Playoff droughts end in Burbank

There didn’t figure to be much competition for use of the Burbank Burroughs High football stadium in the quarterfinals of the Southern Section playoffs.

Among the three teams that use the stadium as their home field, Burroughs had not won a playoff game since 1987, Burbank Bell-Jeff had not won since 1954 and Burbank had not won since 1927.

“I don’t think there’s anybody alive who was at the last one,” Burbank Coach Ted Amorosi quipped Saturday.

There certainly is now.

Burbank upset second-seeded Santa Fe Springs Santa Fe, 20-14, on Friday night in a Southeast Division first-round playoff game, ending its playoff drought about the same time Bell-Jeff finished off a 28-21 victory over Anaheim Fairmont Prep in the Northeast Division.

Only Burroughs fell short, losing to Rowland Heights Rowland, 22-21, in the Southeast Division.

Since Burbank and Bell-Jeff were both awarded home games in the quarterfinals, the Bulldogs (6-5) will play host to West Covina (9-2) on Friday and the Guards (8-3) will play host to Temecula Linfield Christian (9-2) on Saturday.

“It’s absolutely a great thing for both programs,” said Amorosi, who is in his second year at Burbank. “We talked about this group being the face of the program for years to come and I think they’ve done that.”

Bell-Jeff Coach Rolando Aguirre said his team was also eager to score a victory for the Santa Fe League after continually losing in the first round despite winning three league titles since 2000.

“We showed our league is no longer the cellar of the division,” Aguirre said.

A-11 rolls a zero

Tradition trumped a trendy new offense when Mojave upset top-seeded San Juan Capistrano Saddleback Valley Christian, 35-14, in a Northeast Division first-round game at San Juan Capistrano JSerra High.

Mojave’s conventional single-back formation proved more effective than Saddleback Valley Christian’s A-11 offense, a spread formation in which all 11 players are potentially eligible to receive a pass. The Warriors had averaged 32.5 points before the playoffs.

“We settled on trying to find the eligible guys and match up with them and bring some speed off the edges so they wouldn’t have a lot of time in the backfield,” Mojave Coach Larry Satterfield said. “We gave up yards but not a lot of points.”

Junior running back Darren Johnson had 213 yards and two touchdowns for the Mustangs (6-5), who will play host to Yermo Silver Valley (7-4) in a quarterfinal Friday.

Playoff tidbits

Matt Barkley’s 142 yards passing during Santa Ana Mater Dei’s 35-15 victory over Long Beach Jordan moved the senior quarterback past Todd Marinovich as the all-time passing leader in Orange County. Barkley has 9,238 yards, ranking him seventh on the all-time Southern Section list. The Monarchs’ triumph also gave Coach Bruce Rollinson his 200th victory. . . . La Habra scored touchdowns on 12 of 14 possessions during an 83-0 victory over Anaheim in which the Highlanders are believed to have set a section record for points in a playoff game. . . . Westlake Village Oaks Christian quarterback Trevor Gretzky, son of hockey Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky, scored his first varsity touchdown on a one-yard plunge in the fourth quarter of the Lions’ 64-14 victory over South Torrance. . . . Santa Clara standout running back Cierre Wood, limited by a sprained ankle suffered two weeks ago, was held to zero yards in four carries during the Saints’ 42-0 loss to El Segundo. . . . Banning’s 13-12 victory over Fontana Kaiser marked the final game in the coaching career of Dick Bruich, who in his 31-year career built powerhouse programs at Kaiser and Fontana highs.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

High school football playoffs

This week’s schedule of games in the Southland:

CITY

Quarterfinals, Wednesday, 7 p.m.

CITY CHAMPIONSHIP

Birmingham at Narbonne

Los Angeles Jordan at Crenshaw

San Fernando at Taft

Venice at San Pedro

INVITATIONAL

Huntington Park at Arleta

Los Angeles Wilson at Fairfax

West Adams at Franklin

El Camino Real at Los Angeles Roosevelt

8 MAN

Semifinals, Wednesday, 7 p.m.

View Park Prep at Fulton Prep

Animo South Los Angeles at Annenberg

SOUTHERN SECTION

Quarterfinals, Friday, 7:30 p.m.

PAC-5 (I)

Long Beach Poly at Esperanza

Mission Viejo at Lakewood

Mater Dei at Tesoro

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame at Orange Lutheran

INLAND (II)

Corona Centennial at Vista Murrieta

Miller at Murrieta Valley

Redlands East Valley at Chaparral

Riverside North at Norco

WESTERN (III)

Beverly Hills at Palmdale

Warren at Mira Costa

Quartz Hill at Lynwood

Alemany at Culver City

NORTHERN (IV)

St. Bonaventure at Paso Robles

Thousand Oaks at Saugus

Valencia at Westlake

Moorpark at Atascadero

CENTRAL (V)

Paloma Valley at Rancho Cucamonga

Cajon at Ayala

Glendora at Upland

Los Osos at Chino Hills

SOUTHWEST (VI)

Tustin at Garden Grove Pacifica

Fullerton at Anaheim Canyon

Western at Trabuco Hills

La Habra at El Dorado

SOUTHEAST (VII)

Crescenta Valley at Charter Oak

Rowland at La Serna

Diamond Ranch at South Hills

West Covina at Burbank

EASTERN (VIII)

Citrus Hill at Palm Desert

Serrano at Banning

Palm Springs at Barstow

Hesperia at Silverado

SOUTHERN (IX)

Laguna Hills at Garden Grove Santiago

Irvine at Norwalk

Mayfair at Los Amigos

Corona del Mar at Laguna Beach

NORTHWEST (X)

Pioneer Valley at Oaks Christian

Harvard-Westlake at Morro Bay

Santa Maria St. Joseph at El Segundo

Verbum Dei at Gardena Serra

MID-VALLEY (XI)

Monrovia at Duarte

San Dimas at Rosemead

Paraclete at Northview

Temple City at Azusa

EAST VALLEY (XII)

St. Margaret’s at Yucca Valley

Maranatha at Big Bear

Aquinas at Twentynine Palms

Brentwood at Fillmore

NORTHEAST (XIII)

Silver Valley at Mojave

St. Genevieve at Riverside Christian

Linfield Christian at Bell-Jeff

Rio Hondo Prep at Boron

8 MAN DIVISION I

Semifinals, Friday/Saturday

Thacher at Faith Baptist

Santa Clarita Christian at Windward

8 MAN DIVISION II

Semifinals, Friday/Saturday

Big Pine at Joshua Springs

Desert Chapel at North County Christian

Note-Times and or sites are subject to change. For Saturday’s scores, please see PAGE 9.