Burbank, Jimenez Gallop Past Alhambra, 20-3

They weren’t blue-suede shoes, but Burbank High running back Gabe Jimenez wore out his black and blue high-top cleats dashing through Alhambra’s defense.

Jimenez rushed 27 times for 128 yards and 2 touchdowns in Burbank’s 20-3 victory over Alhambra in a Foothill League opener Thursday night at East Los Angeles College.

Jimenez, who has 629 yards this season, scored first-half touchdowns on runs of five and eight yards as Burbank established a 14-3 halftime lead.

He rushed for 94 yards before intermission.

Yet Jimenez, who hurt his ankle in the second half, was disappointed with his final statistics.

“If I carried the ball 27 times, I expect more of myself,” Jimenez said. “My ankle started to hurt in the second half.”

Jimenez also caught 2 passes for 38 yards, returned 2 punts for 41 yards and intercepted a pass.

“I wished we had about 10 of him,” Burbank Coach Dave Carson said. “Physically, we thought they could pound us.

“The kids are playing well. They are playing with confidence.”

Burbank, which is 4-2 overall, added second-half field goals of 29 and 25 yards by Eugene Saldana .

Burbank’s defense intercepted quarterback Jesus Salazar three times in the second half and held Alhambra to 111 total yards in the game.

Alhambra, which dropped to 3-3, scored on a 31-yard field goal by George Fernandez.

Burbank quarterback Fred Castillo completed 7 of 10 passes for 73 yards.

The Bulldogs had 226 total yards.