By Vincent PAGE

As surely as crispness fills the air (though not necessarily in Southern California), falls means football. For La Crescenta, that meant last week making the trek to Burbank High School to watch the hometown Crescenta Valley Falcons take on the Burroughs Indians. Sitting at 6-0, the Falcons had their perfect record at stake in what is always one of the most anticipated matchups in the Falcons’ season. Thankfully their standings only improved at the end of play with a 38-14 victory.

Apart from the players on the field, Burroughs always brings a top tier game plan thanks to their coaching staff. CVHS has its own reputation for being well-coached and CV’s excellent mentors rightfully give credit when credit is due.

“There’s no better-coached team in the league than Burroughs. Their coaching staff over there has all of my respect. No tricks with them or us; they line up and run the ball, we line up and run the ball,” explained defensive coordinator Dennis Gossard. On Friday night, that is exactly what happened.

Both teams found success running the ball. Crescenta Valley was without starting running back Joe Suh, who has amassed 640 total yards on the season to go along with 11 total touchdowns. Early in the game, backup Daniel Cho was lost to injury as well.

This left the running game on the shoulders of quarterback Cole Doyle and third string running back Drake Barron. As the passing game stuttered (six of 15 for 77 yards), Barron and Doyle churned out yardage while also killing the clock. Barron was able to gain 72 yards on 12 carries, proving to be a reliable option should Suh or Cho miss any more field time.

Despite struggles throwing the ball, Doyle’s legs gave Burroughs’ defenders nightmares as he tore up the field with 158 yards on just 16 carries. When it came to scoring the ball, the team turned to starting safety and part time running back/wide receiver Angel Ochoa, who ran the ball in twice.

The Falcons showed a lot of resiliency last Friday night. This week, they face off against the Burbank Bulldogs (5-2, 4-0 in league). It is the homecoming game for CVHS, and the last time the Falcons hosted Burbank for its homecoming game, they won on a double pass in overtime in what was one of the most exciting finishes the Falcons have ever played. Despite the homecoming festivities at Moyse Field, this game also has major playoff implications.

“Now we can concentrate on Burbank,” Crescenta Valley coach Paul Shilling said after Friday’s win. “That game just might just be for the league title.”

  Alithea VALDEZ, Vincent PAGE