Football: A new passing era has begun at Orange Lutheran

Orange Lutheran, known for its option attack on offense in the last four years under Coach Chuck Petersen, has put in a new passing scheme for this season, and on Saturday, the Lancers won their first ever summer passing tournament in the Petersen era.

Orange Lutheran defeated JSerra in the championship game of the Huntington Beach seven on seven tournament.

Ryan Hilinski, a sophomore quarterback who played last season at JSerra, was the lone quarterback all day for the Lancers. He’s competing for the starting position with junior Cole Capen, who was injured. Petersen said no decision has been made yet on a starter.

One of the top receivers was Washington commit Brandon McKinney, who’s also a standout on defense. Another top defender was safety Steele Xavier. Also making major contributions was receiver-defensive back Austin Liles. He had the game-winning TD catch on the final play.

The Lancers still should have a strong rushing game, led by Dom Austin, but they are attempting to add more passing balance to help them in the tough Trinity League.

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