Burbank football looks to stay course of success
Burbank High football coach Adam Colman doesn’t expect his team to sneak up on opponents this season.
Taking over a program that was cultivated by former coaches Hector Valencia and Richard Broussard, who is now at Village Christian, the Bulldogs flourished in their first season under Colman in 2017, winning the program’s first Pacific League championship in eight years and advancing to the CIF Southern Section Division VII semifinals.
“We have had some success the past few seasons and we know that people know about Burbank now,” said Colman, a 2011 Burbank graduate. “We know that teams aren’t going to take us lightly and that’s a good thing.
“I think a lot of people might have wrote us off last year, but we were able to bounce back and had a really special year. A lot of it is just managing expectations. I am a big John Wooden fan and I have a saying of his that I like, ‘Winning takes talent, to repeat takes character.’ That’s what we have been trying to preach.”
Following its success last season, Burbank has been moved up to Division V.
“We know moving up is going to be a challenge for us,” Colman said. “This is our third division in three years and we have moved up every time, so I think that says a lot about our program.
“We know when we get to the playoffs every single game is going to be tough.”
The team advanced to the Division VII semifinals in 2017 after making the Division VIII championship game in 2016 and won the Pacific League title for the first time since 2009, finishing 10-3, 7-0 in league.
Although Burbank lost some key contributors from last season’s squad, it also retained a number of players who made significant contributions, including most of the offensive and defensive linemen.
Leading the group of returners is senior quarterback Matthew Porras. As a junior, he completed 191 of 307 passes (62%) for 2,696 yards and 30 touchdowns, both league highs, versus nine interceptions. In addition, Porras rushed 136 times for 501 yards and four touchdowns. He was named the league co-player of the year.
“I am obviously very excited that we have him back as our quarterback,” said Colman, who was voted the league coach of the year. “On the field, he is just a leader and he has just stepped up and matured into a great player.
“One good thing is he’s never lost that chip on his shoulder and he’s never become complacent after the success he’s had. We have some other good quarterbacks in our program, but Matthew has earned this and this is his team. But every day he comes in like he’s competing for the position, which is just great to see.”
Porras’ backup will be sophomore Aram Araradian.
“We are getting things together and we want to be ready once the season starts,” Porras said. “We have all been working hard and putting in some extra time so we will be ready once we start playing. We have all been working together and I’m pretty happy at where we are right now.
“We have a lot of depth with this team and that’s good because we’ve all been pushing each other in practice. Everybody is fighting to get better.”
Called upon to protect Porras is an offensive line that includes first-team all-league senior Esper Alasyegh, along with second-team all-league junior Armando De La Cruz, all-league honorable mention senior Kris Azizkhani, senior Oscar De La Cruz and senior Matthew Sanchez.
Another impact player is senior Duncan Smith, a tight end and defensive end who earned Pacific League co-Offensive Player of the Year honors last season. Smith, who is being highly recruited, had 55 receptions for 774 yards and 11 touchdowns on offense, while notching 60 tackles — 16 for a loss — eight sacks and two caused fumbles on defense.
The team also returns first-team all-league senior receiver/defensive back Erik Harutyunyan, who finished with 33 tackles, two interceptions and 17 passes defended in the secondary, while catching 32 passes for 427 yards and five touchdowns. Other receivers will be junior Ben Burnham and sophomore Brandon Pena.
The backfield will include senior running back/slot Chaz Vang, who earned all-league second-team recognition after tallying 69 carries for 508 yards and five touchdowns and 27 catches for 287 yards and three scores. He will be joined by junior Isaac Glover and sophomore Max Mendieta.
Shoring up the defensive line will be Smith, Azizkhani, senior Karo Koshkaryan, junior Seth Jones and junior Devin Housholder.
At linebacker will be Mendieta, Glover, junior Lucas Sheppe, a transfer from Georgia, senior Alejandro Martinez and junior Tyler Murphy.
Playing in the secondary will be Harutyunyan, junior Vincent Vang, Burnham, junior Ian Miller, sophomore Jarren Flowers and sophomore Owen Cusumano
Doing the punting and kicking will be senior Andy Cardenas, while Porras might also help with the punting duties.
When it comes down to the fight for the Pacific League title, Colman, like many other league coaches, thinks Arcadia will provide a formidable matchup.
“You look at what they’ve done in the summer circuit, winning the Rams passing tournament that had a ton of good teams there, and winning a couple of other ones, and they also have a bunch of all-league returners from last year and some transfers who were all-league in other leagues last year, so they are going to be a very talented team,” said Colman, whose team scrimmaged Saugus and Rio Mesa on Thursday. “But we have had some good games against them the last few years.
“But really, as a whole, I think the entire league is going to be as deep as it’s been in recent years, from top to bottom.”
Burbank will open its season Friday with a nonleague game at 7 p.m. against Monrovia at Memorial Field. The Bulldogs begin league play Sept. 14 with a game on campus against Hoover.
Twitter: @jefftsports
