When Glendale High’s football team hosts Arcadia tonight at 7 p.m., the 2009 Pacific League season will kick off.
Like most years in the unpredictable, eight-team league — last year saw three teams tie for fourth place and the final automatic playoff bid — from the first week to the last, every game is expected to have playoff implications.
Thus, with Glendale hosting Arcadia and, a day later, Hoover traveling to Pasadena and Muir to Burroughs, the games get real important real fast.
But none are bigger or surrounded by more hype than Friday’s clash between Crescenta Valley, the fifth-ranked team in the CIF Southern Section Southeast Division, and eighth-ranked Burbank at 7 p.m. at Glendale High’s Moyse Field.
“’Til someone knocks them off, you’ve got to give [Muir] the respect. Even though they have an 0-3 record, nobody’s taking them lightly,” said Burbank Coach Hector Valencia of two-time reigning league champion Muir, which owns a 17-game league winning streak, being the likely frontrunner to win the league crown. “But you have to respect CV.”
Indeed, Crescenta Valley, with close to 30 seniors on its team, has drawn its fair share of buzz in terms of contending for a league title. And Coach Tony Zarrillo isn’t shying away from any talk about his team’s intent this season.
“No. 1, this is the start of league play, so obviously the games take on a different importance, but you’re obviously striving to bring home a league title,” he said. “This team is good enough to do that.
“It’s something we’ve talked about for quite a while.”
But the Bulldogs (2-1) will no doubt pose a strict test for the Falcons (2-1).
Both squads are characterized by high-scoring offenses that have shown the ability to throw, but have been led by their running games.
For the Falcons, quarterback Kyle Cota has done equal damage through the air and ground — as evidenced by his two rushing and two throwing touchdowns in last week’s 38-35 win against La Cañada. Running back Harry Pessy has likely been the most consistent and dangerous weapon for the Falcons, however.
“He’s a load,” said Valencia of Pessy, who’s scored six total touchdowns and rushed for 445 yards in 41 carries (10.85 yards per attempt) thus far. “He’s the real deal.”
