PREP ROUNDUP : Orange Lutheran Stops Seven-Year Itch

After seven years of heartbreaks against Valley Christian High School, Orange Lutheran fans were hoping for a miracle.

With 2:38 left in the football game Saturday afternoon in Orange, the long-suffering Lancer fans finally got what they wanted with a 22-17 victory.

Orange Lutheran was trailing, 17-13, when wingback Phil Matheson hauled in a high lob from quarterback Lenny Gavin for a 47-yard gain to Valley’s three-yard line. Brandon Orman then scored on an off-tackle run. Lutheran later added a safety.

It was Orange Lutheran’s first victory against Valley since 1983.

“This might be the biggest thrill ever for me as a coach,” Orange Lutheran Coach Tim Taube said. It also helped preserve Orange Lutheran’s playoff hopes. The Lancers improved to 7-1 and 1-1 in league, a game behind Brethren and Whittier Christian. Valley Christian fell to 3-5, 1-2 in the league.

Matheson (three catches for 114 yards) also scored Orange Lutheran’s first touchdown on a 52-yard pass from Gavin in the second quarter to tie the score, 7-7. Matheson set up that drive by picking off Kyle Dykstra’s pass--for a school season-record seventh interception.

Dykstra gave Valley a 7-0 lead with a one-yard sneak in the first quarter. But it was tailback Mitch Bledsoe’s nine-yard run in the third quarter that gave Valley a 14-13 lead, a margin extended in the fourth quarter by a field goal.

Ben Schroder added two field goals--including a 45-yarder--for Orange Lutheran.