Burroughs football breaks down CV

SOUTHEAST GLENDALE— In its previous game, the quarterback position was an afterthought for the Burroughs High football team, as it didn’t attempt a pass in the second half.

But quarterback Andrew Williams was back on the field for the Indians in Thursday night’s Pacific League game against host Crescenta Valley at Moyse Field and left a deep imprint on the game.

Williams managed an effective offensive effort for Burroughs and altered the game with a pair of huge runs after being flushed out of the pocket in the fourth quarter to preserve a 20-16 win, the team’s second in a row.

“I trust my O-line with all my heart, but what [CV] did was try to trip us up by bringing many guys on the outside and the kind of offense we are, we like to roll out and I have the ability to run and that was just ineffective to [stopping] what I can do,” said Williams (15 for 21 passing for 143 yards and 110 yards rushing in four carries). “My O-line, I’m really proud of them today, they got it done, but you’ve got to make big plays in games like this to win.”

Williams did just that, starting with an 89-yard run away from pressure in the backfield with the Indians pinned back at their own nine-yard line on third and long with 11:43 left in the fourth quarter. The ensuing one-yard score on an option pitch from Williams to Garrett Manoukian put the Indians up, 20-0. After Crescenta Valley answered with its first touchdown of the night on a 36-yard run by William Wang (92 yards rushing in 15 carries) to cap a 71-yard drive with 7:13 to play, Williams against scrambled for a 32-yard gain on third and nine from the Burroughs 36-yard line to keep an Indians drive alive. Although Burroughs wouldn’t get points on the drive, the extra minutes run off the clock and improved field position on an ensuing punt from the Falcons’ 35 were crucial in holding off Crescenta Valley’s comeback.

“To be honest, I should have scored on both of those plays,” Williams said.

Crescenta Valley’s offense was stagnant through the first three quarters, racking up just 103 total yards, with fumbling issues wrecking any semblance of momentum. The Falcons lost two fumbles in the first half and mishandled two more snap exchanges in one third quarter drive for a loss of 14 total yards, forcing a punt. The Indians scored a touchdown on a two-yard run by Israel Montes (107 yards rushing and two touchdowns in 17 carries) to go up, 13-0, on the ensuing possession.

“We were a little bit off in that,” Crescenta Valley Coach Paul Schilling said. “The funny thing is [the Indians] have been doing that in all their games. They figured it out and then we caught the disease of not getting the snap down.”

Burroughs played its own worst enemy at times, too, committing 10 penalties for 105 yards, including consecutive pass interference calls on the Falcons’ final scoring drive, that saw quarterback Joe Torres move the ball 80 yards to pull within 20-14 on a 12-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Tavizon with six seconds left.

But the Falcons’ mistakes proved to be costlier, especially a Tavizon fumble at the end of run with 5:03 left in the first quarter that gave the Indians the ball at midfield an set up a scoring drive for the Indians culminating in Montes’ 25-yard burst up the middle for a 7-0 lead with 2:39 in the first.

“That’s the play of the game,” Schilling said. “That was a huge play because that was the only touchdown [in the first half]. We were playing great defense. ...That sort of let the wind out.”

Torres (eight for 17 for 89 yards) also lost a fumble while being sacked with 38 seconds left in the second quarter. Burroughs’ Jason Hamm recovered the ball at the CV 43, but the Falcons caught a break when a 39-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left to end the half..

“Every game this is how our season’s gone,” said Schilling, whose team was coming off a win over Pasadena. “We play a good game and then we come back all confident and we don’t do what we’re supposed to do.”