Bell-Jeff football team faces toughest test of the year in league opener

FOOTBALL PREVIEW

BELL-JEFF VS. ST. GENEVIEVE

WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday.

WHERE: Memorial Field (Burroughs High).

RECORDS: The Guards are 4-2; the Valiants are 6-0.

LAST WEEK: Bell-Jeff defeated Silver Valley, 36-24; St. Genevieve defeated Frazier Mountain, 50-39.

Bulldogs, Indians look to stay undefeated in league

Casey Barbello carries the ball for Burroughs High (Roger Wilson/The Leader).

FOOTBALL PREVIEWS

BURROUGHS VS. PASADENA

WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursday.

WHERE: Memorial Field (Burroughs High).

RECORDS: The Indians are 3-2, 2-0 in the Pacific League; the Bulldogs are 3-2, 2-0.

LAST WEEK: Burroughs defeated Hoover, 45-7; Pasadena defeated Arcadia, 19-14.

OUTLOOK: Heading into the game, the Indians trail just Pasadena, 73-80, for fewest points allowed by Pacific League teams this season. The Bulldogs might be a tough team to figure out. Although Pasadena barely beat a weak Hoover team, 21-13, it also defeated Long Beach Jordan, 19-13, and lost to a good program in Saugus, 17-7. The two teams, along with Burbank, are the only undefeated squads left in league.

SOMETHING INTERESTING: The Indians didn’t crack the CIF Southern Section Southeast Division poll this week, but the team is listed as “others.”

Big wins have football teams rolling for this week’s games

Burbank had a lot to celebrate last week with in a 42-14 league win against Crescenta Valley (Roger Wilson/The Leader)FOOTBALL PREVIEWS

BURROUGHS VS. HOOVER

WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursday.

WHERE: Memorial Field.

RECORDS: The Indians are 2-2, 1-0 in the Pacific League; the Tornadoes are 1-3, 0-1.

LAST WEEK: Burroughs defeated Muir, 9-6; Hoover lost to Pasadena, 21-13.

OUTLOOK: The Indians go down a few notches as far as opponents go in their Pacific League game against the Tornadoes. Hoover’s lone win was a 16-13 triumph against South Pasadena. Hoover doesn’t score a lot of points, as it is averaging 11 per game. The team’s offense is paced by quarterback A.J. Pule (32 of 64 passing for 436 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions). It was the Burroughs defense that stepped last week in the win against the defending league champions. Senior linebacker Charlie Hosea continues to pace the defensive charge, as he leads the team with 47 tackles and averages nearly 12 a game.

Bell-Jeff football goes into game missing key players

Bell-Jeff quarterback Philip Diaz is injured for Saturday's game against Crean Lutheran South (Roger Wilson/The Leader).

FOOTBALL PREVIEW

BELL-JEFF VS. CREAN LUTHERAN SOUTH

WHEN: 7 p.m. Saturday.

WHERE: Memorial Field (Burroughs High).

RECORDS: The Guards are 2-2; the Saints are 0-2.

LAST WEEK: Bell-Jeff lost to Frazier Mountain, 52-14; Crean Lutheran South lost to San Diego Jewish Academy, 67-0.

OUTLOOK: The Guards come into the nonleague game with two of  their top players injured. Both players were hurt in last week’s loss to Frazier Mountain. Junior starting quarterback Philip Diaz suffered a concussion on a late hit and had to be helped off the field. “A concussion usually takes at least a week to get over,” Bell-Jeff Coach Rolando Aguirre said. “But his doctor said he could be out two to three weeks.”

Burbank, Burroughs football teams open Pacific League play

Burbank quarterback Adam Colman leads the Bulldogs into their league opener against Crescenta Valley (Dan Watson/The Leader).

BURBANK VS. CRESCENTA VALLEY

WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday.

WHERE: Moyse Field (Glendale High).  RECORDS: The Bulldogs and Falcons are both 2-1.

LAST WEEK: Burbank had a bye; Crescenta Valley defeated La Cañada, 28-35.

OUTLOOK: The Bulldogs should be well rested for the Pacific League opener after having last week off with a bye. The Bulldogs’ only loss was a 17-14 setback in overtime to Chaminade in the first week of the season. The Falcons needed a late field last week to gain the win against the Spartans. The team has a solid running back in senior Harry Pessy, who gained 226 yards in 17 carries last week. Burbank junior quarterback Adam Colman has completed 32 of 62 passes for 508 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions.

SOMETHING INTERESTING: The Falcons are ranked No. 5 in the CIF Southern Section Southeast Division. The Bulldogs are No. 8 in the same division.

Burbank football team ranked among the top 10 in its division

Coach Hector Valencia has the Burbank High football team off to a 2-1 start (Raul Roa/The Leader).

Over the past few seasons, the Bellarmine-Jefferson High and Burroughs football teams have been ranked among the top 10 in their respective CIF Southern Section divisions.

In fact, this season the Guards have been ranked as high as forth in the Northwest Division and the Indians were ranked as high as fifth in the Southeast Division.

This week, Burbank cracked the top 10 in the Southeast Division, coming in at No. 8.

The Bulldogs were not ranked last week.

Burbank is having a fine season under first-year Coach Hector Valencia. The Bulldogs are 2-1, with the only loss coming in overtime to host Chaminade, 17-14.

Yanez comes up big for Burroughs football

Burroughs High uarterback Lucas Yanez scored four touchdowns Thursday in a 34-12 win (Scott Smeltzer/The Leader).

Despite being just 5-foot-9 and 165 pounds (and that’s pushing it), Burroughs High quarterback Lucas Yanez has the ability to come up big for the Indians’ football team.

In a nonleague game against South Torrance Thursday, Yanez gave Burroughs a huge effort, and helped the team earn a 34-12 win against the visiting Spartans.

Yanez, a junior, was productive through the air and on the ground, scoring four touchdowns, in helping Burroughs (1-1) notch its first win of the year. Along with completing 12 of 15 passes for 170 yards and two touchdowns, Yanez also had 13 carries for 97 yards and two touchdowns.

When he finds no receivers open, Yanez often takes off in the open field. Despite his small stature, he has an amazing ability to find holes and fight for yardage.

Yanez got the Indians on the board in the second quarter when he scampered 21 yards for a touchdown. On the broken play, he first went to his left, found no daylight, then reversed his direction and sprinted into the right side of the endzone.

He also scored on a one-yard plunge with 40 seconds left in the first half.

Through the air, he hooked up with Kohl Adams-Herd on a 15-yard touchdown pass and hit Charlie Hosea on a 45-yard conversion.