Garcia’s Three Scores Help Propel Foothill Past Brea

BREA — With junior running back Tony Garcia scoring three touchdowns, all in the second half, and the Knights’ defense recording a season-high five sacks, Foothill rolled to a 28-3 nonleague victory over host Brea Friday night.

It has taken Foothill only four games to equal last season’s victory total. The Knights (2-2), who finished 2-7-1 last year, spotted the Wildcats (2-2) an early field goal and then cruised.

“We started off shaky, but we came back real strong,” Foothill Coach Tom Meiss said.

Mike Valverde’s 49-yard punt return set up a 22-yard field goal by Brea’s Jesse Anderson with 7 minutes 2 seconds remaining in the first quarter, but Foothill’s defense silenced the Wildcats the rest of the way.

Quarterback Steve Wielandt hit running back Ethan Taub for a six-yard touchdown pass to give the Knights a 7-3 lead with 21 seconds left in the first quarter and they never looked back. Garcia stepped in for Taub, who sat out the second half with back spasms, in the third quarter.

After a Brea fumble gave Foothill possession at the Wildcats’ 14, Garcia scored two plays later on a four-yard run. He also had touchdown runs of three and two yards. The Knights finished with 301 yards total offense.

Foothill’s defense also played a big role. The Knights limited Brea to 41 yards total offense, only three rushing. Defensive end Davin Johnson sacked Brea quarterback Paul Chiotti three times.