Burroughs football turns back Glendale to earn first win of season

BURBANK — The Burroughs High football team joined the Pacific League in 2006, and since then Glendale has not been able to defeat the Indians.

This season’s match up continued the trend.

Behind a monster night from running back Luke Rogers, the host Indians controlled the game en route to a 45-6 win Thursday night at Memorial Field.

“The kids played well and we executed, and that’s what our goal was today,” said Burroughs first-year coach Rand Holden, who picked up his first career win with the program.

With the first win of the season, Burroughs (1-4, 1-1 in league) is now 13-0 against Glendale in the Pacific League.

Glendale (1-4, 0-2) has now lost 23 straight league contests, dating back to the final game of 2014.

The Indians controlled the momentum throughout the game, with the ground attack spearheaded by Rogers. The sophomore had 24 carries for 207 yards and two touchdowns.

“I thought we really put it together this game,” Rogers said. “I think as a whole team we played great. The O-line played amazing.”

Rogers found pay dirt for the first time with 10:59 left in the second quarter. On the play, he took the ball and ran off left tackle for a two-yard score.

His second touchdown came with 4:31 left in the third quarter, after which his night came to a close. The score came on the first play of the drive and saw Rogers break through the right side and run away for a 55-yard touchdown.

In the first half, the host Indians dominated time of possession. Burroughs’ first drive of the game set the tone. It covered 80 yards, took 7:03 and spanned 19 plays, with 10 of those being Rogers runs.

The score came on a play-action pass from quarterback Nathan Piper to Nathan Turner for the final five yards.

“I think that first drive was 19 plays, which may be a record for me,” Holden said.

When the first quarter ended, Glendale had run just three offensive plays. In contrast, Burroughs ran 23.

“[Burroughs] really established and controlled the game from the get-go,” Glendale first-year coach Cary Harris said.

Burroughs stoked the lead in the second quarter with two more touchdowns.

The first was the Rogers two-yard scamper.

The second came in the final minute before the break. After the Nitros were forced to punt after getting their only two first downs of the half, Burroughs struck quickly, this time needing just two plays to score. The touchdown was a designed quarterback run up the middle by Piper after he had faked it to two different would-be ball carriers.

At the half, Burroughs led, 21-0.

In the first half, Burroughs ran 40 plays, compared to just 18 for the Nitros.

Piper gave way to Nicholas Garcia as signal-caller in the second half. Piper finished eight of 14 for 70 yards and the two scores. Garcia took advantage of the opportunity and was responsible for three touchdowns.

The first came on the Indians’ first drive of the second half, which covered 35 yards in four plays. On the scoring play, Garcia’s toss was tipped by a Nitro, but Johnny Factora still hauled it in for a six-yard touchdown.

The second was on a designed quarterback run up the middle, where Garcia went untouched for an 18-yard score. The drive was set up by an interception by Henry Diaz.

The third Garcia score came with 9:24 left in the fourth that brought into play a running clock. On the score, Garcia connected with Adrian Leon on a 12-yard pass.

The second half saw a slew of Indian reserves getting a dose of playing time.

“I think we got everyone in on the sideline, which is part of high school football,” Holden said.

The highlight of Glendale’s night came with 3:26 left in the third quarter. Quarterback Trent Lousararian threw a midrange pass over the middle to Christopher Ibarra, which the senior snagged in traffic. He then wriggled away and took off down the left side for a 78-yard touchdown.

Ibarra led all receivers with 86 yards coming on two catches. Ibarra also blocked a point-after kick attempt for the second week in a row.

Lousararian was five of 15 for 96 yards with the one score and one pick.

“[Burroughs] put up 81 points last year and 45 this year,” Harris said. “There is something good in everything.”