Burbank’s ‘Dogs Want Their Day : Hart’s Carson Gives Former Team Incentive to Win Foothill Showdown

Even if it was possible to bottle all the emotions of those involved in tonight’s Foothill League showdown between Burbank and Hart highs, it would be difficult to find a label large enough to list the ingredients.

The principals:

Hart first-year Coach Dave Carson. He left Burbank after 5 years for one of the most coveted coaching jobs in the Valley. Under Carson, the Bulldogs played with an overflow of emotion, though without blue-chip talent. Always competitive, Burbank reached the playoffs twice and Carson was voted league coach of the year three times.

“I miss the people and I miss the players,� Carson said of Burbank. “And I expect a real emotional game--a lot of hootin’ and hollerin’ from them at me.�

Burbank Coach Randy Stage. Stage, the Bulldogs’ new top dog, was hired by Carson as an assistant last spring before Carson resigned. Carson’s support helped Stage, 32, land his first head coaching job.

“Carson took care of me,� Stage said. “He was awesome. He told me what they were going to expect of me and who were the guys who were going to give me support.�

Yet Stage is set to clobber Carson. “Our team is going to be excited,� he said. “They’re not hostile like they’re going to kill or maim him. They just want to let him know that, ‘Hey, look, we were worth staying for.’ �

Burbank players. Basically, their thoughts of Carson are divided between what he did for them and what he did to them.

For. . . .

Senior linebacker John Youn: “Basically, he changed my life around. I used to hang out on Glenoaks Boulevard, smoking cigarettes. I was one of those kind of guys. He helped me out. He helped us all out.�

Senior tailback Tarin Cardenaz: “I had a problem keeping my grades up. He pulled me into his office and sat me down. He talked to me about where I was going and my options. He motivated me.�

Senior guard Cory Kessinger: “When things were a little hectic, we turned to him.�

To. . . .

Youn: “I was angry when I found out he was going. We understood that it was the best move for him, but I resented it. I feel he kind of left us out in the dark.�

Senior linebacker Tony Spatola: “I’m kind of hurt in a way. I feel kind of angry going into this game. It would have been nice if he could have stayed, but he didn’t. So I just want to let him know that I’m coming after him. I want to beat him just to show him. You know, let him remember me.�

Kessinger: “We’d like to show him that he left the best team instead of went to the best team.�

Thus, tonight’s 7:30 game at College of the Canyons is important to the Bulldogs for two reasons. Burbank (5-2, 1-1) needs a win to tie Hart (5-2, 2-0) for first place and snap the Indians’ 22-game winning streak in league play. And the ‘Dogs are longing to have their day against their former coach.

“They may feel betrayed,� Carson said. “They understand why I left, but they still take it personal. And that’s fine. They’ll be more fired up and we’ll be more fired up and it will be a better football game.�

Carson admits that leaving Burbank was not easy and that his emotions are “mixed� entering the game. Last week, Carson watched with enjoyment from the stands as the Bulldogs staged a dramatic second-half rally to defeat Schurr, 29-19.

“We were watching the kids more than scouting,� Carson said. “I didn’t need a program. I knew who that kid was and who this kid was. I was really happy, sitting there, that the kids came back and won.

“I want them to play well, but I don’t want them to play well against us.�

Under Stage, Burbank has rebounded from a crushing season in ’87. The Bulldogs were 6-2, winners of their first 3 league games and headed for the playoffs for the first time in 2 years.

Then the season went, well, to the dogs. Burbank forfeited its 6 victories for using an academically ineligible player. A parent group sought a temporary restraining order that would have allowed Burbank to participate in the playoffs, but the request was denied.

With nothing left to play for but pride, the Bulldogs entered their season finale with cross-town rival Burroughs. They were crushed, 41-0.

Finally, Carson resigned to become coach of the most feared--and hated--team in the league.

“It was pretty hard for us, pretty emotional,� Youn said. “We had a hard time adjusting.�

Enter Stage--late.

“I started in June,� said Stage, an assistant last year at South Pasadena High. “I had to learn what my personnel was like. I weight-trained them and ran them and met with all the seniors and said, ‘The bottom line is, you guys have to play.’ �

They have. And with renewed enthusiasm. Cardenaz, who rushed for 164 yards and 3 touchdowns against Schurr, has rushed for 712 yards and 6 touchdowns, sixth among Valley-area rushers. Senior fullback Bill Charles has rushed for 257 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Burbank’s defense, led by Youn and Spatola, both all-league selections last year, is ranked fourth among Valley-area teams, surrendering an average of 176 yards a game, and second against the pass (75.2). Verbs like “kill� and “crush� are a part of the Bulldogs’ boisterous locker room vocabulary.

Said Stage: “They’re all animals.�

Stage, however, is not.

“Stage and Carson aren’t anything alike,� Cardenaz said. “Carson was tougher and louder and more in-your-face. Stage is more mellow.�

Said Youn: “He’s put in a great system. He made us forget about last year and feel good about ourselves.�

Stage’s approach admittedly is a notch below Carson’s on the intensity meter. “We have discipline,� he said. “I have them work hard, but I don’t spend too much time yelling and screaming. I don’t have the voice to do it. I yell, but it’s not constant. I don’t threaten them.�

Hart, with its lethal passing attack, does. Quarterback Rob Westervelt, the Valley’s leading passer, has thrown for 1,409 yards and 15 touchdowns. Tight end Brian Allen (39 receptions) and wide receiver Cameron Smyth (32) have teamed to catch 71 passes for 1,029 yards.

But the Bulldogs are not intimidated. “I’m going to get fired up, ready to kill,� Youn said. “He was our former coach. It will mean a lot for Burbank to beat him.�

Said Stage: “It’s going to take four quarters for us to beat Hart. But Hart’s going to have to play one of their best games, too.�

The stage, then, is set: Stage against Carson. Westervelt against Burbank’s tenacious defense. But more than anything, it is the Bulldogs against Carson.

“They’ll be fired up to play me as well as Hart,� Carson said. “I’ll be disappointed if they aren’t. That would mean they didn’t learn anything from me.�

Said Kessinger: “We’ve kind of got something to prove. He went up there thinking that that’s a better school. But this year they don’t look all that good and we look the best we’ve ever looked. We feel we can beat them. And that would show him.�