Miscues trouble Bulldogs
VALENCIA — With its scoring inefficiencies, the Burbank High football team has small margin for error.
So when it committed bad snaps, fumbles, missed field goals and an interception, the Bulldogs ran through a series of problems Friday against host West Ranch.
The Wildcats turned those miscues into touchdowns and the Bulldogs absorbed a 41-7 nonleague loss at Valencia High.
Burbank (1-1) committed five errors that led to eventual touchdowns, including three in the opening half, as West Ranch went ahead, 21-0, at halftime.
The Bulldogs had a bad snap and two missed field goals that put West Ranch in scoring position all three times. In the second half, Burbank had a fumble and an interception that led to two more scores for West Ranch.
“It was just one of those days,” said Burbank Coach Hector Valencia, whose team edged out Warren, 10-3, last week. “When it rains, it pours.
“Every time we had a little bit of light, something hit us. And the little black cloud stayed with us all night.”
The Wildcats (2-0) scored on the game’s opening drive. And then, unable to get a first down on its first two drives, Burbank had a pair of bad snaps on fourth downs, including one that gave West Ranch the ball and a first-and-goal on the Bulldogs’ five-yard line.
The Wildcats scored on the first play.
On the ensuing drive, the Bulldogs advanced from their own 20-yard line to the West Ranch 14, but on fourth and 10, Burbank missed the field goal.
And on their next drive down, the Bulldogs, again, missed a field goal on a fourth-and-six play at the West Ranch 26.
“We just got to fix the little things,” said Burbank running back Teddy Arlington, who led the team with 40 rushing yards on nine carries. “They’re just a few mental mistakes, but we’ll figure it out.”
In the second half, a Bulldogs fumble at midfield led to a Wildcats touchdown three plays later, capped by a 19-yard Zahr Lyttle touchdown run.
Three plays after receiving the ball back, Burbank quarterback Austin Mowatt threw an interception that the Wildcats returned for a 47-yard touchdown and a 41-0 lead.
“The turnovers hurt us the most,” Valencia said. “That’s the biggest thing, we didn’t protect the ball tonight. We knew what we had to do, but we lacked execution today, big time. And that was the biggest flaw.
“We know we could run certain plays, but it’s the consistency that we’re still trying to learn.”
Mowatt completed four of 11 passes for 41 yards.
The Bulldogs had a balanced running attack, amassing 128 yards.
Quortney Brazier had 31 yards on 11 carries, second-best on the team. But Robert Fowlkes collected an efficient 28 yards on four carries. And sophomore Joseph Pendleton (16 yards, three carries) scored on a three-yard run with 3:04 left to play to end a scoreless drought.
“We’ll pick it up,” Valencia said. “We’re going to learn from our mistakes and I think we’ll be all right as the season goes on.
“Our offense will kick in. We just had a tough night.”
West Ranch finished with 148 rushing yards.
Little had 42 yards on five carries for a pair of touchdowns. Jeff Coprich (85 yards, 12 carries) also scored on an 11-yard run.
Wildcats quarterback Gerrit Mouw completed four of nine passes for 103 yards and a touchdown.