Complete effort lifts Burbank football past Pasadena
PASADENA — Burbank High receiver Erik Harutyunyan never really thought about making one-handed interceptions..
He had barely tried it out in practice.
In Burbank’s visit to Pasadena in a Pacific League football showdown Friday, the wide receiver picked off two, one-handed passes and had three touchdown receptions to help Burbank to a 52-14 win.
“It’s coming to my right side every time, and my right hand is my dominant hand, so I just gave it a shot,” said Harutyunyan, who has been granted a preferred walk-on spot with Stanford.
Harutyunyan tallied 165 yards in eight catches. He nearly had three interceptions, but his first one was called back on a Burbank penalty.
“I said on the headset, ‘That’s one of the best individual performances I’ve ever seen,’” Burbank coach Adam Colman said. “Two, one-handed picks and a third that got called back for something he didn’t do … that’s one of the best individual performances I’ve seen.”
Burbank quarterback Matthew Porras threw for 273 yards and four touchdowns with an interception on 18-for-28 passing. Burbank running back Isaac Glover ran in three scores for 125 yards in 17 carries.
Duncan Smith also scored for Burbank and finished with seven receptions for 85 yards and a touchdown.
“It was really clicking today,” Porras said. “Honestly, it’s just because of our line. The line was giving us so much time just going through other reads and [the receivers] were getting open and making plays.”
It was a smooth start for Porras and his receiving core.
The quarterback completed 10 of 11 passes to three receivers in the first quarter, and his second completion to Harutyunyan from 18 yards put the visitors up, 6-0, after missing the two-point conversion.
The Burbank defense was able to hold Pasadena from scoring in its opening drive after receiver Jeremiah Hutchins put the home side at the 1-yard line on his kickoff return.
Porras and Burbank made the most of its nine-play second drive with an eight-yard touchdown pass to Duncan Smith and the visitors made their two-point conversion this time to prop up a 14-0 lead with 5:21 left in the first.
Burbank (3-3, 2-1 in league) carried its dominance into the second quarter after forcing a Pasadena fumble in Burbank territory.
Porras later connected with Harutyunyan on the next play for a 15-yard touchdown that made it a 20-0 Burbank lead with less than 15 seconds gone.
The rest of the quarter dragged on as both teams turned the ball over twice before Pasadena (3-3, 1-2) finally got on the board with 4:45 left in the half behind Mekhi Fox’s 83-yard run to make it 20-6.
The home side scored again with 1:23 remaining in the quarter to cut the Burbank lead to 20-14 when Pasadena quarterback Andreas Solling found Hutchins for a 65-yard touchdown reception.
“We had the same reoccurring issues — penalties, kind of taking our foot off the gas when we get up early — but that was a character win for us,” Colman said.
Though Burbank scored late in the third quarter with a 13-yard run from Glover to make it 28-14, the visitors really broke out in the fourth.
Porras and Harutyunyan connected again for the third time on another 18-yard touchdown reception for a 36-14 Burbank lead with 8:32 left.
“We just made it an imperative task to not let up and come out strong in the second half,” Harutyunyan said.
Glover ran home another touchdown for a 44-14 Burbank lead after Pasadena turned the ball over on downs on its own 10.
Harutyunyan picked off Solling again with 5:47 left and ran it back to the Pasadena 35.
Glover caught and ran for a 30-yard reception before being knocked out on the 3-yard line, but the running back was able to charge it in on the ensuing play to help extend the Burbank lead to 52-14 with 5:24 remaining.
Twitter: @ReporterVince