Elijah Pendelton recorded a three-touchdown night on the ground, in the air, and on special teams 

For the first time since 2019, the Burbank Bulldogs are going to the CIF Playoffs following a 52-7 victory over the Crescenta Valley Falcons, ending a five-year drought of missing the postseason. Last week, Burbank defeated Glendale 64-0 on their Senior Night while Crescenta Valley suffered a heartbreaking loss at home to the John Burroughs Bears 37-35 on a game-winning field goal by Braden Turner. 

The Bulldogs started fast in the first quarter as DeShawn LaPorte connected with Tyler Hudson with a 37-yard pass to give Burbank a 7-0 lead over Crescenta Valley, the only score of the opening period. LaPorte also connected with Hudson for a short goal-line touchdown pass to give the Bulldogs a 13-0 lead over the Falcons in the second quarter. Elijah Pendelton also contributed to the parade of points with a 52-yard touchdown run to make the score 19-0, while Max Kelly was stopped at the goal line with the two-point try being unsuccessful. Pendelton also caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from LaPorte to give the Dogs a 26-0 lead heading into the halftime break. 

The play of the night came in the third quarter as Daniel Zackariaz threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Exodus Freeman on a trick play that gave Burbank a 33-0 lead over Crescenta Valley. Laporte threw his third touchdown pass of the contest and found Max Kelly for a 22-yard connection as the Bulldogs increased their lead to 39 to end the third quarter. 

The Bulldogs recorded two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, one of which happened on defense when Jack Rogerson returned a fumble for six. Elijah Pendellton also returned an 85-yard kick-off return for a touchdown to cap off a fantastic night for Burbank. The Falcon’s only touchdown of the contest also came in the fourth quarter when Joaquin Soriano had an 80-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. 

“The emotions were all about the kids, they were so excited about returning to the playoffs since they missed out on it last season and all their hard work has paid off,” said Bulldogs Coach Hector Valencia. Valencia praised Elijah Pendelton for his performance that helped Burbank make its return to the CIF Southern Section Playoffs. 

Burbank moves into second place in the Pacific League and improves their record to 7-2 overall and 5-1 in Pacific League play, while Crescenta Valley drops to fifth place and falls to 4-5 overall and 3-3 in Pacific League play. The Bulldogs will have a lot to play for next week when they take on their cross-town rival Burroughs Bears next Friday, November 1st. It will be the 76th annual homecoming football game, and Burbank will serve as the visiting team in the Burbank Bowl. With Muir’s 71-6 victory over Glendale, Burbank could be co-Pacific League Champions with a win and a Muir loss to Pasadena with the Mustangs remaining as the one seed in the Pacific League league since they owned the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Bulldogs. Crescenta Valley will have a chance to secure fourth place in the league and a spot in the CIF Playoffs as they will take on Arcadia, also next Friday. Both games will kick off at 7:00 p.m.