Pacific League Preview: Play opens with Burbank, Burroughs, Crescenta Valley as favorites

When the Arcadia High and Glendale football teams get together at Moyse Field on Thursday evening, that contest will not only mark the beginning of the 2015 Pacific League season, but it will also kick off the 10th year of the league in its current form.

In 2006, the six-team grouping of Arcadia, Crescenta Valley, Glendale, Hoover, Muir and Pasadena welcomed two Foothill League castoffs in Burbank and Burroughs.

Since the league was assembled, six of eight teams have reached the postseason, four have won multiple playoff games, three have advanced to the divisional semifinals and one has captured a CIF Southern Section championship.

In the last nine seasons, Burbank has definitely enjoyed its success.

The Bulldogs have posted the third-best league record (41-22) over the last nine years, won a league title in 2009, reached the CIF semifinals in 2013 and have advanced to the playoffs in seven of nine years, while winning five playoff games.

This season, Burbank is off to a 1-2 start, having forfeited a 38-20 season-opening win at Monrovia due to the use of an illegible player. That contest was followed up with a 20-13 home loss to Ayala. Last week, though, Burbank responded with an impressive 35-6 victory over former Foothill League rival Canyon.

“The goal for the nonleague schedule was to give yourself some tough games, some challenges so that you can get ready for league,” Broussard said. “The thing is, everyone knows everyone else in league – their styles, the way they play – so there isn’t so much of a surprise. It’s an exciting time for all the teams because this is when the real season begins.”

It doesn’t get anymore real for Burbank then on Friday when the Bulldogs travel to facing defending Pacific League and Southeast Division champion Crescenta Valley (2-1).

“Hey, you want to be the best, you want to be the champion, you have to beat the champion,” Broussard said.

The formula is somewhat simple for Burbank. If the offense can generate points and keep its own defense on the sideline, then the team will have success such as was the case with Monrovia and Canyon. If the Burbank defense is forced to be on the field for a long duration, it can be worn down, such was in the case in the loss to Ayala as Burbank surrendered 20 straight points.

As for the Falcons (2-1), they are indeed a rare breed, as Crescenta Valley is the only league team to own a winning postseason record (6-3) over the last nine years, aided of course by a magical 4-0 playoff and 14-0 overall run last year.

This season, the Falcons have wins over Verdugo Hills (37-17) and La Cañada (35-3) with a tough loss to Golden Valley (39-20) sandwiched in between.

“Burbank is a major team to beat and probably on paper the favorite,” Crescenta Valley Coach Paul Schilling said. “Burroughs is also good and I hope we’re in that conversation again this year.”

Crescenta Valley had everything working for it last year, including a fantastic aerial assault, a gritty ground game and a defense that created turnovers and made stops.

While the Falcons haven’t resembled last year’s senior-laden squad, they’ve shown glimpses. Junior running back Brandon Beardt rushed for 113 yards versus Verdugo Hills, while the team generated three turnovers against La Cañada. Even quarterback Tyler Hill has shown progression as he’s grown more comfortable in the pocket.

Maybe no squad has a better resume heading into Pacific League play than does Burroughs (2-1), which opens with a challenge in hosting Muir Friday.

Burroughs hung with transfer haven Calabasas before ultimately falling, 45-25, in the season opener.

Since the loss, Burroughs responded with convincing wins over Rosemead (49-15) and Santa Fe (42-3) the last two weeks.

“It’s going to be hard again in league,” Burroughs Coach Keith Knoop said, “but we’d like to think we have a shot at winning the league championship.”

Burroughs was the model of league consistency as the program won four league titles between 2006-11, while having made the playoffs in each of those seasons. Since 2011, however, Burroughs has only been to the postseason once.

Yet, this could be the year Burroughs returns to the top of the league as the squad boasts a workhorse back in Chance Bell (414 rushing yards and six touchdowns), a solid receiver in Chad Borland (13 receptions for 185 yards and two touchdowns) and a solid defensive lineman in Cole Gurley (3 1/2 sacks).

Plus, senior quarterback Steven Hubbell has thrown for four touchdowns in back-to-back games.

“CV is well-coached and they have some great players,” Knoop said. “Arcadia and Pasadena will be improved. Muir always has the athletes and they played a tough nonleague schedule. And then you have a very good Burbank team.”

Expectations are slightly tempered at Glendale, but that doesn’t mean first-year coach George Maiale is looking for solely moral victories.

“So far, this has been a real learning experience,” Maiale said. “Look, I want to win every game we play, no question about it, but I also have other goals.

“This team gets excited for the Hoover game and for the CV game and we don’t seem to have that same energy talking about other teams. We have to be ready for everyone and we have to change our perception.”

Glendale opened with a 27-17 win at San Gabriel to start the year, but has since suffered a 22-9 loss to La Cañada and a 51-21 defeat to South Pasadena.

The Nitros (1-2) open with Arcadia (1-2) at home on Thursday.

Much of Glendale’s success is tied to junior quarterback Tyler Artavia’s ability to run Maiale’s up-tempo spread offense.

Defensively, Glendale needs to find a way to produce pressure up front.

Cross-town archrival Hoover is also emphasizing much more than just winning.

The Tornadoes have the advantage of coming off a bye after losses of 41-0 and 44-6 to Hollywood and South Pasadena, respectively, with a 41-18 win over Sotomayor in between.

“We had a bye week this week and we had a lot to clean up,” Hoover Coach Matt Andersen said. “Offensively and defensively, we were just making little mistakes on film that we shouldn’t be making and that’s because we’re a young team.”

Seemingly the biggest hurdle for Hoover on a year-to-year basis is injuries, which stretch a roster thin.

Andersen has a listed roster of 34, but the coach has fewer than 30 available for Hoover’s opener at Pasadena on Friday.

Speaking of Pasadena, perhaps 2015 is the year the Bulldogs get back into the playoffs after a three-year hiatus.

The team is 2-1 with shutout victories over South El Monte (20-0) and Artesia (35-0) under its belt and a rough 33-6 loss to West Ranch also on the schedule.

Pasadena is led by head coach Doug Bledsoe, a former two-year starter and All-Western State Conference lineman at Glendale Community College.

“We believe we can compete for the Pacific League title,” Bledsoe wrote via email, “but we believe Burroughs and Burbank are the teams to beat.”

Pasadena has a trio of talented players in wide receiver Tyrek Adams (325 receiving yards and four touchdowns), running back Jeremiah Jones (443 rushing yards and three touchdowns) and linebacker EJ Quarles (28 tackles and seven sacks).

From a historical standpoint, no one has done better in the Pacific League than Muir.

Muir has posted the best overall nonleague record (70-36), the top mark in league (53-10) and has won the most playoff games (seven) over the past nine years.

Yet, the Mustangs are 0-3 under new coach Antyone Sims, who inherited a demanding nonleague schedule consisting of Salesian (3-1), Cathedral (3-0) and Hart (3-0).

One of the more interesting squads is Arcadia, which could be on an uptick under former Hoover Coach Andrew Policky.

While the Apaches are 1-2, they’ve hung with both Bell Gardens (42-37) and Monrovia (60-45) and are coming off a last-second victory, 21-20, over Maranatha.

Arcadia quarterback Nico Hillier is averaging 233 yards per game and has thrown for seven touchdowns.