Burbank High football bounces Arcadia in preparation for showdown with Burroughs

BURBANK — Scoring on eight of 11 total drives, the Burbank High football team set in motion its path toward a collision course with archrival Burroughs by obliterating visiting Arcadia, 56-14, in Thursday evening’s Pacific League contest at Memorial Field.

Burbank’s largest-ever victory over the Apaches since its move into the Pacific League in 2006 not only clinched a winning regular season, but also allowed the Bulldogs to control their destiny.

Burbank (6-3 overall, 4-2 in league) will visit Burroughs (5-3, 3-2) next week in the Big Game showdown with the league’s third and final automatic playoff position in the balance.

“It’s not so much about calming down the hype for that game as it is as staying focused,” Burbank Coach Richard Broussard said. “Today, we had to stay focused, go out and take care of business and create an opportunity to get to the playoffs.

“A lot of people wrote us off after our loss to Muir [31-0 on Oct. 10]. And yes, we’ve had a lot of injuries, but we believed we still had a chance and now we do.”

The contest was all but decided in the first half as Burbank took a 35-0 advantage into the break.

After punting on their first possession, the Bulldogs racked up 310 yards of offense and 19 first downs on their final six drives of the half.

Four of Burbank’s five first-half scores came on the ground with senior scat back Tony Toledo punching in two touchdowns.

Toledo, who finished with 56 yards and two scores in eight carries, kick-started Burbank’s scoring when the back broke free on a sweep for a 30-yard touchdown with 2:16 left in the first quarter to give the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead.

Toledo also scored on a 21-yard sweep to the right that gave Burbank a 21-0 lead with 8:02 left in the second quarter.

It was shortly after Toledo’s second touchdown that the contest unraveled for Arcadia (2-7, 1-5), which was turned away on a fourth and five from the Burbank 40 with 4:56 left in the second quarter.

Burbank took over and marched into the Apaches red zone before Nick Warren (six carries for 83 yards) scored from five yards out to give Burbank a 28-0 lead with 3:38 left.

On the very first play following a touchback, Burbank’s David Medrano picked off a batted pass at the 24 at the 3:21 mark.

“We had to make stops on defense,” Medrano said. “When I saw the ball in the air, I had to pick it.”

Two plays later, senior fullback Kyle Alvarez dragged two defenders into the end zone on what was a 24-yard touchdown run that gave Burbank a 35-0 lead with 2:58 left in the half.

Burbank’s only other score might have been its most dynamic as usual starting quarterback Ryan Meredith replaced starting sophomore Guys Gibbs, who played for the first two possessions.

Meredith opened with a short field and took advantage with a 39-yard completion on his first play to Nick Cantong, which was followed by a six-yard touchdown pass to Dorian Housholder that the senior wide receiver bobbled, but hauled in while holding off his defender in the corner of the end zone.

The touchdown came with 49.9 seconds left in the first quarter and gave Burbank a 14-0 lead.

Burbank added three scores in the second half on a four-yard touchdown pass from Meredith to Cantong and touchdown runs of 28 and three yards from Brandon Alba, who finished with two scores and a team-leading 125 yards in 13 carries.

“It didn’t matter if it was a sweep or a trap, the offensive line was blocking all night,” Alba said. “They deserve most of the credit.”

For the contest, Burbank finished with 338 yards on the ground.

Lost in the offensive flurry was a defense that created two turnovers — with Ceron Hurry recovering a fumble in the first quarter — and tackled Arcadia starting quarterback Nico Hillier seven times behind the line of scrimmage.

To its credit, Arcadia scored twice late on a touchdown passes of nine and 21 yards from Hillier to Quentin Cortes.