Burbank football will have tough nonleague schedule again

Burbank High football Coach Richard Broussard is not a big fan of easing into the season against cupcake opponents.

“We never want to take the easy route and why would any team?” said Broussard, who is entering his third season with the Bulldogs. “You really get nothing out of playing against opponents who are not very strong, We want to test ourselves against good teams and good programs. ...That’s the only way you get better. Really, I wanted to schedule even tougher opponents than we did.

“All that we do in our early games is to get us prepared for our league, because playing for a league title is always the most important thing for us.”

Burbank will be trying to win a Pacific League championship for the first time since 2009, when it shared the crown with cross-town rival Burroughs.

The 2016 nonleague ledger looks much the same as it did a year ago for the Bulldogs, when they went 6-5 and 5-2 in league, finishing tied for second with Crescenta Valley and two games behind the league-champion Indians.

Burbank will again take on Monrovia and Canyon Country Canyon in nonleague contests. The lone difference in this season’s schedule is the Bulldogs have dropped Ayala and replaced it with Downey to round out the nonleague docket.

“We like to change things up and not play the same teams all the time,” Broussard said. “We like to see different opponents and see how we do against them.”

Last season, Burbank went 1-2 in nonleague play, falling to Monrovia via 2-0 forfeit loss, losing to Canyon, 35-6, and defeating Ayala, 20-13.

The Bulldogs will open the season Aug. 26 in a zero week game against Monrovia at Memorial Field. Last season, the Wildcats went 8-4 and 5-1 in the Rio Hondo League, finishing second behind San Marino. Monrovia lost in the Central Division quarterfinals to Charter Oak, 52-14. The Wildcats won three straight CIF Southern Section championships from 2010-12.

“They have a new coaching staff coming in with a coach from Eagle Rock where they won some [L.A.] City championships,” Broussard said. “So, you can look for a different brand of football over there this season. ... I know they will be coming after us.”

Burbank will host Canyon at Memorial Field on Sept. 2. The Cowboys had a complete coaching change in the midst of the 2015 season and Rich Gutierrez’ squad went 2-8 and 1-4 for fifth place in the tough Foothill League.

“There is a theme for our [nonleague] games,” Broussard. “We are going to be battle tested after we get through those three games and we’re hoping going against a team like Canyon is going to help us do that.”

The final nonleague game will be Sept. 9 at Downey. The Vikings are coming off a season in which they went 7-5 and 4-1 in the San Gabriel Valley League, ending as tri-champions with Dominguez and Warren. Downey fell in the Southeast Division quarterfinals to Cathedral, 22-20.

“Downey is a very good program and they always get some very athletic kids. They have won league titles and they always seem to do well in the division,” Broussard said. “It’s a program that has set a standard of excellence on the field.”

Burbank will then enjoy a bye week before beginning Pacific League play Sept. 23 at Muir (3-7, 3-4 in league, tied for fifth place).

“Seems like we always open league against a tough opponent. Last year it was Crescenta Valley,” Broussard said.

The rest of the Bulldogs’ league schedule has them at Glendale (1-9, 0-7 for eighth place) on Sept. 29, hosting Hoover (2-8, 1-6 for seventh place) on Oct. 6, hosting Arcadia (5-5, 4-3 for fourth place) on Oct. 14, at Pasadena (5-5, 3-4, tied for fifth place) on Oct. 21, hosting Crescenta Valley (7-4, 5-2, tied for second) on. Oct. 28 and finishing the regular season against Burroughs (10-2, 7-0 for first place) Nov. 4 at Memorial Field.

“The league is going to be wide open,” Broussard said. “I think when it comes down to it, it’s just going to be a battle of attrition.”

For playoff competition, Burbank, along with Burroughs, dropped from the Southeast Division, considered Division V by calpreps.com, to Division VIII.