High School Football: Ocean View shows fight, but falls to Katella, Fatasia

No high school football team had given Katella a game through three quarters as Ocean View did on Thursday.

Going into the fourth quarter, the Seahawks trailed the No. 4-ranked team in the CIF Southern Section Division 11 poll by four points. Then the one player Ocean View had no idea how to stop from catching the ball hurt the Seahawks.

James Fatasia caught everything in his sight, including a 41-yard touchdown pass 23 seconds into the fourth quarter. The score gave the Knights a double-digit lead, and they kept it in a 35-24 win on the road.

Fatasia, a senior wide receiver, finished with six receptions for 166 yards and a touchdown. He also intercepted a pass with 79 seconds to go, sealing the game and keeping the Knights perfect through five games.

“He worried me all week,” Ocean View Coach Luis Nuñez said of Fatasia. “We watched film, and we were just like, ‘There’s nothing we can do.’ When we got 5-foot-7 and 5-8 corners, and he’s 6-4, it’s difficult [to stop him]. When they’re in trouble, they do what any good coach would do [and that’s] throw it up to him, let him make plays.”

Katella didn’t always have to throw it to Fatasia because it ended Ocean View’s two-game winning streak by pounding the hosts. Running back Francisco Pineda rushed 26 times for 143 yards, and as a team, the Knights amassed 258 yards on the ground.

When the Seahawks (3-2) began to slow down the run game in the second half, quarterback Nathan Arrington went to Fatasia. Arrington, who completed 10 of 11 passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns, got a chance, thanks to Fatasia.

With 75 seconds left in the third quarter, Fatasia, as a defensive back, broke up a fourth-down pass in Katella territory. Ocean View turned the ball on downs near midfield, and it took four plays for the Knights to strike.

On the touchdown pass, Arrington threw it up for Fatasia near the 15-yard line. From there, he broke a couple of tackles and scored.

“We’re very blessed to have him,” Katella Coach Fred DiPalma said of Fatasia. “He can jump. He can catch. He’s a very good athlete.”

Even with Fatasia, Katella had to rally back.

For almost three minutes in the second quarter Ocean View led. The Seahawks took a 10-7 lead on Rodrigo Adame’s seven-yard run touchdown with about 10½ minutes left in the first half.

Ocean View took advantage of a fumble by Katella at the 3:01 mark. The turnover came after linebacker Victor Castillo-Hidalgo knocked Arrington out with a big hit. Backup Jorge Torres replaced Arrington, and two plays later, Castillo-Hidalgo forced Torres to fumble. Linebacker Marcus Flum recovered the ball on Ocean View’s 25-yard line.

The Seahawks went on a 14-play drive, and found the end zone. They scored 10 straight points, three on Adam Meyer’s 27-yard field goal midway through the opening quarter.

Arrington returned for the Knights after they fell behind. Their offense looked as overpowering as it did on the game’s opening drive.

Arrington capped the first scoring drive, which took nine plays and 65 yards, with a four-yard run touchdown run. The 215-pounder muscled his way across the goal line.

The next Katella scoring drive went 10 plays, all runs. The final one saw Arrington step into the end zone for a one-yard score, putting the Knights ahead, 13-10, with around 7½ minutes to go before halftime.

Ocean View went three-and-out on the ensuing possession, but Meyer pinned the Knights on their 13 with a 59-yard punt. It didn’t matter. Arrington used his arm for a 37-yard hook up with Fatasia, who beat double coverage, leaving Katella on the opponent’s 30-yard line.

Arrington threw it once more during the drive, and this pass went to Edward Williams for a 17-yard touchdown. Katella jumped to a 21-10 lead, only to see it cut to four points late in the first half.

Quarterback Xavier Salgado hit Meyer, a 6-foot-5 receiver, for a 28-yard touchdown to cut Katella’s lead to 21-17 with 53 seconds left. There was enough time for Katella to score again.

The visitors needed only three plays. Arrington completed consecutive long passes into tight spaces. The first was a 48-yarder to Fatasia down the left side. The Knights called a timeout with 10 seconds left. Arrington fired another pass into traffic toward the left, this one in the end zone, and with two seconds to go, Williams came up with the 24-yard touchdown grab. Katella went into the break up, 28-17.

The Seahawks responded right away in the second half. A flea flicker on the second play from scrimmage helped their cause. The trick play from Salgado to Meyer gained 57 yards, setting up the offense on the opponents 12. Three plays later, running back Noah Deloera’s two-yard touchdown made it a 28-24 game.

The defense kept the Seahawks in it in the third quarter, as Katella turned the ball over on downs inside Ocean View’s 20-yard line and lost a fumble near midfield.

Ocean View failed to capitalize, and twice it turned the ball over on downs in the second half. The last time came on Katella’s four with 7:39 on the clock.

“It was a good test for us to get ready for league,” said Nunez, whose team has a bye next week before it opens Golden West League play against Loara on Oct. 8.

Nonleague

Katella 35, Ocean View 24

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Katella 7 – 21 – 0 – 7 — 35

Ocean View 3 – 14 – 7 – 0 — 24

FIRST QUARTER

K – Arrington 4 run (Tenorio kick), 8:22.

OV – Meyer 27 FG (Meyer kick), 5:39.

SECOND QUARTER

OV – Adame 7 run (Meyer kick), 10:35.

K – Arrington 1 run (kick failed), 7:39.

K – Williams 17 pass from Arrington (Pineda run), 3:20.

OV – Meyer 28 pass from Salgado (Meyer kick), :53.

K – Williams 24 pass from Arrington (Tenorio kick), :02.

THIRD QUARTER

OV – Deloera 2 run (Meyer kick), 10:06.

FOURTH QUARTER

K – Fatasia 41 pass from Arrington (Tenorio kick), 11:37.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

K – Pineda, 26-143.

OV – Deloera, 21-62.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

K – Arrington, 10-11-0, 246, 3 TDs.

OV – Salgado, 8-15-1, 213, 1 TD.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

K – Fatasia, 6-177, 1 TD.

OV – Meyer, 4-121, 1 TD.