Valencia Beats Anaheim . . . Again : Tigers Late Score to Beat Colonists for Third Straight Time

Valencia High School continued its mastery over Anaheim with a 13-7 victory Saturday night in front of 1,800 fans in Anaheim’s Glover Stadium.

Wide receiver Guy Shepard caught a 28-yard touchdown pass with 1:38 remaining that broke a 7-7 tie and gave Valencia its third victory over Anaheim in the past 2 seasons.

The game was a rematch of last year’s Central Conference championship game in which Valencia won the title with a 13-0 victory. Valencia also beat Anaheim, 21-0, in league play last year.

It appeared as if Valencia would earn its third consecutive shutout over Anaheim, but the Colonists (3-4, 1-1) temporarily stunned the defending Orange League champions when tailback Justin Wons turned a short pass into a 78-yard touchdown play with 6:52 remaining to play.

But Valencia (6-0-1, 2-0) kept its poise, driving 77 yards following Wons’ touchdown. Quarterback Tracy Garrett completed three critical pass plays and fullback Keef Leasure picked up 2 big yards on a fourth-down play to keep the drive alive.

“This was one of the best efforts we’ve had in the 6 years I’ve been at Valencia,” Coach Mike Marrujo said. “We kept our poise when Anaheim tied the game and went on that nice drive.

“We’ve got three more league games, but this was a big step toward winning the title. I felt we had to beat Anaheim to win the league and this was certainly a step in the right direction.”

Ted Mullen, Anaheim coach, had a simple game plan: Play ground-control, time-consuming football and keep the ball out of Valencia’s hands. Afterwards, Mullen was pleased with his team’s effort, but disappointed that it didn’t take advantage of its scoring opportunities.

“This was our best effort of the season,” Mullen said. “We had our chances, but we lost our poise at the end of the game. I’ve always said that Mike Marrujo runs as fine a program in Orange County as there is and it was great just to stay with them.”

Valencia scored on its first and last possessions. Garrett teamed with Shepard early on three passes that netted 71 of the 82 yards the Tigers needed to reach the end zone in the first quarter.

On the second play of the game, Shepard got loose behind Anaheim’s secondary and Garrett connected with him on a 40-yard pass play. Shepard found Anaheim’s single coverage to his liking on the next pass play and caught a 16-yard pass.

But Shepard had to work hard for his next reception, a 15-yard play that moved Valencia to Anaheim’s 5-yard line. Garrett threw a short flair pass to Shepard and he spun around two defenders for a good gain.

Leasure, contained most of the first half, scored the Tigers’ first touchdown when he broke loose for a 5-yard run. Leasure gained 73 yards in 18 carries as Valencia’s usually potent running gained only 103 yards.

Anaheim drove into Valencia territory twice in the first half, but the Colonists were stopped short of the end zone each time. Johnny Mountain, Anaheim’s hard-running back, was thrown for a 1-yard loss on a fourth down at Valencia’s 27-yard line in the first quarter, ending Anaheim’s first drive.

Later, Valencia linebacker Steve Rangel threw Anaheim quarterback Danny Pacillas for a 17-yard loss late in the second quarter. Anaheim had driven to Valencia’s 17-yard line.

Anaheim also failed to capitalize on a great scoring chance early in the fourth quarter when lineman Jim LaFontaine recovered a Leasure fumble at Valencia’s 35-yard line. But again, the Colonists couldn’t generate any offense and stalled at the Tigers’ 26-yard line.

Pacillas had a difficult time passing, completing only 5 of 14 attempts. Mountain also found the going tough, managing only 61 yards in 17 carries.