Takeaways lead Burbank football to first championship game

BURBANK — Ninety-nine years after the inaugural CIF Southern Section championship football game was played, Burbank High will get its first crack at a title.

The Bulldogs ended a long drought in spectacular fashion, forcing six turnovers and harassing visiting Don Lugo in a 44-14 victory at Friday evening’s Division VIII semifinal at Memorial Field.

With the triumph, the 2016 Bulldogs and coach Richard Broussard will carve their names into history with one more prize left.

Pacific League runner-up Burbank (10-3) will travel to face Crestview League runner-up Yorba Linda (11-2) Saturday in Orange County in the Division VIII Championship. The Bulldogs will attempt to become the second Pacific League team to win a championship (Crescenta Valley in 2014) in three years.

“It’s awesome and a great feeling to put the work in and have your work come to an end game,” Broussard said. “We came up short on our first goal, to win a league title, but that didn’t stop us. It motivated us and you see that motivation now.”

Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that the Bulldogs were led by their grinding defense.

Burbank finished with four interceptions and two fumble recoveries, Don Lugo quarterback Rudy Garcia was sacked six times and Don Lugo ball carriers were for tackled for a loss an additional four times.

The most stunning display came in the second quarter, with Burbank already leading, 14-0.

After picking up only one first down through their first three possessions, the Mt. Baldy League champion Conquistadores (10-3) picked up three first downs and marched to the Bulldogs’ 48-yard line.

That’s when sophomore defensive back Erik Harutyunyan picked off Garcia with 6:20 left in the third.

“We started to put it away because of the defense in the second quarter,” said Harutyunyan, who finished with two interceptions. “They stepped it up today and the offense played well.”

The giveaway was one of five straight for Don Lugo in its five final possessions of the second quarter.

While Burbank’s offense didn’t actually score on any of those takeaways, the defense spectacularly did.

Senior middle linebacker Jake Kelley returned a botched snap 24 yards for a touchdown that put the Bulldogs up, 20-0, after a missed extra point with 3:46 left before the half.

The turnover and score was the highlight on a special day for Kelley, who registered two sacks and one additional tackle for a loss.

“Our whole focus was to stop the run because they were big guys and they just wanted to run the football,” Kelley said. “We planned all week how to stop the run; we did a lot inside run defense at practice where we would run the ball up the middle for 30 minutes. So, we were really well-prepared.”

Four plays after Kelley’s fumble return for a touchdown, Burbank’s defense struck again when sophomore defensive end Duncan Smith anticipated a screen and skied for an interception. Smith then returned the pick 26 yards for a touchdown to put the Bulldogs ahead, 27-0.

The last two turnovers of the half came courtesy of Burbank junior defensive back Kaydon Spens, who recovered a fumble from Don Lugo star back Khoury Bethley (15 carries for 90 yards) before picking off a pass in the end zone right before the end of the half.

Burbank, though, didn’t rest on its 27-0 halftime lead.

The Bulldogs scored on their opening possession of the third quarter on a seven-yard touchdown run from Darnell Williams (eight carries for 39 yards) before another seven-yard touchdown scamper from Nicolas Warren (19 carries for 84 yards and two touchdowns) at the seven-minute mark in the third gave Burbank a 41-0 lead.

Don Lugo avoided the shutout when Burbank committed the second of its turnovers on a fumbled handoff that was returned 35 yards for a touchdown by Anthony Miller with 1:40 left in the third quarter.

The Conquistadores, who advanced to their first semifinal in 35 years, closed their scoring on a five-yard touchdown run from Garcia with 8:11 left in the game to trail, 41-14.

Burbank added a 25-yard field in the game’s final two minutes to finish off the offense for both teams.

Burbank’s other two touchdowns came early, as Warren punched in a four-yard touchdown run on the Bulldogs’ opening drive to give the home team a 7-0 lead.

Quarterback Guy Gibbs then hooked up on a 28-yard touchdown pass to Drew Pendleton with 10:52 left in the second quarter to give Burbank a 14-0 lead.

“I’m so amazingly proud of these guys,” said Gibbs, who completed 11 of 18 passes for 142 yards and one touchdown and one interception. “The way we’ve improved from the beginning of the season until now, it’s incredible and we’re unstoppable. I’m proud to be a part of this.”