Football previews: Bellarmine-Jefferson vs. Milken Community; Burbank vs. Crescenta Valley; Burroughs vs. Muir
BELLARMINE-JEFFERSON AT MILKEN COMMUNITY
WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursday
WHERE: Birmingham High
RECORDS: The Guards are 2-5; the Wildcats are 3-3
LAST WEEK: Bell-Jeff lost to Crossroads Christian, 76-24; Milken defeated Los Angeles Price, 50-22
OUTLOOK: The Guards enter their final game of the regular season in their second year on the eight-man level. Bell-Jeff is looking to complete an entire season schedule for the second straight year. This season, the Guards were able to snap a 23-game losing streak and notch two victories for the first time since 2012. Bell-Jeff will be without junior Tomas Butkus, the team’s second-leading rusher, who was lost for the season after suffering an injury two weeks ago. In the loss to Crossroads Christian, the Guards received an excellent performance from Paulius Kasteckas, who had 23 carries for 183 yards and two touchdowns and four catches for 86 yards and a touchdown.
SOMETHING INTERESTING: The Guards have scored 210 points so far this season, the most since 2012 (351 points).
CRESCENTA VALLEY AT BURBANK
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Memorial Field (Burroughs High)
RECORDS: The Bulldogs are 6-2, 5-0 in the Pacific League; the Falcons are 7-1, 5-0
LAST WEEK: Burbank defeated Pasadena, 40-7; Crescenta Valley defeated Burroughs 38-9
OUTLOOK: The game is a battle of the Pacific League’s two remaining undefeated teams. The Bulldogs and Falcons are tied atop the league standings with two games remaining. It is also a clash of the league’s two toughest defenses. While Crescenta Valley is tops in defense, having allowed 70 points for an average of 8.7 a game, Burbank has given up 108 for an average of 13.5. Against Pasadena, Burbank had success with its passing game. Senior quarterback Guy Gibbs completed 13 of 29 passes for 233 yards, two touchdowns and an interception and senior received Forest Fajardo caught five receptions for 79 yards. Junior Darnell Williams hauled in five receptions for 69 yards. Crescenta Valley’s only loss of the season came in a nonleague game against Golden Valley, 21-7.
SOMETHING INTERESTING: The teams are also 1-2 in league in points scored, with Crescenta Valley tallying 326 for an average of 40.7 a game, while Burbank has scored 311 and averages 38.9.
BURROUGHS AT MUIR
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Muir High
RECORDS: The Indians are 4-4, 3-2 in the Pacific League; the Mustangs are 4-4, 2-3
LAST WEEK: Burroughs lost to Crescenta Valley, 38-9; Muir defeated Glendale, 62-26
OUTLOOK: With two games remaining, the Indians are in fourth place, one game behind third-place Arcadia (4-1 in league) and two behind co-league leaders Burbank (5-0) and Crescenta Valley (5-0), who will play this week. Against Crescenta Valley, the Indians received another fine performance from San Diego State commit Chance Bell. The senior running back gained nearly 200 yards and the program’s all-time leading rusher has scored 25 touchdowns and 1,844 yards on the season. The Mustangs had a rough start to their Pacific League campaign, opening with losses to Burbank, Arcadia and Crescenta Valley. However, the Mustangs have bounced back with wins against Hoover and Glendale.
SOMETHING INTERESTING: Since joining the Pacific League in 2006, Burroughs has a 3-7 record against Muir.
Jeff Tully
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Jeff Tully, jeff.tully@latimes.com
Twitter: @jefftsports