Santa Ana Valley Has Special Night : Stewart Provides the Key Returns in Falcons’ 24-0 Victory

James Stewart touched the ball only a few times for Santa Ana Valley High School Friday night.

That was enough.

In a game where usually anonymous special teams stood out, Stewart made the biggest plays. He returned four punts for 118 yards, including a spectacular 68-yard run for a touchdown.

Stewart’s performance was enough for the Falcons to come away with a 24-0 victory over Kennedy in front of 800 at Santa Ana Stadium.

Late in the first quarter, Stewart fielded a punt on the 32, and headed toward the left sideline. At midfield, he was hit head-on by Kennedy’s Kurt Lindquist.

Lindquist went down. Kenny Barnes, who was trying to block Lindquist, went down. But Stewart merely bounced back two steps, then raced down the sideline for a touchdown that gave the Falcons a 12-0 lead.

“I saw him coming, so I prepared,” said Stewart, who also had an interception. “After he hit me, I was even surprised that I was still on my feet. I just took off.”

Stewart also set up the Falcons’ final score in the fourth quarter with a 26-yard return. Punter Scott Jones saved the touchdown by shoving Stewart out of bounds at the nine-yard line.

“Man, I wanted that one,” Stewart said. “I could see the goal line and then all of a sudden the punter nails me.”

The Falcons scored on the next play, but they took an unusual route to the end zone.

Tailback Jessie Brooks, who had 98 yards in 21 carries, swept right, but was hemmed in by the Kennedy defense. When he was hit, the ball came loose and fell into the arms of fullback Barnes, who went untouched for the score.

“Our special teams did the work tonight,” Coach Dan Castanon said. “We just didn’t play well at all. We didn’t seem to get anything accomplished all week. It was a bad week.”

The week got a little better as the game began.

Heary Bratton returned the opening kickoff 56 yards to set up the Falcons’ first touchdown. Bratton cut up the right sideline, then cut back across the middle. Kicker Scott Jones saved the touchdown, as he wrestled Bratton to the ground on the Kennedy 31. Five plays later, Bratton went over right tackle for a three-yard touchdown run.

The Falcons, who rushed for 208 yards, moved the ball well between the 20-yard lines, but had trouble getting the ball into the end zone. Twice the Falcons had drives killed by interceptions.

The only sustained scoring drive by the Falcons came in the third quarter. They went 55 yards in seven plays with Brooks scoring on a one-yard run.