Change at hand for Burroughs football schedule
Rand Holdren received a bit of a surprise when he found out the Burroughs High football schedule for the 2018 season.
“I didn’t even know who we were playing for the first couple of weeks after I got hired,” said Holdren, who took over the Indians program in March. “Before that I had no idea who we were playing.
“But when I saw one of the teams we were playing it came as a surprise to me.”
One of Burroughs’ opponents in nonleague play is Harvard-Westlake, a program Holdren served as a longtime assistant coach for before accepting the Indians job.
“I’m glad they are on the schedule, I will say that,” he said. “They have a new coach and I worked with the last coach forever. I was there for nine years so I do have ties to that program.
“I know the culture and what the expectations are for their program, so it should be an interesting game for me.”
The Indians have a few new wrinkles for their nonleague schedule before they embark on Pacific League play.
Burroughs will be looking to use nonleague competition to help it get back to the CIF Southern Section playoffs after missing the postseason the previous two seasons. During the 2017 season, Burroughs was 4-5 and 3-4 in league for fifth, suffering its second straight losing campaign.
Burroughs has been moved down from Division VIII to X for the playoffs.
“I didn’t have any say-so with this schedule because I was hired after it had already been finalized,” said Holdren, whose games will all be at 7 p.m. “But I think it’s a very acceptable schedule. There are some good teams that we play and there is some good competition.
“Our schedule is a little bit clunky in terms of home and away games. We open with our first game on the road, then we play I think four games at home, then the next four on the road before taking on Burbank. The way the schedule rotates, it’s just one of those years when it is strange like that. But truth be told, I wouldn’t change our schedule. I think all the games are just about right for us competition-wise.”
For the second straight season, Burroughs has scheduled West Ranch in its opener, which will take place Aug. 23 at Valencia High. Last season, the Indians were scheduled to face the Wildcats in week one, but that game had to be cancelled because of poor air quality resulting from fires.
“West Ranch should be a good team,” Holdren said about the Wildcats, who went 5-4 and 1-4 in the Foothill League to tie for fifth place in 2017. “They return just about everybody on the offensive side of the ball and they have some good talent.
“I think this will be a good early test for us.”
The Indians will next square off against another Foothill League team in Canyon Country Canyon on Aug. 31 at Memorial Field. The Cowboys are coming off a season in which they went 6-6 and 1-4 in league to tie for fifth with West Ranch.
“I know Canyon has had some good teams in the past,” Holdren said. “That should pose a good challenge for us. We just need to be ready.”
Burroughs will conclude the nonleague portion of its schedule Sept. 6 when it hosts Harvard-Westlake (8-3, 3-2 in the Angelus League for third place).
“The new coach I’m sure will bring his own stuff and will have his own game plan,” Holdren said. “I don’t have a secret binder tucked away with their plays or anything like that.
“There are always some advantages and some disadvantages with playing a team where you coached at before. But when it comes down to it, you still have to line up and you still have to play.”
For its Pacific League opener on Sept. 14, Burroughs will start out against a team many are penciling in as the favorite to win the championship this season — Arcadia. The Apaches, who have been bolstered by a reported group of transfers, are coming off a season in which they went 8-4 and 6-1 in league to finish runner-up behind Burbank.
“The first four games on our schedule are no joke, starting with the three [nonleague] games and starting league against Arcadia,” Holdren said. “I have heard the same thing everybody else has heard about Arcadia. They won a bunch of seven-on-seven tournaments and they have a lot of skill guys.”
The Indians will host Glendale (2-8, 0-7 for eighth) on Sept. 20 and travel to face Crescenta Valley (8-3, 5-2 for third) at Moyse Field on Sept. 27, Muir (6-4, 4-3 for fourth) on Oct. 5, Hoover (2-8, 1-6 for seventh) at Moyse Field on Oct. 12 and Pasadena (2-8, 1-5 for sixth) on Oct. 19.
League play will culminate for Burroughs on Oct. 26 with the annual Big Game rivalry against Burroughs at Memorial Field.
“I have heard a thing or two about that game,” Holdren said. “I think the best advice I have gotten about that game was some from Keith Knoop, who is Burroughs football. He just said a lot of people forget there are nine games before that game.
“But we need to stay focused on the games before that rivalry game. We will have plenty of time to worry about Burbank later when we get to that week.”
2018 Indians Schedule
Aug. 23 vs. West Ranch at Valencia High, 7 p.m.
Aug. 31 Canyon Country Canyon, 7 p.m.
Sept. 6 Harvard-Westlake, 7 p.m.
Sept. 14 Arcadia, 7 p.m.
Sept. 20 Glendale, 7 p.m.
Sept 27 vs. Crescenta Valley at Moyse Field, 7 p.m.
Oct. 5 at Muir, 7 p.m.
Oct. 12 vs. Hoover at Moyse Field, 7 p.m.
Oct. 19 at Pasadena 7 p.m.
Oct. 26 Burbank, 7 p.m.
Twitter: @jefftsports
