Villa Park’s Defensive Turnaround Continues : Spartans Get Four Sacks, Beat Irvine, 17-3

Defense, a sore subject for Coach Pat Mahoney last year, has become the backbone of the Villa Park High School football team. The only ones feeling any pain this season are the Spartans’ opponents.

For the second consecutive week, Villa Park did not allow a touchdown. And for the second consecutive week, the Spartans came away winners, matching their 1988 victory total.

Villa Park limited Irvine to 144 yards Thursday night in a 17-3 victory before 800 spectators at El Modena High School.

“We put $25,000 into our weight room during the off-season and we got the kids lifting more weights,” Mahoney said.

The extra work has paid off.

After holding Bolsa Grande scoreless last week, Villa Park gave up only a 32-yard field goal by Mark Huffman Thursday.

Villa Park gave up 20 or more points in four games last season, including 28 to Irvine. But the Spartans, who returned six starters on defense, appear to have learned from their mistakes.

Irvine (1-1) had only one scoring opportunity, driving 70 yards in 11 plays early in the fourth quarter. Shad Vickers did most of the work, including an 18-yard run that gave the Vaqueros a first down on the Villa Park 18.

But Villa Park’s defense stiffened and Irvine had to settle for Huffman’s field goal, which cut the Spartan lead to 10-3 with 8 minutes 40 seconds left.

Vickers accounted for most of Irvine’s offense. He had 94 yards rushing on 14 carries and caught two passes for nine yards.

The rest of the team managed only 41 total yards.

“I knew we were going to be better on defense this year, but this season we’ve played beyond my expectations,” Mahoney said. “We’re attacking more this season.”

Irvine quarterback Vaughn Shackelford caught the brunt of that attack. He was sacked four times for 35 yards in losses.

Defensive end Reed Neilsen had three of those sacks, one of which resulted in a fumble. Linebacker Mike Bass recovered at the Irvine 7, setting up a 32-yard field by Ted Burnette that gave the Spartans a 10-0 lead with 5:59 left in the third quarter.

Villa Park’s offense was unspectacular, but efficient. The Spartans played conservatively, alternating handoffs between three running backs.

It was effective, as Villa Park gained 280 yards rushing. Gary Bladow had 106 yards on 17 carries while sharing time at tailback with James Hong, who had 95 yards on nine carries.

After the scoreless first half, Villa Park drove 65 yards to open the third quarter. The Spartans ran the ball nine consecutive times on the drive, which ended with quarterback Jason Martian scoring on a 16-yard bootleg.

After Huffman’s field goal cut the deficit to 10-3, El Modena clinched the victory when Hong scored on a 40-yard touchdown run.