La Habra’s Upset Falls Short; Fuller Doesn’t

With time running out and a national ranking on the line, tailback Johann Fuller helped Loyola High School avoid a big upset Friday night in La Habra.

Fuller, a 160-pound junior, plunged over the La Habra defensive line for a one-yard touchdown with 13 seconds remaining to give the Cubs a 10-6 victory over La Habra in front of 2,000 fans.

Fuller’s fourth-down play was Loyola’s only touchdown in a tight, defensive game that gave the Cubs their first lead since the opening quarter.

La Habra, which has won four straight Freeway League titles, played Loyola evenly despite the fact the Highlanders play in the Central Conference, which is generally considered a couple of steps down from the Cubs’ Big Five Conference.

Loyola came into the game ranked 17th in the nation by USA Today but was also missing two key players--quarterback Jason Evans and fullback Kevin Egan--who are recovering from injuries.

Evans came into the game late in the first quarter, but was hardly a factor, completing only 7 of 16 passes for 76 yards.

Egan carried the ball for the first time in the second half and added only 31 yards in 6 carries.

Fuller was the Cubs’ only consistent offensive threat, gaining 75 yards in 16 carries and, of course, scoring the winning touchdown.

“We’re a very average offensive team right now and our offense has to get better if we’re going to be a good team,” said Steve Grady, Loyola coach.

“I thought our defense was exceptional. We held them three times without scoring a touchdown deep in our territory after turning the ball over to them.”

Kicker Nelson Bergamo provided the only offense for La Habra, kicking field goals of 40 and 39 yards in the second quarter. He also had a 20-yard attempt blocked by Michael Gilholly in the second quarter and his 40-yard attempt just before halftime was wide to the left.

Jamie Hutcherson, a junior linebacker for La Habra, had an exceptional game, recovering two fumbles and intercepting a pass. Both of Hutcherson’s fumble recoveries came in the second quarter, but both times La Habra was unable to capitalize as Bergamo was unsuccessful on field goal attempts.

“We were that close to a sweet upset,” said Bob Rau, La Habra coach.

“We played a great game. That was as good an effort as I’ve gotten from a team in my eight years at La Habra.

“I’m very, very proud of the entire team. No one gave us much of a chance to win, but the entire team rose to the occasion.”

La Habra seemed on course for a big upset when Loyola lineman Paul Sellers recovered La Habra quarterback Matt Shackelford’s fumble at the Highlander 33-yard line with 3:22 remaining in the fourth quarter.

It took eight plays and nearly all the time remaining for the Cubs to reach the end zone. Fuller came within inches of scoring on third down and then Grady elected to go for the win on fourth down with Fuller finally scoring.

“We were so close on third down, I had no doubts we could score,” Grady said. “I’m real happy to get out of here with a win. We sure tried to lose it.”