PREP FOOTBALL : El Modena’s Late 91-Yard Drive Ends a Yard Short in 20-14 Loss

After a frantic drive that covered 91 yards in the final 6 minutes, El Modena High School came up 1-yard short Thursday night in its nonleague game against Warren.

On fourth and goal at the Warren 1-yard line, tailback Danny Gutierrez took a handoff from quarterback Adam Garcia on a play designed to go off tackle. It never developed.

Gutierrez barely took one step before he was driven back by defensive tackle Darrell Brooks for a 2-yard loss. The ball went to the Bears, who let the final 21 seconds run off for a 20-14 victory in front of 800 at El Modena High School.

It was a demoralizing ending for the Vanguards (0-3), who had stopped Warren twice inside their 10 in the final 10 minutes.

Defensive back Trey Frank stopped one drive with a leaping interception. John Cummings ended the second by falling on a fumble by running back Marcus Carter, giving El Modena possession on its 8 with 5 minutes 58 seconds remaining.

From there Garcia, who had replaced injured Marcus Esposito on the previous series, began to move the Vanguards, who had shown little offense in the second half.

The drive appeared to be stopped at the Warren 34, when Garcia was chased from the pocket on fourth and 4. But Garcia rolled to his left and flipped a pass to Graham Brown for a 10-yard gain.

Two plays later, Garcia lobbed a pass and Loni Hayes made a leaping catch at the 3. A 2-yard gain by Gutierrez and two incomplete pass left the Vanguards with a fourth and goal at the one, but they went no further.

In the first quarter, a blocked punt El Roy Codding set up Warren’s first touchdown. Codding recovered on the El Modena 27 and, on the first play, quarterback Chris Benadom rolled right and fired a touchdown pass to Pat Lynch. Scott Yamaski’s extra point gave Warren a 7-0 lead.

On the Bears’ next possession, Carter, who had 69 yards rushing, swept right, then cut back to middle for a 32-yard gain. Three plays later, Yamaski kicked a 37-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead.

El Modena scored in the second quarter on a 2-yard run by Gutierrez.