Burbank football preview: Bulldogs expect to fly under radar

Burbank High football’s players and coaches are about to embark on a season in which expectations might be low.

The outlook is far from grim, however, within the confines of the program.

Like usual, the Bulldogs are motivated to have a winning record, capture the Pacific League championship and make a deep run in the CIF Southern Section Southeast Division playoffs.

But with the graduation of some key players, a nonleague schedule that could be described as daunting, a league campaign that includes some challenging teams and one year removed from a season in which it had to squeak into the playoffs with a patch-work squad, the Bulldogs don’t expect to be held in the highest esteem by some opponents.

“I know that people don’t expect a lot from us and I understand that,” said Burbank Coach Richard Broussard, who is in his second year. “That’s to be expected. You just look at our nonleague schedule and I know people expect us to start out 0-3. Our schedule is tough, I’ll give you that.

“But I’ll tell you what, we just might surprise some people. We just might just fly under the radar and you never know. ...I wouldn’t count us out for sure.”

The Bulldogs will begin their season and their competitive three-game nonleague swing at 7 p.m. Friday in zero week against Monrovia. The Monrovia program has been a perennial winner, having won three straight CIF Southern Section championships from 2010-12. Last season, Monrovia went 10-2 and captured the Rio Hondo League championship with a 5-0 mark. The team advanced to the Central Division quarterfinals, losing to Los Altos, 45-35.

Burbank will play Ayala on Sept. 4 and finish nonleague play against Canyon Country Canyon on Sept 19, with a bye in between.

“We know there are some teams that are going to doubt us, but that’s all right,” said junior Andy Reyes, who will see time at running back and on defense as a monster, a linebacker/defensive back hybrid. “We know there are some people who might overlook us and not think that we are much at all.

“That’s why we have to come out Friday and prove that we are a team that people should think about. ...We are really excited about opening up with a strong performance.”

This year’s squad will be trying to make up for a group of key players that graduated, namely Washington State-bound running back James Williams (who was injured most of the 2014 season), quarterback Ryan Meredith and All-CIF Southern Section defensive end/fullback Kyle Alvarez.

Burbank is coming off a season in which it went 8-4 and placed third in the Pacific League with a 5-2 mark. The Bulldogs went on to pull off an upset in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Southeast Division playoffs, defeating host El Rancho, 38-34, before falling in the quarterfinals to Salesian, 48-27.

So besieged with injuries through the 2014 season, over the course of the year, Broussard had to pull up 13 sophomores from the junior varsity squad just to fill holes.

“The good thing about that is those sophomores got thrown into the fire and they gained some valuable experience,” Broussard said. “So they know what it’s like to play on the varsity level.

“Most of those juniors have played together since they were members of the same Burbank Vikings youth team. They know one another and they know how to play together as a team.”

The Bulldogs tested their skills Saturday in a scrimmage. In the multi-team event, Burbank squared off against Buena Park, Diamond Ranch and Bell-Gardens. While Broussard was pleased with his team’s performance in the scrimmage, one player did emerge as a possible future standout for the Bulldogs.

Sophomore Darnell Williams, a 5-foot-9, 170-pound running back and younger brother of James Williams, carried the ball 11 times for 89 yards and caught four passes for 86 yards and two touchdowns.

“My brother is a great player, but I just want to be my own person and show what I can do,” Darnell Williams said. “A lot of people say I look like my brother and I have some of the same skills, but I just want to be me. ...I’m just excited about starting the season.”

The Bulldogs should give opponents something to think about with an array of running backs, including juniors Nick Warren (5-8, 145) and Jake Kelley (6-0, 185) and Reyes (5-8, 185), a senior.

“He is just a great athlete and with this new position it kind of frees him up so he can go where he’s needed and not just be confined to the box on defense,” Broussard said of Reyes. “He’s a smart player and he has a nose for the ball, so I think this will suit him a lot better.”

Taking over the quarterback position is junior Guy Gibbs (5-11, 165). With Meredith injured in two stints last year, Gibbs came in and helped lead the Bulldogs late in the season. In six games Gibbs completed 33 of 67 passes for 615 yards with nine touchdowns and three interceptions.

At wide receiver, the Bulldogs have an addition in senior Max Weisman (6-1, 190), a transfer from Sherman Oaks Notre Dame who is reportedly being looked at by several major universities. He will be joined by junior Forrest Fajardo (6-0, 170) and senior Noah Powell (5-10, 170).

“Max is a very good receiver and we’re going to use him,” Broussard said. “We are just waiting to get his CIF paperwork squared away.

“With the running backs and the receivers that we have this year, I’m hoping we will be able to pass and run the ball with the same success. In our scrimmage we were about 50-50 in runs and passes.”

Up front on the offensive line for the Bulldogs will one of the biggest groups the program has had in years behind juniors Scott Breslin (6-3, 265) and Tim Han (6-2, 230) and seniors Richard Cifuentes (5-9, 185), Nick Meier (6-0, 240) and David Chavez (5-10, 220).

The defensive line will be spearheaded by junior Danny Porras (6-0, 230) and seniors Jacob Bettis (6-3, 200) and Jha’rod Horhn (6-1, 2-5). In the secondary will be a pair of returning all-league players in Warren (66 tackles and two sacks) and senior Aki Arlington (5-10, 170), who had had 67 tackles, two sacks and four interceptions. Junior Joey Miller (5-7, 145) will also see time in the secondary.

Burbank’s linebackers will be led by Kelley, senior David Medrano (5-10, 170) and junior CJ Mayes (5-9, 170).

Porras, a second-team all-league punter who averaged 44.4 yards a punt, will again handle the duties this season. New to the squad is Andrew Hank (6-3, 175), the goalkeeper for the Bulldogs’ boys’ soccer team, who will be the kicker.

Burbank, which last won the league title in 2009, begins league competition Sept. 25 against Crescenta Valley (14-0, 7-0) at Glendale’s Moyse Field. In 2014, the Falcons won the league championship and captured the Southeast Division title.

“I think there’s going to be a lot of parity in the league this year, which is good,” Broussard said. “There are teams that have improved and some that should be just as good as usual. But we are hoping to be one of those teams at the top and hopefully be playing for a league title.”