By Alan Der OHANNESSIAN

It was another easy day Wednesday for the Falcons soccer team (6-0-3 league) as it cruised past Burroughs High School (3-2-2 league) with a final score 4-1.
In the first minutes of the match, it appeared that the teams were evenly matched as both were exchanging shots on target.
On one possession, Burroughs defender Brian Arzate played a long pass to forward Kevin Mundo inside the penalty box; however his shot was blocked by Falcons defender Reilly Solis.
The Indians had a chance to score when forward Kc Aquino’s free kick struck to the left side, but Falcons goalkeeper Nick Ruiz dived and saved it with the tips of his fingers as the ball went out for a corner.
The Falcons were also aggressive on the offensive end.
CV midfielder Jaehoon Jung shot from outside the penalty box striking the post on the right side of the goalkeeper, much to the frustration of the Falcons coach. Fortunately, CV’s effort eventually got them on the scoreboard.
Burroughs passed the ball back to goalkeeper Steve Menjivar however CV forward Pavle Atanackovic blocked his shot as he jumped while shooting. The ball hit Atanackovic’s backside, sending it into the net for the Falcons’ first goal.
The Indians responded back with a goal of their own. Midfielder Francisco Baez played a lob to forward Manuel Celio whose header struck to the right side of goalkeeper Ruiz as the match was tied at one apiece.
However the Falcons got the lead back when midfielder Alex Berger played a lob as Atanackovic beat two defenders for a header that struck to the left side of the goalkeeper bringing CV up by one.
It was only minutes later that the Falcons expanded their lead to three when midfielder Jung got the ball as the Burroughs’ defense was trying to clear it from inside the penalty box. He was left unguarded and the shot struck to the left side as the goalkeeper watched the ball sail into the net.
The Falcons held their ground going into halftime with a commanding lead.
In the second half, the CV defense was sluggish in response to a beefed-up Burroughs offense in an effort to salvage the match. But though Burroughs kept shooting the ball they were off the mark.
On another possession, an Indian midfielder played lob inside the penalty box to fellow midfielder Joan Alvarez having to beat only the goalkeeper for a goal, but it struck wide to the left side of Ruiz.
Despite their poor performance offensively, the Falcons did manage to score for the last time.
Forward Atanackovic was tackled by Burroughs defender inside the penalty box for a penalty kick. Substitute goalkeeper John Castro guessed wrong as Atanackovic put it to his right side for a 4-1 lead.
Head Coach Keil McClung said it was the Falcons’ killer instinct and team defense that were the reasons for their success.
“We challenged them to have the killer instinct and Pavle punished them,” McClung said. He added that the team was playing better defense as they were allowing five to six shots a match and creating 14 opportunities for themselves.
The Falcons next play at Hoover High School on Friday at 3:30.

By Robin GOLDSWORTHY

Though it was Christian Misi who nabbed the first basket in Monday’s contest against Burroughs it was Chris Chemlekian who couldn’t seem to miss a shot.

The Falcons hit the boards after a victorious win last Friday over rival Arcadia that filled the Apache gym to the rafters with fans. The Falcons may have carried the triumphant feeling of the 61-56 score onto the court Monday as they easily conquered Burroughs 77-49.

Chemlekian made back-to-back-to-back three pointers outside the arc that overwhelmed an already lackluster defense offered by the Burroughs Indians. Though CV didn’t exploit the height advantage over the Burbank team and

CV’s passing seemed less than stellar, it didn’t seem to matter. Once it was apparent that Chemlekian’s performance was lasting the night, the Indians might have just gone home. Chemlekian ended the night with 26 points, Misi with 13.

By Seth AMITIN

If its previous week’s loss to Pasadena was tough, the Crescenta Valley High football team’s second consecutive 21-14 loss, this time to Burroughs, was tougher.

Sporting a 14-0 lead early on, the Falcons gave up 21 unanswered points to the league-leading Indians to lose again, falling to fifth place in the Pacific League, on Thursday night, Oct. 28 at Moyse Field.

The Falcons fell to 2-3 in Pacific League play, 4-4 overall. They’ll need to beat Burbank and Arcadia, currently in second and third place in the league, to solidify a playoff spot. Failing that, they need to beat one of the two to retain a .500 record, wherein CV can apply for an at-large bid.

In the game, senior quarterback Paul Perugini had 159 yards passing with an interception. He also ran for 61 yards on 12 rushes.

Sean Johnson was the main back for the Falcons and ran for 60 yards on 18 carries. He had each of the Falcons’ two touchdowns.

Tyler Martinez, Nathan Sarreal and Garrett Stoudt each had a fumble recovery for CV.

The Indians (5-3, 5-0) will play Muir (4-4, 3-2) on Friday and a win for the Indians could boost CV’s playoff chances.

The Falcons will play at Burbank (6-2, 4-1) tomorrow, Friday, at 7 p.m.

By Andrew SIMON

“It could have been really easy for our guys to come out and kind of coast tonight because of what happened the last time, but I think we played with high energy,” CV coach Shawn Zargarian said. “As long as we’re playing with high energy and not looking at our opponent or anywhere else, we’re going to be successful.”

Although Powdrill ultimately finished with a team-high 19 points and 10 rebounds, with Dragovich adding 15 points, it was CV’s lone freshman who spurred the Falcons early in the game. Currie had struggled at times this season, including in recent games, but Zargarian said he’d told his sharp-shooter to continue firing away.

That’s what happened in the first quarter. Although the team wasn’t running plays specifically for him, Currie operated assertively. He got the Falcons on the board with a three-point play before knocking down a trio of three-pointers.

“I think he was more aggressive and looked for his shot,” Zargarian said. “He got out of his slump, and it was big for us and for him.”

Currie’s offensive explosion, which accounted for all 12 of his points, pushed CV to a 19-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.

“He really gave us a boost at the beginning,” Powdrill said. “It doesn’t matter that he’s a freshman. … We know he can score and we know he can play.”

The Falcons played tight defense on the Indians (5-16, 3-5), and with Currie igniting the offense, they ran away with the game in the first half. CV never trailed, and after Davis Dragovich knocked down a jumper with a little less than six minutes remaining in the half to put CV up by 11, the Falcons’ lead remained in double digits for the rest of the game.

By the intermission, CV was ahead 40-18. The Falcons shot better than 50% in the opening half, including five of 10 from three-point range.

“We’re trying to stress to our guys that how we come out for games really dictates our tempo,” Zargarian said. “When we come out with lots of energy and lots of defensive energy, it really works out well for us.”

This has been the case for CV since it dropped a tight game last Wednesday to Burbank in the final seconds. The Falcons, who were tied with the Bulldogs for second place in league entering the day, now have won two in a row.

Zargarian said the Falcons met after the Burbank loss in an effort to “clean some stuff up.”

After an 11-point win over Arcadia on Friday and the blowout of Burroughs, it seems like the talk worked for a squad that is ranked 15th in Southern Section Division 1A.

According to Powdrill, it’s a matter of the Falcons focusing and playing together. The senior forward took to heart an interview he saw with Lakers star Kobe Bryant on ESPN earlier Wednesday, during which Bryant talked about the Lakers getting complacent.

“I think that’s what we did [earlier this season],” Powdrill said. “We deviated from the team mode and thinking we’re one family. We got back together and regrouped and played as a team, which I think we’d gotten away from a little bit.”

The Falcons will have an opportunity to keep building on their recent momentum when they return home to face Hoover on Friday. The two teams last played on Jan. 8 at Hoover, with CV winning 70-37.