Top 10 Sports Stories of the Year: Burbank football makes history
Burbank High’s Lalo Barragan, right, and his Bulldogs finished second in the Pacific League and advanced all the way to the CIF Southern Section Division VIII Championship game for the first time in school history.
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Throughout the past calendar year, the city of Burbank experienced its share of important, interesting and significant sports stories.
Although many of the stories deserve recognition, a select few stood out above the rest.
Here is a list of the top 10 sports stories of 2016.
1. Burbank High football advances to first CIF championship game: The Bulldogs enjoyed their most successful season in the program’s 105-year history, qualifying for a CIF Southern Section championship game for the first time in school and city history.
Following a 6-1 showing for second place in the Pacific League, Burbank played its best in the Division VIII playoffs, downing Brea Olinda (52-32), No. 2 seed Northview (30-27) and No. 4 Don Lugo (44-14) to earn a berth in the final.
However on a cold and windy night, the Bulldogs fell short of winning the program’s first crown with a 31-21 loss to Yorba Linda on Dec. 2.
“I wish we could have accomplished just a little bit more and we didn’t do it,” Burbank Coach Richard Broussard said, “but it’s cool to make history and it’s cool to be a first. I’ll never diminish that. This group of kids is special and they’ve done a lot for this school.”
The Bulldogs, who finished the season at 10-4, were led by a group of seniors that included quarterback Guy Gibbs, receiver/defensive back Forest Fajardo, linebacker Jake Kelley and running back Nick Warren.
Just five days after the championship run concluded, Broussard announced he had stepped down after three seasons with the program. Broussard, who said he tendered his registration in November, wouldn’t go into specific details, but said it was not football related.
“Waking up and coming to work has been hard for me and really the only thing that made my day was practice and being around the football stuff,” said Broussard, who had been with the football program since 2008. “At the end of the day, I just wasn’t myself because of what I was dealing with for six hours of my day. I just couldn’t live like that.
“So, I’m just taking some time to evaluate what it is I’m doing with myself. I’m doing some soul searching and trying to figure out how to get back to me and live the way that I want to live. I really want to see what’s next for me.”
2. Burroughs High boys’ water polo wins historic CIF championship: The Indians were able to accomplish a rare feat when they won a CIF Southern Section Division V on Nov. 19 at William Woollett Jr. Aquatic Center in Irvine.
The Burroughs High boys’ water polo team poses with their championship plaque after defeating San Juan Hills, 12-7, in the CIF Southern Section Division V Championship at Irvine’s William Woollett Jr. Aquatic Center.
It was only the second CIF Southern Section team title in any sport in the 68-year history of Burroughs High, the other being a boys’ cross-country championship in 2014. It was also the first water polo title won by a team in the city.
In the title match, Burroughs (25-6) — which finished second in the Pacific League — defeated San Juan Hills, 12-7, for the championship. Coach Jabob Cook’s squad was paced by a fine defensive effort and received four goals apiece from Aram Nordanyan and David Arakelyan and three from JJ Ambartsumyan. Goalkeeper Andre Abramyan finished with 11 saves.
“It’s sunk in a little bit already, but it’s an unbelievable feeling right now for the school and the area,” Cook said. “We had to go out there and work hard and prove ourselves throughout the playoffs.
“We knew that we had to play very good defense to give us a chance. That’s exactly what they did. Our guys went out there and did the job. They get the credit.”
3. Burroughs High boys’ volleyball enjoys phenomenal season: From dominant Pacific League play, to a run to a CIF championship match to a Southern California Regional title, the Indians enjoyed a wealth of success never seen in the city prior to the 2015-16 season.
Burroughs boys’ volleyball Coach Joel Brinton holds up the CIF Southern California Championship plaque after his Indians won the title.
The culmination of the season came in June when Burroughs captured the CIF Southern California Regional Division II championship. Under the direction of coach Joel Brinton, Burroughs defeated top-seeded Oak Park (25-23, 22-25, 25-23, 25-21) to claim the title and exact some revenge.
It was the first Southern California Regional crown for the school or the city in any sport.
In addition, the Indians advanced to the Southern Section Division II title contest, losing to Oak Park in five games to set the stage for the drama of the SoCal finals win.
Led by All-Area Boys’ Volleyball Player of the Year Ryan Van Loo, Burroughs (31-6) went 12-0 in the Pacific League, losing just five games, and ran its league undefeated streak to 43 matches.
4. Turnaround season includes CIF title berth, state playoff success for Bellarmine-Jefferson girls’ basketball: Though the Guards began the season with nine straight losses, they were able to reverse their fortunes and enjoy one of the most successful campaigns in years.
In the two seasons prior to the 2015-16 campaign , Bell-Jeff went a combined 5-26 and 2-16 in the Santa Fe League. But the Guards rebounded, finished second in league and qualified for the postseason for the first time since 2013.
In the CIF Southern Section Division VI playoffs, Bell-Jeff breezed through the first three rounds, earning wins against Lancaster Baptist (47-23), Brethren Christian (63-28) and Crossroads Christian (59-27) for an average margin of victory of 30.3 points. In the semifinals on the road, the third-seeded Guards defeated No. 2 California Lutheran, 57-51. However, in the title game Bell-Jeff lost to Los Angeles Price, 62-40.
Led by All-CIF players Claire Borot, Cosette Balmy and Dalila Rincan, the Guards moved on to win three games in the CIF Division V State Tournament, as the program made its first state playoff appearance in four seasons.
5. Burroughs High softball advances to first CIF semifinal: It was uncharted territory for the Indians when they played their way to the CIF Southern Section Division III final four.
Paced by pitcher Presley Miraglia, the All-Area Softball Player of the Year, Burroughs (25-4) went 14-0 to win the Pacific League title by three games for the program’s second straight championship.
Kaitlin Okimoto, of the Burroughs softball team, smiles with her softball uniform at graduation after her squad made a surprising run to the CIF Southern Section semifinals.
In the playoffs, Burroughs defeated Tesoro (8-0), Irvine (4-2) and Norwalk (4-0 in nine innings) to earn a berth in the program’s first semifinal. Unfortunately for the Indians, they fell short of making it to their first final when they lost to Grand Terrace (7-0), on May 31.
Five weeks after the conclusion of the season, coach Doug Nicol resigned after leading the Burroughs program for six seasons.
“I didn’t want to step down at a time when the program was losing all these kids and people would think that I’m getting out because of that,” Nicol said. “But this program has some very good players who are coming back and the talent is there and I think they should be favored to win the Pacific League next season.”
6. Burroughs High boys’ basketball turns in surprising semifinal run: Despite some up-and-down play in the Pacific League, the Indians were consistently stellar in the CIF Southern Section Division I-A playoffs.
In Pacific League play, the Indians (22-8) went 9-5 and finished tied for third place with Crescenta Valley. Burroughs peaked during the playoffs, earning victories against Alhambra, Beaumont and Vista Murrieta to advance to the semifinals, where it lost to eventual division champion Santa Monica, 68-45, on Feb. 26.
Burroughs High’s Angelo Solis and Tristen Hull helped led the Indians on a wild and unexpected ride all the way to the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section playoffs.
It was the first time Burroughs advanced to the semifinals in 26 years and only the third semifinal appearance in school history.
Burroughs was paced by All-CIF players Tristen Hull and Steven Hubbell, the 2015-16 Leader Boys’ Athlete of the Year.
Less than a month after the semifinal run, Indians Coach Adam Hochberg stepped down after piloting the program for seven seasons.
7. Burroughs High girls’ basketball wins another league crown, earns spot in second straight CIF semifinal: Led by All-CIF players Jordan Meltzer and Kamryn Cardenaz, the Indians put together another highly successful season.
Burroughs went 24-8 and was a perfect 14-0 in Pacific League competition, extending its league winning streak to 42 games.
The Burroughs girls’ basketball team reinforced its dominance in the Pacific League and advanced to the Division I-A playoff semifinals.
“A lot of people didn’t expect that much from us this season,” said Meltzer, a senior point guard. “They didn’t think that we were going to do very well in league because we lost a lot of players from last year. We know a lot of people doubted us. ... But I think we proved them wrong.”
The Indians advanced to the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section Division I-A playoffs for the second straight season, losing to Mira Costa, 47-39, on Feb 27.
8. CIF semifinals run, historic state playoff berth for Providence girls’ volleyball: The Pioneers made the most of their postseason berth after tying for third place in the Liberty League and earning a place in the playoffs via a coin flip.
Providence (20-9) earned Division VIII playoff victories against Rolling Hills Prep, Banning and No. 1 seed Gladstone to earn the program’s second trip to the semifinals and first since 2006. The Pioneers were denied advancement to their first championship after a four-game loss at Anaheim Katella on Nov. 8.
Providence’s head coach James Jimenez talks with his team during a timeout against Archer in Liberty League girls’ volleyball match at Providence High School on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2016.
Making its first-ever appearance in the CIF State Division IV playoffs, Providence lost to host San Diego Point Loma in three games in the Southern California Regional.
The Pioneers were led by All-CIF player Ava Midkiff, as well as Talia Patterson and Alyssa Camacho.
9. CIF realignment pays huge dividends in first fall for locals: It was change for the good for a number of local teams when the CIF Southern Section released its new playoff groupings for the 2016 fall season in June.
A number of football, boys’ water polo and girls’ volleyball programs moved down after the CIF divided teams into different postseason divisions regardless of leagues, much like the basketball playoffs.
In football, Burbank dropped from the Central Division, considered Division V by calpreps.com, to Division VIII. What resulted was the program’s first berth in a CIF championship game in its 105-year history.
In boys’ water polo, Burroughs dropped from Division IV to Division V. The Indians, who finished second in the Pacific League to a Hoover squad that played in Division II, made the most of their new placement, rolling to the program’s first CIF championship.
In girls’ volleyball, Providence was moved from Division IV-AA to Division VIII. In the playoffs, the Pioneers advanced to the semifinals for only the second time in program history. The team also qualified for the state playoffs for the first time.
10. Bell has record-breaking season for Burroughs football: The senior enjoyed one of the most productive seasons ever for an area running back during the 2016 campaign.
Burroughs’ Chance Bell, whose committed to San Diego State, set the school’s all-time career rushing record (4,535 yards) and the career scoring record with 367 total points.
Despite the Indians (4-6) finishing with a losing record and failing to advance to the CIF Southern Section playoffs, Bell proved to be a bright spot.
The San Diego State-bound Bell, the Pacific League co-Offensive Player of the Year, rushed for 2,023 yards and 27 touchdowns.
Bell broke the school career rushing record with 4,525 yards, besting Zander Anding’s 3,345 (2010-11). In addition, his yardage in 2016 ranks him second all-time for a single season behind Anding (2,686). Bell also shattered the career scoring record with 367 points, more than 100 points ahead of Anding (250).
“The rushing record was definitely something I had in mind before the season,” Bell said. “Zander Anding was a great running back and a good guy. It means a lot to break his record and I tried to put it out of reach, to be honest. I’m hoping I keep it for a while.”
Honorable mention: Burroughs High’s Emily Virtue wins Pacific League, finishes ninth in state cross-country meet; Sarah Prystupa of Burroughs finishes seventh in state in girls’ pole vault; led by Caitlyn Couch, Bellarmine-Jefferson girls’ cross-country team wins league, advances to state meet; Burbank boys’ basketball team advances to CIF quarterfinals.