Week 1 football previews
BURBANK VS. WEST RANCH
WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursday.
WHERE: Memorial Field.
RECORDS: The Bulldogs are 1-0; the Wildcats are 0-1.
LAST WEEK: Burbank defeated Chatsworth, 39-3; West Ranch lost to Moorpark, 31-0.
OUTLOOK: It was a good start for the Bulldogs last week, as they opened their season with a solid Zero Week victory. The Burbank defense stepped up in the win, allowing the Chancellors just a field goal in the final 1:44. Senior quarterback Zak Tomlinson did a good job at running the Burbank offense and running backs James Williams, a sophomore, senior Teddy Arlington and junior Joseph Pendelton racked up the yardage. The Bulldogs will be going up against a West Ranch team led by senior quarterback Garrett Mouw. The Wildcats are coming off a 2011 season in which they went 4-0 in nonleague play and had a 1-4 record in the tough Foothill League. Neither the Bulldogs nor the Wildcats qualified for the CIF Southern Section playoffs last season.
SOMETHING INTERESTING: After playing all of its games on the road last season while Memorial Field was undergoing renovations, Burbank will play four of its first five games on its home field.
BURROUGHS VS. PARACLETE
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday.
WHERE: Memorial Field.
RECORDS: The Indians are 0-0; the Spirits are 0-1.
LAST WEEK: Burroughs did not play; Paraclete lost to Serrano, 42-20.
OUTLOOK: There is an interesting link between Burroughs Coach Keith Knoop and Paraclete Coach Norm Dahlia. When Knoop — who graduated from Burbank in 1981 — was a player for the Bulldogs, Dahlia was an assistant coach. The head coach was Marty Garrison, an athletic director at Burroughs. “He was just a tough player at Burbank High,” Dahlia said of Knoop, who was an All-CIF Southern Section lineman. “It’s nice to see what he’s done with the program over at Burroughs High. He and his family are just great people. I’m really proud of him.” Under Dahlia, Paraclete has been in three CIF championship games the past four years. The coach guided the squad to an East Valley Division title in 2010 by defeating Serra Canyon, 14-7, and captured a Mid-Valley Division crown in 2008 by downing Rosemead, 21-10. The Spirits have an outstanding player in senior linebacker Bryan Rodgers, who had 99 tackles last season (7.6 a game), earning him All-State honors. The Spirits have a fine running back in senior Antoyne Hutcherson (898 yards and 12 touchdowns last year). Burroughs will counter with a host of new players on offense. The Indians will be looking for someone to step up on offense after the graduation of Zander Anding, who gained 2,686 yards and had 30 total touchdowns in 2011. Likely getting the starting job at running back will be senior Israel Montes, who saw limited time behind Anding last season. This will be Burroughs’ first game at Memorial Field since 2010. “I’m looking forward to being back on that field,” said Dahlia, who graduated from Burbank in 1977.
SOMETHING INTERESTING: Paraclete, ranked No. 4 in the Mid-Valley Division, was 11-3 last season to finish runner-up in the Alpha League and Burroughs ended with a 6-5 record and was co-Pacific League champion.
Jeff Tully