Burroughs Football Eases Past Glendale, 64-7

Because the Burroughs High football team was playing Glendale on Thursday night at Memorial Field, the coaching staff decided the team would be more diverse offensively.

It was in a sense, but old reliable, senior tailback Chance Bell, had another outstanding effort as the Indians routed the Nitros 64-7 in a Pacific League contest.

Bell ran for 332 yards on 16 carries which equaled his career-best total earlier this season against Hoover. For good measure, Bell also scored six touchdowns.

But senior quarterback Hayden Zepeda connected on 10 of 15 attempts for 106 yards and unloaded two touchdowns.

Senior quarterback Hayden Zepeda passed for 106 yards and two touchdowns. (Photo by © Ross A. Benson)

“Our game plan was to come out and throw the ball,” Burroughs coach Mike Reily said. “We feel comfortable with our run game, but we wanted to make an effort to throw the ball.”

A running clock began with one minute left in the second quarter after Burroughs led by 50 points.

The Indians (4-3 and 3-1 in league) pulled ahead 35-7 in the first quarter and then added 22 points in the second quarter.

Bell’s one-yard carry with 10:06 left capped a 60-yard, six-play drive to make it 7-0.

It was 14-0 after Bell’s 49-yard jaunt and 8:58 on the clock, and became 21-7 with 6:48 showing on a 10-yard Bell burst.

Senior tailback Chance Bell equaled his career best with 332 yards. (Photo by © Ross A. Benson)

“The line and receivers are doing a great job for me,” said Bell, who had six carries of 20 yards or more. “Everybody’s doing what they’re supposed to be doing.”

Burroughs (479 total net yards) took command 28-7 after a Glendale (1-6 and 0-4 in league) punt traveled minus eight yards as the drive started at the Glendale 10.

Three plays later, Bell, who had 285 yards at the intermission on 12 carries, found the end zone on an 11-yard dash with 5:12 showing.

On the next series, the Indians scored on Zepeda’s 13-yard aerial to junior wide receiver Gavin Aguilar (44 yards on four catches) with 1:07 remaining to make it 35-7.

The Nitros were held on fourth and seven at the Indians 17-yard line, which set up Bell’s 83-yard sprint that included several zigs, zags and field reversals before he danced into the end zone with 8:59 left before the half.

Ben Peters added a six-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. (Photo by © Ross A. Benson)

Junior Jonathan Rivas was set to boot the extra point, but senior reserve signal-caller Gabriel Pellot instead added the two-point conversion to make it 43-7.

Bell was asked if he can see the holes before they open up.

“The game does slow down for me,” he said. “When I find the hole, I go for it.”

When Zepeda found senior wide receiver/running back Sammy Duran with a 10-yard toss and 7:22 on the clock, Burroughs darted ahead 50-7.

The Nitros were again stopped on fourth down, this time they needed two yards for the first down from the Glendale 28-yard line.

It took Bell one play to scamper in from 27 yards as 5:53 was left before the break and the Indians held a 57-7 lead.

The cushion became 64-7 when junior running back Ben Peters (35 yards on six rushes) delivered a six-yard run with 6:09 left in the fourth quarter.

Glendale’s only tally was a 74-yard pass from junior quarterback Sebastian Gonzalez to junior wide receiver Luis Alvarez about four minutes in the opening period that cut the lead to 14-7.

Burroughs travels to Glendale High’s Moyse Field on Friday night for a match against Crescenta Valley. The game commences at 7 p.m.