First published in the Oct. 8 print issue of the Burbank Leader.
With some games under their belts, the real work of the football season was set to begin as both Burroughs High and Crescenta Valley opened up Pacific League play.
After the teams were deadlocked at halftime, Burroughs dominated in the third quarter and the visiting Bears rode the momentum to a 42-14 win over Crescenta Valley in the Pacific League opener for both schools last Friday evening.
“We played a really complete second half and I don’t think we’ve had that so far this year,” Burroughs coach Jesse Carven said.
The score was 14-14 at halftime before Burroughs (5-1 overall record, 1-0 in league) erupted for 21 points in the third quarter to blow open the initially tight contest.
“It makes it tough when you can’t make any stops on defense,” Falcon coach Hudson Gossard said.
Crescenta Valley (1-5, 0-1) started the second half with the ball, but the drive ended on a fourth down and two yards to go when backup quarterback Alexander Barseghyan was unable to cleanly field the snap, giving the ball over to the visitors with a short field.
Four plays and 38 yards later, Bear running back Marcus Manahan ran up the middle for a one-yard touchdown with 7:10 to go in the period. Manahan would finish with 112 yards on 14 carries with two touchdowns.
The ensuing Falcon drive lasted one play as Barseghyan was picked off by Bear senior Brian Noguchi. On the next snap, Bear quarterback Chris Kulikov connected with Dilan Webster for a 42-yard touchdown pass.
The next Falcon possession ended in a punt without gaining a first down. A big return by Noah Frenkel set up the Bears 28 yards from another touchdown. Two plays — both runs by Frenkel — later, the Bears got one when the junior ran 20 yards into the end zone with 3:50 left in the quarter. The third period would come to an end with Burroughs up 35-14.
The fourth quarter was not much better for the hosts. After catching a screen pass, Falcon Cristian Flores coughed up the ball fighting for extra yardage. The Bears took over near midfield. After a penalty pushed them back, Kulikov scored the final touchdown of the night on a 60-yard scramble.
“They played man coverage all night with no safeties or really linebackers, so I knew all the DBs would be backpedaling,” Kulikov said. “I saw the blitz coming and I didn’t have much time. I just took it up the middle and scored.”
Kulikov finished seven of 14 for 97 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The junior also had five carries for 130 yards and the score. Webster had three grabs for 68 yards and the touchdown reception. Ryan Hernandez had four catches for 29 yards. Julian Zubia had 22 yards rushing in the fourth quarter on four carries.
Barseghyan was pushed into service late in the second quarter when CVHS starter Jacob Deno was knocked out of the game with an injury. The senior would throw a touchdown on his first pass attempt and finished six of nine for 40 yards with the one interception.
Deno was six of 12 for 94 yards and one score. The junior also had six carries for 20 yards.
Burroughs opened the game with the ball and drove 69 yards in nine plays for the first points of the league season. Manahan finished the drive with a one-yard rushing touchdown one play after Kulikov scrambled for 22 yards on a fourth down and eight to go.
Crescenta Valley answered back on its first possession. The Falcons drove the ball 73 yards in six plays and capped the drive with a screen pass to Shade Schaefer that covered 47 yards and saw the senior pirouette out of the grasp of would-be tacklers about halfway to paydirt.
Both teams also recorded a touchdown in the second quarter. Burroughs went first as Hernandez made a catch and gained 22 yards before two Falcon defenders arrived and dislodged the ball, only to see Webster retrieve it and go the final 23 yards into the end zone.
Crescenta Valley answered with 1:29 to go before the break. Two plays after Deno went out, Barseghyan threw a screen pass to Flores, who broke free of a pack of Bears and found the end zone.
“Our whole league is so competitive, so anytime you can get a win it’s where all the focus is right now,” Carven said. “It’s one week at a time.”
