Some not happy with game
Edgar Melik-Stepanyan
Six local football players took part in the Seventh Annual Valley
Youth Conference East-West All-Star game.
Four of them had good experiences. The other two were glad
Saturday’s game finished as fast as it did.
There was a mix of emotions following the East team’s 17-7 loss at
Van Nuys Birmingham High.
Burroughs’ Cory Brownlee said he felt like he held his own against
some of the top players from elite schools, and teammates David
Brooks, T.J. McDonald and Alan West -- who will play at University of
Pennsylvania in the fall -- saw plenty of playing time in a dull, and
sometimes boring, game.
The other two area players -- John Dincher and Brian Hwang of
Burbank -- wanted to leave the Birmingham High field as soon as
possible, after all of the locals played for the East team.
Dincher felt privileged to start the game at slot receiver, but
that’s where the fun stopped. The East quarterbacks, Marcel Marquez
of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame and Jacob McCravey of Palmdale, didn’t get
a lot of protection from a shaky offensive live that wasn’t used to
playing with each other. As a result, both had to constantly scramble
and force bad passes.
Dincher, who said he’ll probably play football for Coach John
Cicuto at Glendale Community College in the fall, had one pass thrown
his way, and that came in the fourth quarter. He hauled in a 20-yard
pass from McCravey with less than two minutes left.
“It was the most frustrating thing I’ve gone through,” Dincher
said.
Despite not being allowed to get involved in his team’s offense,
Dincher said several good things came out of the game.
“I learned how to control myself while sitting on the sidelines,
and I learned how to be patient,” he said. “I had fun taking my
frustration out on kickoff return, though.”
Hwang didn’t play much and wasn’t in a very talkative mood
afterward.
The Burroughs’ players were happy to be able to make an impact.
“This wasn’t a big challenge for us,” said West, a defensive
lineman who had two tackles. “We play much bigger linemen [in the
Foothill League]. It was just like playing Hart or Valencia.”
Brownlee, who picked up a fumble that bounced right in front of
him and had four tackles, said the game was a good experience.
“I wanted to see if I could play with these guys at a high level,”
he said.
Brooks -- who has signed with Weber State -- finished with two
tackles.