By Vincent PAGE

The dream season of the Crescenta Valley High School Falcons’ varsity football team came to an end on Friday night. They suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of the Burbank Bulldogs by a score of 37-20.

The Falcons came into the game with a perfect 7-0 record. Burbank was undefeated in league as well, and this game was most likely played with the Pacific League championship on the minds of players.

The Falcons came out of the gate slow whereas Burbank was dominant from the start. After scoring a touchdown in the first quarter, the Bulldogs owned the second quarter, adding 20 points to their total. The teams headed to the locker rooms at half with Burbank shutting out CVHS by a score 27-0.

The defense, along with a few turnovers from the Falcons offense, was not able to contain the dynamic rushing and passing attacks that Burbank brought to the field.

The Falcons didn’t let their first half woes affect their second half, though. The team came out in the second half as if it was an entirely new game. They scored 14 unanswered points in the third quarter as quarterback Cole Doyle carried the offense after a poor showing in the first half. The defense was forcing turnovers as well. The comeback was on for CVHS.

However, the polish of the homecoming magic soon wore off. After their previous overtime win against Burbank four years ago, the Bulldogs were not about to let the Falcons back into this game. They outscored the Falcons 10-6 in the final quarter, and went on to win 37-20.

For CV, they are still huge contenders in the CIF playoffs. While this team will not match the undefeated record of 2014, they still have huge potential. Winning the Pacific League will be tough, as the Falcons will need to win their final two games against Glendale and Arcadia while Burbank has to drop their final games against Muir and Burroughs. While Burroughs could be a potential loss, Muir would have to pull off a major upset.

At halftime of the game on Friday, senior running back Joe Suh, along with senior Charlotte Bullard, were crowned homecoming king and queen.

The Falcons look to get back into the groove of things tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 27 against Glendale High School. It will be a nice tune-up game for their regular season finale against the rival Arcadia Apaches.

  Vincent PAGE