Burbank High football eliminated by Salesian
EAST LOS ANGELES — For a team that lost its two perennial skill players for most of the season, it might have been a surprise to some that the Burbank High football team got as far as it did this season.
After losing standout running back James Williams to a knee injury during the second week of the season and missing starting quarterback Ryan Meredith to a shoulder injury, battered Burbank looked to extend its playoff run Friday night against host Salesian in a CIF Southern Section Southeast Division quarterfinal contest.
Unfortunately for Burbank, its successful season came to a close with a 48-27 defeat in front of a packed house.
PHOTOS: Burbank High’s season comes to an end following 48-27 defeat to Salesian
“In the end, they played as hard as they could,” said Burbank first-year Coach Richard Broussard, whose team finished 8-4 and took third in the Pacific League. “It’s a great effort, but we didn’t do enough to win.
“We overcame some things and you never want to lay down. I’m just disappointed that we couldn’t put it all together [on both sides of the ball].”
Meredith tried to prepare for Friday’s game after he sustained an injury to his right shoulder during Burbank’s 38-34 first-round road win against El Rancho on Nov. 14. Instead, sophomore Guy Gibbs handled the signal-calling responsibilities, throwing a pair of touchdown passes to Dorian Houshoulder in the first half and finishing with 206 yards passing, completing 13 of 31 passes.
Salesian, which will meet Downey in a semifinal game Friday, improved to 6-6. The Mustangs, who received the one available at-large berth in the division after finishing fourth in the Angelus League, gradually continued to wear the Bulldogs out throughout most of the second half.
“We felt going into the second half that it would be a winnable game,” said Houshoulder, a senior who caught five passes for a team-high 153 yards. “We just didn’t capitalize on some of our opportunities.
“It’s tough with all the injuries we had. We had to group together and play hard throughout the year and play Burbank football.”
Salesian received a big effort from running back Kyahva Tezino, who rushed for 148 yards in 13 carries and scored a pair of touchdowns.
Tezino gave the Mustangs, who captured the Northeast Division championship last season, a 7-0 advantage on a seven-yard run with 9:16 left in the first quarter.
Burbank regrouped quickly on the ensuing possession when Gibbs lofted a 75-yard touchdown pass to Houshoulder on the first play from scrimmage to knot it at 7 with 8:57 to go.
Salesian made it 14-7 on a 29-yard run by Deommodore Lenoir with 5:20 left in the opening quarter.
Houshoulder hauled in a 14-yard pass from Gibbs to make it 14-14 with 2:42 left in the second quarter. However, the Mustangs took a 20-14 lead on a 12-yard run by Urael Blackshear with 42.5 seconds left in the first half.
On Salesian’s first possession of the second half, quarterback Damien Wright broke free for a 62-yard touchdown run to extend the lead to 27-14 with 10:42 to play in the third quarter. A Tezino three-yard run made it 34-14 with 2:06 to go in the third stanza.
Burbank and Salesian swapped a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
A one-yard run by Tony Toledo brought Burbank to within 34-20 with 10:52 remaining. Jeremy Kelly of Silesian then caught a 22-yard touchdown pass from Wright to make it 41-20 with 7:03 to go.
Kevin Scott intercepted a pass by Gibbs and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown to give the Mustangs a 48-20 advantage with 5:30 remaining.
Toledo (120 yards rushing in 17 carries) closed out the scoring with a 57-yard run with 12 seconds to go.