Brock’s Catch Gets Hawthorne Past Santa Ana

Tarrick Brock went to the wall again for Hawthorne High School Thursday night.

Brock, a center fielder for the Cougar baseball team, hauled in a 19-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to give Hawthorne a 20-17 victory over Santa Ana at Santa Ana Stadium.

Brock leaped between two Santa Ana defenders to catch Jamil Williams’ lob in the back of the end zone with 4:01 remaining in the game.

With Brock’s catch, Hawthorne (2-0)--the top-ranked team in Division III--survived an upset bid by scrappy Santa Ana (0-2)

A failed fake punt by Santa Ana’s Gustavo Plasencia gave Hawthorne the ball at the Santa Ana 27 with five minutes left. Brock’s scoring catch came two plays later.

“It’s not only unfortunate, it’s a downright shame,” said Santa Ana Coach Dick Hill, who was left shy of his 188th career victory--second on the all-time county list.

Santa Ana took advantage of Hawthorne’s lethargic play in the third quarter to erase a 13-3 halftime deficit.

The Saints recovered a fumble at the Cougar 27 midway through the quarter. Three plays later, Santa Ana quarterback Albert Perez hit fullback Kevin Pola with an eight-yard scoring pass to make it 13-10.

Santa Ana tailback Dasy Tech set up Santa Ana’s go-ahead score with a 68-yard run to the Hawthorne one-yard line. Robert Tabile scored to put the Saints ahead, 17-13.

The 5-foot-10 Tech led all rushers with 224 yards in 22 carries.