Western’s Stands Stop Loara, 16-14

Western High School used two impressive second-quarter drives to build a 10-point lead, then hung on in the final minute to defeat Loara, 16-14, Thursday at Western.

The Pioneers, led by quarterback Gilbert Brito, held a 16-6 lead at halftime.

Western made two impressive goal-line stands in the fourth quarter before Loara finally punched through on a 12-yard scoring pass from Charles Gipson to Scott Smith with 16 seconds left to play.

A two-point conversion cut the deficit to 16-14, and Loara’s hopes rested with recovering an onside kick. But Western’s Shane Foss fell on the ball as time ran out.

“We figured that was what it was going to come down to in the second half,” Western Coach Jim Howell said. “You could just see it going that way.”

Loara stumbled at times because of turnovers. The Saxons, under first-year Coach John DeFries, fumbled three times and had a pass intercepted.

“I was just hoping the kids would play well,” DeFries said. “And they did in spots, but we learned and will get better.”

Western took a 3-0 lead on a 39-yard field goal by Brito with 3:27 left in the first quarter. The score was set up after Al Quinto recovered a Loara fumble at midfield. The drive stalled three plays later, but Brito completed a 16-yard pass to Al Villegas out of punt formation for a first down.

In the second quarter, Western’s offense got going after an interception by John Walder at the Pioneer 17.

Brito led Western on an impressive, 73-yard, eight-play drive than ended with a four-yard touchdown run by Foss with 5:54 left in the half.

Loara came back to score on a 24-yard pass from Gipson to fullback David Kang, who caught the pass in the flat and broke two tackles on the way to the end zone with 2:38 left. The score cut Western’s lead to 10-7.

Western scored again before the half with the help of a 41-yard kickoff return by Walder, giving the Pioneers the ball on the Loara 44 with 2:28 left.

It took Western five plays to score, and this time it came on an eight-yard run by Foss with 21 seconds left in the half.

“We decided to finally block somebody on those two drives,” Howell said. “We are a young team and the kids were a little scared at the start.”

Brito led the Western offense, passing for 140 yards. He was 10 of 20 with no interceptions. He also rushed for 47 yards, but was sacked five times and finished with just 10 net yards.

Loara quarterback Gipson was 12 of 28 for 118 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.