Burroughs’ Bell voted Pacific League Player of the Year
Chance Bell proved to be devastating against Pacific League competition this past season.
The junior running back for the Burroughs High football team put up big numbers, was a consistent offensive threat and helped the Indians to their first league championship in three years.
In seven league contests, Bell rushed for at least 100 yards six times, only falling short of the century mark against Crescenta Valley when he was injured early in the contest.
It’s because of those accomplishments that Bell was voted the league’s highest honor — Pacific League Player of the Year.
“I had goals set for myself this season, but honestly I never even thought about winning the player of the year award,” Bell said. “It never really came up in my mind.
“I just really tried to focus this season and I took my role with the team seriously. When I would get into a game even my parents noticed how I was; I never really talked to anyone and I just tried to focus on myself mentally and what I had to do. I feel that in the game of football a lot of it is being mentally prepared. That’s how I approached the season.”
Bell led a cavalcade of all-league representation this season for Burroughs and Burbank. The schools swept all the major awards, as 33 athletes were honored. In addition, Burroughs’ Keith Knoop was voted the league’s coach of the year.
Among the top awards, Burroughs senior quarterback Steven Hubbell was named the offensive player of the year, Burroughs senior Cole Gurley and Burbank junior Andy Reyes were co-defensive players of the year and a pair of Indians seniors, Antony Garcia and Bryce Martinez, earned co-linemen of the year accolades.
Earning first-team offensive skill honors were senior wide receivers Max Weisman of Burbank and Erik Hernandez of Burroughs, while Bulldogs junior Anthony Hernandez and Indians junior Jesse Chamberlain and senior Justin Gonzalez made the first team on the offensive line. The first-team placekicker was Burbank senior Andrew Hank.
For first-team defense, Bulldogs senior Jha’rod Horhn earned a spot on the line, Indians senior Conor Garden was honored at linebacker and Burroughs senior Robert Awunganyi and Burbank junior Forrest Fajardo were honored as defensive backs. Burbank junior Danny Porras was named the first-team punter.
Honored with spots on the second-team offensive skill list were Indians senior wide receiver Cade Borland and Bulldogs sophomore running back Darnell Williams, while Burroughs junior Tommy Howe and senior David Chavez of Burbank earned spots on the offensive line.
Earning spots on the second-team defensive line were a pair of Bulldogs — seniors Matthew Villagran and Daniel Amaya — while linebacker honors went to Burroughs senior Brandon Garcia and Burbank senior David Medrano and earning spots as defensive backs were Indians seniors Jaret Wrobel and Delvin Jimenez, along with Bulldogs junior Miguel Vasquez.
Offensive honorable mention went to Burbank senior lineman Richard Cifuentes and Burroughs senior wide receiver Torin Harris. Defensive honorable mention went to Bulldogs senior lineman Daniel Amaya and Indians senior linebacker Josue Chicas.
With Bell and Hubbell leading the way on offense, Burroughs stormed through Pacific League play with 7-0 record, earning its first title since 2012. The Indians ended the season with a 10-2 record, falling to St. Francis, 21-7, in the CIF Southern Section Southeast Division quarterfinals.
Bell tallied 23 touchdowns, carrying the ball 178 times for 1,378 yards, averaging 7.7 yards a carry and more than 125 yards a game. His best effort came against Arcadia, when he ran for 208 yards and three touchdowns. He also had 178 yards against Pasadena and 164 against Burbank.
“There was no debate at all for Chance as player of the year,” Knoop said. “I think the coaches realized that he did what he had to do out there and he made a very big impact. When you rush for that many yards and put up that many 100-plus games, it’s hard not to give it to him. And the CV game he was knocked out of, he would have definitely had over 100 in that one.”
Hubbell made a triumphant return to the Indians after not playing his junior season. The signal-caller led the team in total touchdowns with 33 (27 passing and six rushing). Hubbell completed 146 of 223 passes (65 completion percentage) for 1,820 yards and six interceptions. In addition, he ran for 250 yards.
“To be honest with you, my only goal this season was to win a league championship,” Hubbell said. “I just wanted to play hard and I knew things were going to take care of themselves. I’m honored to win an award like this. ...It’s just a reflection of a lot of hard work and the contributions and support of my teammates.”
Said Knoop of Hubbell: “He was a run threat when he got pushed out of the pocket and he was just a smart guy when it came to his passing. He just did a great job at running the offense, reading the defense and finding the open man.”
As has been Burroughs’ calling card for a number of years, its offensive success is predicated on the strength of its offensive linemen. This season, Chamberlain, Justin Gonzalez and Howe continued that tradition, opening holes for Bell and buying time for Hubbell.
“I give all the credit to my lineman and I make sure I mention them any time I’m asked in any interview,” Bell said. “They are the reason why I was successful this season.”
Shining in that offense was Erik Hernandez, who caught 36 passes for 532 yards and 13 touchdowns.
On the defensive end, Gurley was able to make an impact, finishing with 59 tackles and 10 sacks. Teammate Garden tallied 66 tackles, six sacks and had two interceptions and Awunganyi had 52 tackles and three interceptions.
Burbank (6-5, 5-2), which stayed in contention for a league title until the final regular season game, finished tied for second with Crescenta Valley. The Bulldogs fell in the first round of the playoffs to Dominguez, 41-21.
“With how we did in league this year, I think we were pretty well-represented on the all-league lists,” Burbank Coach Richard Broussard said. “Our guys worked hard and they deserve the recognition.”
The Bulldogs had the top defense in the league, as they surrendered an average of just 15.5 points a game. A catalyst on the defense was Reyes, who was a hybrid linebacker. The junior set a school record with 132 tackles, including 94 solo tackles. In addition, Reyes had four sacks, 30 hurries and four fumble recoveries.
“We moved him to his monster position this season which let him freelance a lot more and go where he needed to go and I think that made him so much more versatile,” Broussard said. “He was just able to wreak havoc on offense and he was a big reason why we were so successful on defense.”
Also on defense, Horhn made 44 tackles, had seven sacks and caused three fumbles and Fajardo had five interceptions and 57 tackles.
Although having played just six games, Weisman made an impact on offense as a receiver. The senior ended with 25 catches for 369 yards and four touchdowns.
Hank, a soccer player, made his first foray into football and earned the starting kicker position for Burbank. The senior converted 43 of 46 extra-point attempts and had two field goals. At punter, Porras averaged 40.5 yards a punt.
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Jeff Tully, jeff.tully@latimes.com
Twitter: @jefftsports