Indians run past Hoover
SOUTHEAST GLENDALE — Hoover High football Coach Andrew Policky heard different rumors about whether Burroughs standout running back Zander Anding would return to the lineup in time for Thursday’s Pacific League contest between the Tornadoes and Indians.
Policky didn’t take any chances, guessing correctly that Anding would suit up for the first time after he suffered a partially collapsed lung on Oct. 20.
Anding did well in limited action, as he rushed for 220 yards in only six carries and scored a pair of touchdowns to lead Burroughs to a 42-14 victory at Glendale High’s Moyse Field.
“I had heard it would be 50-50 that he would play, but we had a feeling he might be in there,” Policky said. “He’s very good.
“We played as hard as we could play against him and that team. We ran the ball effectively, but we were just outmanned at every position defensively.”
Hoover dropped to 0-9, 0-6 in league, while Burroughs improved to 5-4, 5-1. The Indians have shared the league championship the past two seasons and are tied for first this season.
Burroughs Coach Keith Knoop said Anding was cleared to play Thursday afternoon. Anding, who entered the game with 1,883 yards rushing in 154 carries and 19 touchdowns, didn’t enter the game until the start of the second quarter. Burroughs had one possession in the first quarter.
Anding entered action Thursday having rushed for more than 300 yards in four straight games played. That left him one behind former Ventura High and UCLA standout Tyler Ebell, who holds the state record with five.
“He was awesome, but we decided to not give him the ball more as we tried to work some more on our passing game,” Knoop said. “Our players knew that they had a poor performance last week against Muir.
“The goal for us was to become more dynamic and we could throw to a bunch of different receivers.”
Burroughs quarterback Brad Hunt tossed three touchdown passes. The right-hander completed eight of 11 passes for 95 yards.
Burroughs scored on its first possession on an eight-yard run by Damien Beltran to make it 7-0 with 6:19 left in the opening quarter.
Anding played a significant role on Burroughs’ next possession in the second quarter. His first rush went for 37 yards before going another 29 over three carries. Hunt completed the drive when he tossed a three-yard pass to wide receiver Charjee Brown to make it 14-0 with 7:52 remaining.
Hunt then connected with wide receiver Eli Peppmuller with two minutes left in the first half to extend the advantage to 21-0.
Anding then scored on a 90-yard run with 7:30 left in the third quarter to make it 28-0.
The Tornadoes pulled to within 28-8 on a one-yard run by tailback Luke Tabayoyong with 7:54 remaining in the fourth quarter. Tabayoyong finished the contest with 92 yards rushing in 27 carries.
Anding scored on a 64-yard run on the ensuing possession to give Burroughs a 35-8 lead 25 seconds later. Hunt threw a five-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Connor Kramme to extend the lead to 42-8 with 3:06 left before Hoover quarterback Alex Rangel closed out the scoring by throwing a 10-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Donovan Malone with 14 seconds left.
Hoover and Burroughs will close out the regular season with games against their cross-town rivals. Hoover will meet Glendale at 7 p.m. Thursday at Moyse Field in the “Battle for the Victory Bell.” Burroughs will battle Burbank at 7 p.m. Nov. 11 at Arcadia High.
