Field Goal Lifts La Quinta Past Orange

Matt Logan kicked a 37-yard field goal with one minute left to give La Quinta High School a 16-14 nonleague football victory over Orange Friday at El Modena High School in Orange.

Logan’s kick climaxed a 10-play drive on which La Quinta moved from its own 37 to the Panther 21. La Quinta quarterback Trent Julian, who didn’t complete a pass in seven attempts in the first half, helped set up Logan’s field goal with throws of 13 and 16 yards to Davey Posey and Wes Kollar.

“I didn’t have the slightest reservation about bringing in Logan to kick the field goal when the situation presented itself,” said La Quinta Coach Roger Takahashi, who saw Logan miss a point-after attempt after a first-quarter touchdown. “I had a lot of confidence in him.”

Logan’s game-winning kick came four minutes after Orange (0-2) took a 14-13 lead on Richard Valenzuela’s four-yard run and Sean Sutton’s kick. Valenzuela’s touchdown, his second, climaxed an 85-yard, 11-play drive on which he gained 31 yards in four carries.

The Panther drive was also aided by a roughing-the-passer penalty against the Aztecs, which brought the ball to the La Quinta 19.

Orange had one final opportunity to score after Logan’s field goal, but all quarterback Scott McMahon could do was to complete 7 of 11 passes for 68 yards to the La Quinta 25 as time ran out.

Valenzuela finished the game with 107 yards in 15 carries.

La Quinta jumped to a 7-0 lead with four minutes left in the first quarter when Davey Shimabukuro took a punt by Orange’s Jason Bennett, broke one tackle and returned the ball 50 yards for a touchdown.

Three minutes after Shimabukuro’s punt return, Julian intercepted a pass by McMahon and returned it 19 yards to the Panther 13. Three plays later, Tom Cherms swept four yards for a touchdown to give La Quinta a 13-0 lead with 15 seconds left in the first quarter.

Logan’s point-after kick attempt was wide.

After the kickoff the Panthers 83 yards on nine plays to narrow the La Quinta lead to 13-6 on Valenzuela’s one-yard run and Sutton’s kick. The big play on the drive was a 40-yard pass from McMahon to Bennett, down to the La Quinta 38.