Schurr Stops Burbank Two Times Late in Game, 18-14

There were no secrets, nothing fancy in this Foothill League game played at Montebello High on Friday.

Burbank had Abo Velasco, a gritty 5-7, 165-pound runner, and Schurr had Freddy Burgueno, equally as tough at 5-9, 180.

Velasco gained 167 yards on 35 carries, Burgueno 144 on 26. Not much difference.

There wasn’t much difference in the final score, either. Schurr 18, Burbank 14.

“We couldn’t get the ball in the end zone when we had to,” Burbank Coach Dave Carson said. “We were lacking that one ingredient. I think it’s called inner-discipline.”

Give Schurr credit, too.

Its defense stopped Burbank twice late in the game, first at Schurr’s one-yard line with four minutes left and then at the 35 with a minute to go.

The result puts both teams at 2-1 in the league, a game behind Hart, a big winner on Friday.

“It’s too bad close doesn’t count in this game,” Carson said, his disappointment obvious.

In the first half, Schurr controlled the pace by executing its option attack and led, 12-7.

On its first drive, Schurr moved 71 yards in 16 plays, taking more than eight minutes off the clock before quarterback Joe Cypert’s three-yard touchdown run. The kick was blocked.

But Burbank came back after the next kickoff, taking 18 plays and almost 10 minutes before Vargas ran in from the one-yard line with 4:36 left in the half.

Burbank’s 7-6 lead didn’t last long.

Another Burgueno-led drive netted a quick, six-play, 65-yard touchdown drive. Burgueno’s nine-yard touchdown gave him his 100th yard of the game.

Burbank regained the lead in the third quarter on Gabe Jimenez’s three-yard run with 8:12 left in the third quarter.

Schurr, however, came back again--this time on Cypert’s six-yard run off tackle.