GETTING A FOOTHOLD ON SUCCESS BURROUGHS AND BURBANK LEAVE THE TOUGH FOOTHILL LEAGUE BEHIND.Byline: IVAN OROZCO Staff Writer Burroughs High of Burbank coach Keith Knoop used to wake up wondering what he had to do to prod his team to a playoff play·off also play-off n. Sports 1. A final game or series of games played to break a tie. 2. A series of games played to determine a championship. Noun 1. berth in the Foothill League. This year, the 13-year Indians coach won't have to worry about getting past Canyon of Canyon Country, Hart of Newhall or Valencia. Burroughs and rival Burbank have left the tough Santa Clarita-based league and moved to the Pacific League, joining the likes of Glendale, Hoover of Glendale, Crescenta Valley The Crescenta Valley is a small inland valley in Los Angeles County, California. Its name derives from its crescent-like shape, with the convex portion facing roughly northeast and the concave portion southwest. of La Crescenta, Muir of Pasadena and Arcadia. ``In the morning, every day I was trying to think of how we were going to get a wild card for the playoffs,'' Knoop said. ``Being in the Foothill League had me waking up and thinking about it right away.'' The Southern Section's realignment re·a·lign tr.v. re·a·ligned, re·a·lign·ing, re·a·ligns 1. To put back into proper order or alignment. 2. To make new groupings of or working arrangements between. , approved last October, took that weight off Knoop's mind -- Golden Valley of Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, joined the Foothill League and West Ranch of Stevenson Ranch Stevenson Ranch, California (in the 91381 ZIP Code) is a Los Angeles County, USA, unincorporated community west of Santa Clarita a few miles south of Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park. The Stevenson Ranch fountain was redone in 2007. will make it a six-team league next year. ``I was an advocate for changing leagues,'' Knoop said. ``I want success for my kids. It's not that we don't work hard enough or don't practice hard. Now it's time It's Time was a successful political campaign run by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) under Gough Whitlam at the 1972 election in Australia. Campaigning on the perceived need for change after 23 years of conservative (Liberal Party of Australia) government, Labor put forward a to go back to face other teams that were similar to us. ``We might not have had the same type of players they have in the Foothill League. Demographically, we have them to compete here (in the Pacific League).'' Burroughs' only league win last year was against Burbank, which went winless. ``Now we are going down a different road, but we still have to wake up and face a league champion,'' Knoop said. ``I highly respect all the teams in the Pacific League. They always find ways to be competitive.'' The Indians return several important players from last year's 4-6 team, including defensive linemen Nick Bryant and Joe Wiggan. Each recorded a team-high 8 1/2 sacks in 2005. Bryant also played wide receiver and Wiggan was a backup running back. Burroughs must overcome the loss of running back Thomas Kyle, who headed to JC power College of the Canyons College of the Canyons is one of the fastest-growing community colleges in the state. According to the National Junior College Research Association, College of the Canyons consistently ranks in the top 50 community colleges in the nation. after rushing for more than 1,300 yards and 13 touchdowns last year. It will help that three starting offensive linemen return: center Armando Lopez, guard Bryan Arceo and tackle Justin McKnight. Not everyone is satisfied with the realignment. Burbank coach Greg Sobiech says he'd prefer to stay in the Foothill. ``We took great pride in being a part of that league, and I've made some very good friends with the other coaches.'' Sobiech said. ``Now we're going to a league that doesn't have the same reputation. I like to play the best, and I think the Foothill League is the best football league in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, .'' Burbank returns running back Marcus Hood, who rushed for more than 900 yards and nine touchdowns, and receiver/defensive back Robert Linda from last year's 3-7 team. Muir is the league's perennial perennial, any plant that under natural conditions lives for several to many growing seasons, as contrasted to an annual or a biennial. Botanically, the term perennial powerhouse A fourth-generation language from Cognos that was introduced in the late 1970s for midrange computers. It supports both character-oriented, terminal-based applications as well as Windows clients. Applications developed under PowerHouse can be imported into Cognos' Axiant client/server environment. , and Arcadia its fiercest contender. Crescenta Valley, which shared a league title with them two years ago, looks to bounce back from a 3-8 campaign. Quarterback Bryan Harter and receiver Eric Eberhart will be critical. ``We just didn't compete last year,'' said Falcons coach Alan Eberhart. ``We lost faith last year. We need to get back and say we can beat the Muirs and Arcadias like we did in the last 10 years.'' Glendale, under new coach Edgar Torosyan, will rely on quarterback Smiley See emoticon. smiley - emoticon Martinez and running back Nader Rahimi. Hoover of Glendale looks to improve under third-year coach Dennis Hughes. The Tornadoes return running back Terran Sprewell. ivan.orozco@dailynews.com (818) 713-3607 CAPTION(S): photo, 4 boxes Photo: Burroughs of Burbank head coach Keith Knoop tries to show his players the proper fundamentals during a recent Indians practice. Joel P. Lugavere/Special to the Daily News Box: (1) 5 GAMES TO WATCH (2) TOP 5 PLAYERS (3) EXTREMES (4) PREDICTED FINISH |
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