Weekly Football Previews: Crescenta Valley continues title quest against always-pesky Burroughs
On its quest for a second consecutive Pacific League title and its third over the last four seasons, Crescenta Valley High football is well on its way.
But standing in its way Thursday is Burroughs, the last team not named Crescenta Valley to win a Pacific League title and a program that has historically given the Falcons fits.
The two will lock horns when Crescenta Valley (6-0, 3-0 in league), the No. 2 team in CIF Southern Section Division VI, travels to face Burroughs (3-2, 2-1 in league) at 7 p.m. Friday at Burroughs High’s Memorial Field.
Burroughs last defeated Crescenta Valley, 34-3, in 2015 on its way to a league title. The win was sandwiched by a 48-21 defeat to the Falcons in 2014 and last year’s 38-9 loss. CV won league titles in each of those seasons.
Consequently, the Falcons’ 2015 loss to the Indians was their last league defeat before setting forth on their current 11-game league winning streak that they bring into Friday night.
Prior to the Falcons’ magical 2014 season in which they won league and then a CIF Southern Section Southeast Division title, Crescenta Valley had lost five in a row to Burroughs.
Crescenta Valley is coming off a 48-33 win over Pasadena in which junior quarterback Cole Doyle threw a career-high five touchdown passes and tossed for 284 yards, while running for 102 more and another score.
Doyle has been surging and currently boasts 1,107 yards passing with 72 completions in 119 attempts for 18 touchdowns to three interceptions. On the ground, he’s carried 62 times for 407 yards and five touchdowns.
Receiver Tyler Lobianco has emerged as a huge threat with team-highs of 24 catches, 496 yards receiving and seven touchdowns.
Burroughs is coming off an 81-14 drubbing of Glendale in which quarterback Nathan Piper threw for four touchdowns and a school-record 430 yards. But the Indians are very much still a run-based program as running back Ben Peters, who has rushed for 905 yards this season, had four touchdowns against Glendale and 114 yards in a game in which the Indians specifically set out to work on their passing game.
Peters had 201 yards on an eye-popping 41 carries against Arcadia and an astounding 45 carries for 304 yards versus Pasadena in the teams’ league opener.
St. Francis at La Salle, 7 p.m. Friday: More dazzling Angelus League debuts have been had for St. Francis than Friday’s 24-7 win at Friedman Field over St. Paul, but it was still very much a lopsided victory for the Golden Knights that began their quest for a league crown in earnest and maintained a perfect record.
St. Francis (6-0, 1-0 in league), ranked fifth in CIF Southern Section Division III, saw running backs Elijah Washington and Kevin Armstead each hit 90 yards rushing as the two-headed running attack continues to be a huge weapon for the Golden Knights.
Meanwhile, quarterback Darius Perrantes returned after missing a game and change with an injury, so things are looking good for the Knights as they travel to face La Salle (3-3, 1-0 in league).
The Lancers are coming off a league-opening 51-7 victory against Salesian.
St. Francis is a perfect 3-0 against La Salle since the rebirth of the Angelus League in 2014, but the Lancers have provided a closer outcome each season, including last year’s 38-28 loss.
Washington has rushed for seven touchdowns, while Armstead has added five and the two have combined for nearly 500 yards.
Perrantes has tossed 10 touchdowns, four of them to Blake Howard.
Arcadia at Hoover at Glendale High, 7 p.m. Friday: It’s been an arduous season all-around for the Tornadoes, whose only win this year has come via forfeit over Sotomayor, but a 48-0 loss to Muir on Friday was their worst defeat of the season and their first shutout loss.
Arcadia (3-3, 2-1 in Pacific League), ranked sixth in CIF Southern Section Division XI, meanwhile is likely to be salty following a 17-14 loss to Burbank that obviously hit the Apaches’ league title hopes hard.
The Apaches, led by quarterback Max Davila and coached by former Hoover coach Andrew Policky, are, much like Muir, athletic and fast and are likely to give the Tornadoes plenty of problems, just as they did last year with a 24-7 win.
Hoover (1-5, 0-3 in league), under first-year coach Terrance Jones, has lost its five games this season by an average of 27.8 points and 37.7 in league games.
Glendale at Muir, 7 p.m. Friday: Tough times for Glendale continue within the Pacific League as the Nitros are coming off an 81-14 loss to Burroughs.
Glendale (2-4, 0-3 in league) has allowed 59 or more points in each of its league losses so far and 40 or more in all of its losses. The 81 points allowed to the Indians were the most allowed by a Glendale team this century.
The Nitros will carry their 17-game league losing streak into their game with Muir (3-3, 1-2 in league), which is coming off a 48-0 thumping over Hoover. Muir won last season’s meeting by a 62-26 score.
Despite their hardships, the Nitros have not been without highlights, usually coming from quarterback Van Haslett, receiver Anthony Luna and linebacker Chris Ibarra.
Flintridge Prep vs. Downey Calvary Chapel at Downey High, 6 p.m. Saturday: The last time the Rebels played, they earned what was likely their biggest win thus far in the form of a 22-20 win over Thacher on Sept. 29.
Flintridge Prep (4-2), which cracked the CIF Southern Section Division I eight-man poll at No. 10, will have gone more than two weeks without a game when it lines up against Calvary Chapel (3-2) on Saturday night, though.
Remaining games for Prep following Calvary Chapel are against Mission Prep and Chadwick, which at least on paper are easier tasks than Calvary Chapel. However, Calvary Chapel dealt the Rebels a nailbiting 38-37 loss last season.
Calvary Chapel is coming off a 32-12 win on Saturday at Lucerne Valley.
Twitter: @TCNGrantGordon
