Williams takes over for Burbank football in win against Inglewood
BURBANK — In 12 minutes, James Williams showed off his awesome talents, from his catching skills to his vision in the backfield to his burst of speed.
With his team holding a six-point lead in the second quarter, Williams simply took over.
The Burbank High junior had three touchdowns in the quarter, starting with a four-yard touchdown run and ending with a school-record 99-yard kickoff return for a score. In between, he had a spectacular 26-yard touchdown reception in between three defenders.
Williams’ second-quarter performance paved the way for a 50-12 nonleague victory Friday night against Inglewood at Memorial Field.
“He had outstanding plays,” Burbank Coach Hector Valencia said. “He really showed off his talents. He can do it all.”
Burbank running back Joseph Pendleton enjoyed watching his teammate run around — and through — Inglewood.
“It’s fun to see what he’s going to do,” said Pendleton, who had his own rushing touchdown in the second quarter and finished with 62 yards in 12 carries. “You never know what he’s going to pull off. It’s exciting.”
Williams finished with 93 rushing yards in 10 carries. The last time he touched the ball, he raced 49 yards down the middle of the field for his fourth score.
“It was all the blocking,” Williams said. “We’ve been improving on blocking for three weeks.”
He had some key blocks on his kickoff return.
Williams caught the ball inches in front of the end zone, and was so close that Valencia thought the referee was going to signal for a touchback. Williams took off and was barely touched for a 26-6 lead.
“And he added a punt return last week,” Valencia said.
While Valencia knew about Williams’ talents, he was worried about what Inglewood (1-2) could do.
His team lost to Inglewood, 21-14, in overtime last year on the road, and after watching tape this season, Valencia was concerned about the Sentinels’ speed.
His defense eased his concerns.
Inglewood’s running backs didn’t have much room to run, totaling 80 yards in 28 carries.
“We lost this game last year,” Valencia said. “We were nervous for this game, believe it or not. The kids put their heads together and pulled this off.”
Burbank quarterback Ryan Meredith and multi-purpose threat Martin Caro also helped the Bulldogs (3-0) pull off the victory, a week before the start of Pacific League play.
Meredith was eight of 16 for 185 yards and two touchdowns. His first score went to Caro, who took a short pass, evaded a tackler and finished off a 39-yard touchdown. Caro also added a four-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.