Katella Plays Giveaway Against Western

Katella High School’s costly turnovers and lackluster defense helped Western to a 30-24 nonleague victory Thursday night at Glover Stadium.

Two of Western’s (2-3) scoring drives began as the result of two Katella (1-4) fumbles. Jason Christensen recovered Katella quarterback Chris Reed’s fumble on the Knights’ 40-yard line with 3:30 left in the half. Seven plays later, Gilbert Brito scored from the one and his brother, Mike, ran in the conversion to give the Pioneers a 16-10 lead.

In the third quarter, Gary Hennessy, who scored all three Katella touchdowns, turned the ball over to Western’s Mike Curry at the Pioneers’ 12. Gilbert Brito ran 78 yards on the ensuing play, and two plays later, Mike Brito scored from one yard. Alfredo Villegas’ conversion run gave Western a 30-10 lead with 3:33 left in the quarter.

Armando Orizaba’s 48-yard field goal with 6:05 left in the first quarter gave Katella a 3-0 lead.

Hennessy scored his first touchdown--one play after Steve Young recovered Gilbert Brito’s fumble on the Katella 27--on a 73-yard run with 8:31 left in the half. He also scored on a three-yard run and on a seven-yard pass from Reed in the fourth quarter.