Prep football: Burbank is rebuilding again while Vanden shows championship form
After Thursday night’s nonleague football game in South Sacramento, two coaches addressed their teams.
Vanden High School leader Sean Murphy told his bunch the 42-8 victory over host Burbank could be appreciated during the ride back home to Fairfield, and then it’s back to work. The coach challenged his team to be more crisp on offense, to be forceful on defense, to be better. The message is because Vanden has all manner of great expectations, with 14 returning starters from its state Division 3-AA championship team last season.
On the other side of the field, Burbank coach Bryan Golder held a captive audience. He told his players he was pleased with their progress, pointing out, “we got some first downs. We didn’t have many in our first game.”
That first game was a 39-0 loss to powerful Christian Brothers. The next game against Valley was forfeited when Valley pulled the plug due to low player numbers. The first day of school for Burbank was Thursday. Everyone felt rushed and unsettled, Golder said. The young Titans understand they have to crawl, walk and run before they can stand tall.
“Our approach is: Be positive,” said Golder, the longtime coach at Liberty Ranch in Galt now in his first season on 3500 Florin Road. “We want this to be a fun experience. It’s a game, but we need to hold guys accountable. Be at practice. Be on time.”
Golder said he uses the “Give me a guy” motto he borrowed from retired Nevada Union coach Dave Humphers. This means pointing out a player who did good things, regardless of score and result. On Thursday, that was running back Alfred McDaniel, a solidly built 195-pound senior with power and speed who scored his team’s lone touchdown this season, an 82-yard romp to cut it to 35-8.
“Win or lose, you always have a guy, so identify a guy that stood out for his effort and hard work, in the classroom, on the field,” Golder said. “The focus is to say something positive because this game isn’t always easy.”
These are step-by-step growing pains for a proud program used to be a playoff regular. Now, the Titans are often stalled by the same things that stall city programs across the state: lack of bodies, lack of playing experience, lack of coaching stability. Golder plans to stick around awhile.
Burbank knew it was in deep against an experienced and skilled Vanden team. Vikings coaches and the team photographer, known simply as “Papa Joe” proudly wore state championship rings that look as big as those who win a Super Bowl. Murphy, in his ninth year as head coach at his alma mater, has a team leader in quarterback Tre Dimes, who had a 15-yard touchdown pass to Brayden Chavez to make it 28-0 early in the second quarter.
Vanden scored on the opening play, an 80-yard kickoff return by William Stockholm. Elijah Fisherman had a 5-yard touchdown run, Raheem Holt had a 1-yard scoring plunge, Abraham Sanders recovered a fumble in the end zone and Isaiah Lacy had a 65-yard scoop and score fumble return to cap the scoring.
But the 3-0 Vikings can be better and need to be better, Murphy said.
“We’re focusing on execution, getting better,” Murphy said. “We take on a new journey every year. This team has to find its our identity, and we can be really good again.”
Burbank on Sept. 9 plays at Ponderosa to cap nonleague play and then opens Metropolitan Conference action against the league’s top two teams in Grant and Monterey Trail.
“We’re getting better, learning a new offense, and it takes time,” Golder said. “We’re trying to figure it out, and we will.”