Orange Rolls Past Katella

Orange High School used a group of running backs to roll past Katella, 35-7, Thursday night in a nonleague football game at Western High School.

Orange employed seven running backs to round up 276 yards on the ground, 195 of which came in the first half, as the Panthers (2-1) took a 28-0 lead.

Junior Nathaniel White led the way with 105 yards in only eight carries. He scored twice from eight yards out in the second quarter, and the second of his touchdowns gave the Panthers a 20-0 lead.

White had gains of 38, 24 and 16 yards. His runs of 38 and 16 yards came on consecutive plays in the second quarter.

Senior Acen Chiles had 65 yards in 12 carries, including a 24-yard blast during Orange’s second series. The Panthers capped their initial scoring drive on a 20-yard pass from quarterback Josh Belovsky to wide receiver Noah Kimbwala with 4 minutes 44 seconds left in the first quarter.

Sophomore Marchant Wright did most of the running in the second half, gaining 42 yards in nine tries.

The Panthers’ passing game was much less evident, but also accounted for two touchdowns. Belovsky was three of five for 65 yards. One of his incompletions was a dropped ball in the end zone.

Belovsky, like many of Orange’s starters, was out of the game by the middle of the third quarter as the bigger Panthers overpowered Katella (0-3).

Katella’s only score came in the fourth quarter after a fumble recovery at the Orange 25 with 6:48 left.

Ryan Irving took a handoff, started to the left, then cut all the way back across the field on his way in for the score.

The play was one of the few lapses by the Orange defense. The Panthers sacked Katella quarterback Chris Reed four times for minus-41 yards.

Reed was held to just 18 yards. He was four of 11 with an interception before being replaced in the fourth quarter.

The interception, by Mark Lightfoot, came with about three minutes left in the first half. It gave Orange the ball at the Katella 42. Orange had a third and two at the Katella 24 when wide receiver Lightfoot beat two defenders for a 24-yard scoring pass from Belovsky with about a minute left. Orange’s two-point conversion gave it a 28-0 lead.

Orange’s final score was on a one-yard dive by Wright early in the fourth quarter.