Crescenta Valley

BURBANK - Ahead late, the Burbank High football team could afford to trade touchdowns with Crescenta Valley in the second half of Friday night's Pacific League game and the Bulldogs certainly gave as good as they got, and then some, in their 38-21 win at Memorial Field. “We didn't dwell on what they did,” Burbank Coach Hector Valencia said. “We just said, 'OK we've got to take care of our business now and it showed.' They definitely pounded the ball on us, but we were bending and didn't break too much.” James Williams' 59-yard touchdown run, which capped off a 168-yard rushing night for the sophomore back, gave Burbank (5-2, 4-0 in league)

BURROUGHS VS. MUIR •WHEN : 7 p.m. Friday. •WHERE : Muir High. •RECORDS : The Indians are 2-4, 2-1 in the Pacific League; the Mustangs are 3-3, 3-0. •LAST WEEK : Burroughs defeated Crescenta Valley, 20-16; Muir defeated Glendale, 37-0. •OUTLOOK : The Indians were able to come through with a win last week to keep their hopes of winning a fourth straight league championship alive. However, Burroughs might be facing the toughest league opponent this season in Muir.

LA CRESCENTA - It was a battle for second place in the Pacific League when the Crescenta Valley High and Burbank girls' tennis teams met Thursday afternoon. With Arcadia already running away with the league, the Falcons and Bulldogs have been able to distance themselves from the remainder of the other squads in league. The winner Thursday would have the inside track for the league runner-up spot mid-way through the league campaign. Bolstered by a singles sweep, Burbank took a big step in that direction with a 13-5 victory at Crescenta Valley.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE - With the additional time spent in the batting cage, it's no wonder why the members of the Crescenta Valley 9-10 All-Star baseball team are prepared and confident when they step into the batter's box during a game. Nearly each day, all 13 of the Crescenta Valley players spend about 20 minutes apiece perfecting their swings in the cage. It's paved the way for success during the postseason. Crescenta Valley pounded out 13 hits Tuesday afternoon en route to a 14-1 victory against Burbank in the District 16 Tournament championship game at Babe Herman Field.

ARCADIA - On the surface, Thursday afternoon's Pacific League cross-country championships appeared little more than a large Arcadia High celebration. After all, the Apaches won both the boys' and girls' team titles and claimed each race's individual crown at Arcadia County Park. PHOTOS: Pacific League cross country final   Yet, quite a few local teams made noise, both surprisingly and expectedly, led by the Burbank boys and Crescenta Valley girls, who finished second in their respective races, while the Crescenta Valley and Burroughs boys and the Burbank and Hoover girls all earned spots to the CIF Southern Section divisional preliminaries at Mt. San Antonio College on Nov. 16. Maybe no team made a bigger splash than did the Division I fifth-ranked Bulldog boys, who appear to be surging and demonstrated their prowess by knocking off seventh-ranked Crescenta Valley for the first time this season, 47-63, for second place in league.

LA CRESCENTA — In 2006, its first season in the Pacific League, the success enjoyed by the Burroughs’ High girls’ volleyball team was a pleasant surprise. Welcoming almost all of their starters back, the Indians entered 2007 Pacific League play poised to surpass the accomplishments of last season, in which they went 15-9, placed third in league and reached the quarterfinals of the CIF playoffs for the first time in 20 years. With a 25-11, 25-22, 25-17 victory on Thursday against host Crescenta Valley, last year’s fourth-place team in league, the Indians ran their league record to 4-0 and are quickly emerging as one of the top teams in the Pacific League.

GLENDALE ? It was a Little League game, but coaches, fans and players didn't forget that it was a all-star championship contest. Tuesday's 9-10-year-old softball game between Crescenta Valley and Jewel City/Foothill/Burbank prompted coaches to exchange heated words with each other, fans to get upset at each other and players to bring out the best in each other. In the end, Crescenta Valley walked away with another title, as it defeated Burbank, 5-4, to win the District 16 crown for a second consecutive year at Scholl Canyon Field.

BURBANK — While its dominance temporarily wavered midway through Friday's Pacific League match, the Burroughs High boys' volleyball team regrouped in plenty of time to keep Crescenta Valley from getting close to an upset on the road. And although the Falcons made a strong run at getting back in the match after coming alive down the stretch in the second game, the Indians rediscovered their intensity in the third game to finish off their 25-13, 25-21, 25-17 sweep just as solidly as they began.

GLENDALE — The Crescenta Valley and Burbank Little League teams were living by the long ball Tuesday in the District 16 Major Baseball championship game. Eleven of the first 14 runs in the game came off of six home runs, as balls were being rocketed out of Babe Herman Field. And that was just through four innings. Although the teams split in the homer department, Crescenta Valley was able to score more runs off its dingers, as it downed Burbank, 8-6. The win avenges a 5-3 Crescenta Valley loss Monday against the same Burbank squad.

GLENDALE — For an hour, summer turned to winter. At least it seemed that way when the Crescenta Valley and Burbank high boys' basketball teams met Thursday afternoon during a pool-play game of the eighth annual Vaquero Summer Tip-Off Tournament at Glendale Community College. Crescenta Valley and Burbank are certainly no strangers to one another, as both are members of the Pacific League, but they found themselves squaring off in early July. Crescenta Valley got a game-high 17 points from guard Alan Bagatourian and 12 from forward Clayton Sierra to record a 64-57 victory against Burbank.

ARCADIA - On the surface, Thursday afternoon's Pacific League cross-country championships appeared little more than a large Arcadia High celebration. After all, the Apaches won both the boys' and girls' team titles and claimed each race's individual crown at Arcadia County Park. PHOTOS: Pacific League cross country final   Yet, quite a few local teams made noise, both surprisingly and expectedly, led by the Burbank boys and Crescenta Valley girls, who finished second in their respective races, while the Crescenta Valley and Burroughs boys and the Burbank and Hoover girls all earned spots to the CIF Southern Section divisional preliminaries at Mt. San Antonio College on Nov. 16. Maybe no team made a bigger splash than did the Division I fifth-ranked Bulldog boys, who appear to be surging and demonstrated their prowess by knocking off seventh-ranked Crescenta Valley for the first time this season, 47-63, for second place in league.

PASADENA - Singles girls' tennis player Lilit Vardanyan of Burbank High and the Crescenta Valley doubles team of Jackie Dilanchyan and Alexa Gregorian found themselves in tough situations Wednesday in finals matches of the Pacific League Tournament. Vardanyan, a junior, didn't play well early in her championship contest against Arcadia's Sharlene Song and, as a result, trailed in the opening set by four games. Seniors Dilanchyan and Gregorian also struggled in their first set against Burbank's Meredy Gharabegi and Elizabeth Sanchez.

BURBANK VS. HOOVER WHEN : 7 p.m. Thursday WHERE : Moyse Field (Glendale High) RECORDS : The Bulldogs are 6-2, 3-2 in the Pacific League; the Tornadoes are 2-6, 0-5 LAST WEEK : Burbank defeated Glendale, 56-14; Hoover lost to Crescenta Valley, 56-16. OUTLOOK : The Bulldogs played well last week against the Nitros after suffering two straight Pacific League losses the previous two weeks to Crescenta Valley and Muir. Heading into Thursday's contest, Burbank finds itself in a two-way tie for fourth place in league with Arcadia.

BURBANK - It appears that the remedy to one of the worst first halves of play for the Burroughs High football team was perhaps the team's best two-quarter action of the season Friday night in Pacific League play versus visiting Crescenta Valley High. The Indians recovered from a 17-point deficit fueled by two turnovers in scoring the game's final 24 points en route to an improbable and unforgettable 24-17 win over the Falcons at Memorial Field. PHOTOS: Burroughs vs. Crescenta Valley football “Hey, we were the underdog.

GLENDALE - A pair of two-goal deficits in the third quarter weren't enough to bury the Burbank High boys' water polo team in the second Pacific League match of the year at Hoover High. For the second time in the third frame, the Tornadoes had an opportunity to seize momentum with a three-goal lead when they earned a man advantage with 8:29 to play in the game. PHOTOS: Hoover vs. Crescenta Valley boys' water polo Hoover's near-post shot was saved by Burbank goalie Derek Baer.

As the summer draws to a close, it means it's time for the players of the Burroughs High and Burbank girls' golf teams to take to the course and represent their schools for another season. Last season, both Burbank and Burroughs featured squads that had to replace departed talent at the top, and both schools finished outside the top three in the Pacific League and missed the postseason. This year, both squads will look for improvement with more experienced groups. Burbank will have a strong returning player to build around, while Burroughs will feature a potent mix of new and returning talent, as both try to catch last year's co-champions, Arcadia and Crescenta Valley, as well as third-place La Cañada.