.The Tornadoes had just 33 total yards in the first half, and finished with 150 yards in 41 plays, an average of 3.7 per play. Quarterback AJ Pule had 71 passing yards and a six-yard touchdown run before walking off with an injury in the fourth quarter. Dymond McRae caught a 24-yard touchdown pass from Devaughn Williams late in the fourth quarter when the score was well out of reach and the clock was running.

Said Colman: “We had a few more athletes today.”