THE BIG GAME

Fullerton vs. Sunny Hills The records--Fullerton 3-1, 7-2; Sunny Hills 3-1, 8-1.

The site--Spaulding Field (Buena Park High School).

The standings--Sunny Hills and Fullerton are in a three-way tie for first place with La Habra.

Key to the game--Both teams are coming off losses, but the Indians played well in the second half last week, as quarterback Aaron Acton threw three touchdown passes in the final 15 minutes to cut a 21-0 Troy lead to 21-20. The Indians, however, missed the extra point on their third score. Fullerton had little success rushing against the Warriors, so they must continue to pass successfully against the Lancers. Sunny Hills had trouble passing and running in last week’s 17-7 loss to La Habra. The Sunny Hills defense has played well, shutting out three opponents and limiting four others to one touchdown.

Consensus--If the Indians win, they will win a share of the Freeway League championship. If they lose, they could miss the Central Conference playoffs. If Fullerton wins, La Habra defeats Sonora and Troy defeats Buena Park, as expected, the Indians will enter the playoffs as the league’s No. 1 representative with La Habra No. 2 and Sunny Hills No. 3 (by virtue of its 20-19 victory over Troy). If Sunny Hills wins, along with La Habra and Troy, then La Habra, Sunny Hills and Troy will be the league’s playoff teams, and Fullerton could only hope for a wild-card berth. There’s more at stake for the Indians, and that incentive should give them the edge in a close game.