Pacheco makes debut, tops 200 yards in Los Amigos’ shutout of Fairmont Prep
After the game, Los Amigos High coach Carl Agnew was not sure whether Brian Pacheco would be more nervous than he was at the start. The sophomore was about to be experience his first postgame interview.
Pacheco did not fumble his words.
As for the football, he had a hard time holding onto it early on. He fumbled during two of his first seven carries on Thursday.
Pacheco took care of the ball the rest of way, carrying the Lobos to a 19-0 season-opening nonleague win against Fairmont Prep at Yorba Linda High.
Pacheco was one of nine sophomores starting for Los Amigos. Whenever there is that much inexperience, Agnew knows problems will arise.
He was happy to see Pacheco bounce back in a major way. Pacheco rushed 23 times for 236 yards and two touchdowns.
The Lobos are hoping Pacheco can have the kind of success Steven Hernandez did a year ago, when he rushed for 1,906 yards — the second-best total in Orange County — and 20 touchdowns.
In his varsity debut, Pacheco’s yards topped the best single-game effort turned in by Hernandez last year. Hernandez had a 230-yard performance on the ground during his senior year in 2016, when he shared the Garden Grove League Offensive Most Valuable Player award.
“It’s amazing,” Pacheco said when he found out how many yards he gained. “It didn’t feel like I rushed for that many yards.”
Yards were hard to come by for both sides through the first 18 minutes.
Everything that could go wrong did for for most of the first half. There was a safety, a turnover on downs, three lost fumbles, a missed field goal, and a quarterback and running back went down with an injury.
For a while, the score was 2-0 in favor of the Lobos. Joseph Garcia, another sophomore starter, sacked quarterback Kyle Karam in the end zone less than five minutes into the game.
Then less than five minutes into the second quarter, with the Huskies knocking on the door, Garcia took down Karam again. This time the outside linebacker’s sack went for a 14-yard loss and knocked out the junior.
Karam hobbled off the field with an apparent knee injury. Without him, Fairmont Prep couldn’t do much, as it was shut out for the first time in four years.
Los Amigos tried to help the Huskies’ offense. The Lobos turned the ball over near midfield midway through the second quarter. Tasmania Malaga jarred the ball loose from Pacheco, setting up the Huskies in Los Amigos territory for only the second time.
The field position didn’t benefit Fairmont Prep. On first down, backup quarterback Nathaniel Steele ran into running back J.J. Chen in the backfield and lost the ball. Juan Higuera recovered the fumble for the Lobos, and they quickly took advantage.
Pacheco redeemed himself for his two earlier fumbles. He took a toss on second down and ran it right up the middle for a 49-yard touchdown. With 5:18 left in the first half, Los Amigos went ahead 8-0.
Almost 2 ½ minutes later, Pacheco got a chance to carry the ball again. The exchange from the quarterback to the running back proved disastrous for the Huskies on their next possession. They fumbled it twice, forcing them to go three-and-out and punt.
Los Amigos took over on the opponent’s 42, and quarterback Brandon Tinoco handed the ball to Pacheco on the first two downs. The first resulted in a 13-yard run to the right, and the Lobos ran another play to that side. Pacheco produced a 29-yard touchdown with 2:29 left before halftime.
While Pacheco began to turn it on, Fairmont Prep failed to move the ball. Los Amigos’ defense only allowed 11 rushing yards and 31 passing yards, and it came away with two turnovers and five sacks. The Lobos recorded their first shutout since 2014.
“We kind of figured this was how it would be, a little bit of a struggle [early on], but they fought hard, they kept going, they didn’t lose their cool, and they really matured for a young team,” said Agnew, whose kicker, Elian Escalante, converted a 30-yard field goal in the fourth.
“We’re really excited about [playing at Ocean View next week]. We got a young group, and I think our schedule is tailor-made to help us get success and win some football games, and hopefully get us into league firing on all cylinders.”
Los Amigos 19, Fairmont Prep 0
Los Amigos……...2 14 0 3 — 19
Fairmont Prep….0 0 0 0 — 0
FIRST QUARTER
LA – Garcia sacks quarterback in end zone for a safety, 7:14.
SECOND QUARTER
LA – Pacheco 49 run (Escalante kick), 5:18.
LA – Pacheco 29 run (Escalante kick), 2:29.
FOURTH QUARTER
LA – Escalante kick 30 FG, 8:11.
INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
LA – Pacheco, 23-236, 2 TDs.
FP – Serrano, 8-34.
INDIVIDUAL PASSING
LA – Tinoco, 8-13-0, 55.
FP – Ky. Karam, 2-2-0, 15.
INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING
LA – Robles, 2-25.
FP – Ke. Karam, 2-28.
Twitter: @ByDCP
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