The Crescenta Valley Varsity football’s decisive victories of 2008 went straight downhill at the start of the 2009 season. The October 2, Friday night game led to disappointment for the Crescenta Valley Falcons with a loss against Burbank, 42-14, at Glendale High School Stadium. Both teams put in their best efforts, but in the end, the Burbank Bulldogs were victorious.

"We just made too many mistakes," Coach Tony Zarrillo said. "We’re a bit rough around the edges now, but we just have to work on getting prepared, especially against a better team like Burbank."

The Falcons struggled to keep the Bulldogs to only a two-point lead at half time with a score of 14-16. However, after the half, the Falcons defense fell down along with morale as the Falcons let Burbank score four touchdowns in the second half of the game.

Hope for the Falcons dropped as junior wide receiver junior DaiDai McFadden fumbled the ball to end the chances of a Falcon victory in the second half.

The Falcon defense showed many poor choices, which led to a strong passing game for the Bulldogs. The Falcons offensive line led by senior Samuel Campbell’s devastating blocking drove the Bulldogs defensive lineman back away from the quarterback.

Meanwhile, senior Andrew Carcich led the defense for the Falcons, with their strong run coverage and constant sacks on the quarterback.

In the end, the Falcons’ weakness was definitely shown by the passing game for both the offense and the defense. The receivers could not hold on to the ball enough to keep the offense going down the field. The defensive backs also struggled in covering the Bulldogs’ receivers. As seen when the Bulldogs quarterback tossed a long pass to his receiver, and was still caught while being covered by multiple Falcon defensive backs. This play gave the Bulldogs a lead on the Falcons when the Bulldogs receiver was able to run the ball for a touchdown after the catch. The offense for the Falcons depended on the running game to smash through the defensive line.

This game was very disappointing to the Falcons coaches, players, and football fans. The Falcon varsity team must show major improvement in order to play for it all in the 2009-2010 playoffs.

"It’s just something that we all have to deal with and learn from," senior quarterback Kyle Cota said. "It might be tough now, but if we work at it, it won’t happen again."

What probably could have contributed to the loss to the Bulldogs was the lost amount of practice time given to the Falcon varsity players due to the Station Fire during August.

All in all, hopefully the Crescenta Valley team will use their strong determination and talented athletes to show a greater adjustment in the Homecoming match against Glendale High School tonight.