Opportunities

BURBANK HIGH - Things didn't look good for the Burroughs High girls' water polo team as it fell behind by five goals late in the third quarter Thursday night against Sherman Oaks Notre Dame in a second-round, pool-play match in the Burbank Tournament. But instead of rolling over, the Indians battled back. Burroughs cut the deficit to just two goals with 4:44 remaining in the contest and appeared to have momentum on its side. However, missed opportunities late in the final quarter allowed the Knights to hold on for a 7-4 victory.

BURBANK HIGH — In years past, when they were members of the tough Foothill League, the annual Burbank and Burroughs girls' soccer matches usually carried no playoff implications. Even when the rivals played early in the season, they usually faced one another with no chance at making the CIF Southern Section postseason. However, Friday's Pacific League contest was different. The Bulldogs and Indians came into the match with three league wins each, and both were gunning for playoff spots.

BURROUGHS HIGH ? The overtime period of Monday?s Pacific League meeting between the Crescenta Valley and Burroughs highs boys? basketball teams began as the fourth quarter had ended ? with the Falcons pushing the tempo, stretching the court with long passes and taking advantage of opportunities in transition. A pair of free throws by Eric Strangis with just under two minutes left in overtimeprovided the final margin for the Falcons? 59-58 victory. Senior center Clay Sierra scored the Falcons?

LUTHER BURBANK MIDDLE SCHOOL — The Burbank High and Glendale girls’ soccer teams were trying to bounce back from recent setbacks when they met Friday for a Pacific League match. Both were hoping to erase losing streaks, as the Bulldogs had dropped four straight and the Nitros were winless on the season, including three league matches. Although Glendale played tough defense at times, it didn’t create enough scoring opportunities. In contrast, Burbank manufactured a great deal of opportunities, as it rolled to a 3-0 victory at Luther Burbank Middle School.

BURBANK HIGH — BURBANK — With both teams repeatedly coming up empty on their best scoring opportunities, it seemed Tuesday’s Pacific League girl’s soccer game between Burbank and Crescenta Valley highs would come down to whichever defense blinked first. That breakdown came on the Bulldogs’ side in the 63rd minute, as Facons forward Alex Barrett-Scherrer scored the match’s only goal and lift Crescenta Valley to a 1-0 victory. “[The Pacific League]

Erik Boal When they walked off the field following Tuesday's nonleague girls' soccer match at the Glendale Sports Complex, Burbank Coach Savio Silveria and Flintridge Prep Coach Tim Morphy understood that it was only the start of the season. But the fourth-year coaches know that after watching their squads play to a 1-1 tie, they need to place an emphasis on finishing scoring opportunities as soon as possible. Carolyn Chrzan tallied the Bulldogs' lone goal in the 26th minute, and Lauren Von der Ahe netted the Rebels' only score three minutes later, but the rest of the contest featured a number of chances for either team to take the lead, only to miss out. "The girls played hard, but we had a lot of missed opportunities," said Silveria, whose squad played to a 1-1 deadlock with Flintridge Prep for the second straight season.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE - Throughout most of Thursday's 80-minute Liberty League girls' soccer match between Glendale Adventist Academy and Providence High, Providence enjoyed a major territorial advantage. It also had a significant edge in scoring opportunities. However, the Pioneers couldn't reap the benefit and saw the Cougars take advantage of one of their few chances. Daniece Poblete scored on a rebound off a corner kick in the first half and goalkeeper Victoria Osby made 12 saves to propel Glendale Adventist to a 1-0 victory against Providence at the Glendale Sports Complex.

BURBANK HIGH — The Burbank High girls’ soccer team and its coaches knew that Yucaipa had a talented player in Kodi Lavrusky. With 38 goals heading into Tuesday’s CIF Southern Section Division II second-round playoff match, the Bulldogs were well aware the talented freshman was a bonafide scoring threat. They couldn’t have been more right. The Bulldogs had a problem containing Lavrusky, as the forward scored all of her team’s goals in a 4-1 victory at Burbank High.

MEMORIAL FIELD — In its first four matches of the season, the Burroughs High boys’ soccer team received solid play from its defense. Coming into Friday’s contest with Fontana, the Indians were yielding less than one goal a match. However, the defense experienced its share of problems against the Steelers, as Burroughs suffered a 3-1 loss in the quarterfinals of the 17th annual Ralph Brandt Tournament at Memorial Field. “We played around with the ball in our own end, and we paid for that,” said Burroughs Coach Mike Kodama, whose team is 3-1-1.

LA CRESCENTA — With the many scoring opportunities the Crescenta Valley boys’ soccer team had throughout its Pacific League opener against Burroughs, the Falcons should have enjoyed a commanding lead. However, despite the wealth of chances, Crescenta Valley was embattled in a scoreless tie in the waning moments of Wednesday’s contest. The Indians were able to dodge bullet after bullet, as they managed to keep the Falcons off the board for 76 minutes. Crescenta Valley was finally able to break the deadlock with three minutes remaining, scoring on a fluke goal, to earn a 1-0 league win at home.

BURBANK HIGH - Things didn't look good for the Burroughs High girls' water polo team as it fell behind by five goals late in the third quarter Thursday night against Sherman Oaks Notre Dame in a second-round, pool-play match in the Burbank Tournament. But instead of rolling over, the Indians battled back. Burroughs cut the deficit to just two goals with 4:44 remaining in the contest and appeared to have momentum on its side. However, missed opportunities late in the final quarter allowed the Knights to hold on for a 7-4 victory.

MEMORIAL FIELD - Difficulty defending the pass and personal-foul penalties are two problems that have plagued the Burbank High football team in its first two games of the season. Fortunately for the Bulldogs, those problems didn't prove costly last week against an inferior Chatsworth team, as Burbank was able to come away with a win. However, against a talented West Ranch squad from the tough Foothill League on Thursday night, those same difficulties proved to be the Bulldogs' downfall.

William Friedkin has been directing films for roughly 45 years. You wouldn't know it to look at him. You'd likelier guess that he was born around the time his first feature - the 1967 Sonny and Cher vehicle “Good Times” - was made. Maybe it's just his enthusiasm and energy. Assuming you're not one of the few who caught “Good Times,” you're likelier to have become aware of him in 1971 when his gritty, low-budget cop film “The French Connection” was a huge surprise hit; or the following spring, when it received nine Oscar nominations, five of which (including Best Picture and Best Director)

PROVIDENCE HIGH — Providence High's boys' volleyball team was hoping for a better result than it had the first time around this season against Viewpoint. In the team's first meeting March 15, the Pioneers were swept, as they could manage just nine points in one of the games and 18 in each of the other two. But the second meeting Wednesday had more important implications for Providence. A win against the league-leading Patriots would give the Pioneers a share of the Liberty League championship, the program's first in 12 years.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE - Throughout most of Thursday's 80-minute Liberty League girls' soccer match between Glendale Adventist Academy and Providence High, Providence enjoyed a major territorial advantage. It also had a significant edge in scoring opportunities. However, the Pioneers couldn't reap the benefit and saw the Cougars take advantage of one of their few chances. Daniece Poblete scored on a rebound off a corner kick in the first half and goalkeeper Victoria Osby made 12 saves to propel Glendale Adventist to a 1-0 victory against Providence at the Glendale Sports Complex.

Burbank Police Sgt. Robert Quesada has always been fascinated with aviation and airports. “I knew Burbank had an air support unit,” Quesada said. “I said, 'You know, I want to fly, I would love to fly one day.'” Quesada would get his wish - more than once. For the third time in his 30 years with the department, Quesada has been assigned to air support. Since Nov. 1, the former department spokesman has served as the Officer in Charge for the air support unit for Burbank and Glendale police.

The players from the Burbank One Under-16 girls' AYSO team knew the Section 10 playoffs would be the end of the line for them. If the local team won the tournament, it would have a chance at playing for state or even national titles. However, because many of the athletes also play for area high school soccer programs, they would have to leave their AYSO squad after the sectionals in order to join their prep squads for the beginning of the season. But Burbank One, a team of 14- and 15-year-olds, made the most of its opportunity, winning its second straight Section 10 championship.

Burbank police officials on Tuesday said the department was at “maximum deployment” as shopping mania sweeps the city's major retail centers, but urged shoppers to take precautions to avoid becoming victims of crimes. Other officials, including Burbank Mayor Jess Talamantes and state Sen. Carol Liu (D-La Cañada Flintridge), also called on the public during a news conference Tuesday to heed warnings on everything from holiday scams to making sure pets don't ingest toxic chocolate or mistletoe.

GLENDALE — Keeping pressure on Aliso Niguel's pitching and defense kept the Burroughs High softball team in both games of its road doubleheader on Saturday. Unfortunately for the Indians, a failure to fully cash in on some big opportunities kept them from winning either contest, as the squad fell, 6-1, and 4-3 in a pair of nonleague tilts. "We had a hard time producing that one key hit that could have propelled us and that was kind of the key in both games," Burroughs Coach Doug Nicol said.

WHITTIER — The Burbank High football team had its share of opportunities in its opening CIF Southern Section playoff game Friday. Playing against a tough Santa Fe squad, the Bulldogs fell behind early. However, the locals played themselves back into the game in the second half, and were driving to cut a disadvantage that had been 21 points to just a touchdown. But Burbank was unable to score on the drive late in the fourth quarter, and the Chiefs held on for a 28-14 Southeast Division first-round win at Pioneer High.