ORANGE LEAGUE FOOTBALL : Estes’ Interception Seals It for Valencia

Valencia’s defense didn’t get off to a great start in the second half of its Orange League opener against Western Thursday night.

The Tigers gave up 61 yards and a touchdown in only four plays on the opening drive.

Suddenly, Western was back in the game, trailing only 13-10.

But Valencia’s defense delivered on Matt Estes’ 34-yard, fourth-quarter interception return for a touchdown that sealed a 33-10 victory at Western.

It was the fifth consecutive year Valencia (4-2, 1-0 in league) has beaten Western (4-2, 0-1). The Tigers outscored the Pioneers, 133-32, in the five victories.

Junior running back Chris Draft carried the Tigers’ offense, rushing for 113 yards in 16 carries, including touchdown runs of 72 and four yards in the second quarter.

Draft, a linebacker, also sacked Western’s Brandon Brennan twice for losses totaling 14 yards.

But the biggest defensive play belonged to Estes, who stepped in front of a Brennan pass at the Western 34-yard line and ran untouched for a touchdown that gave Valencia a 27-10 lead with 8 minutes 23 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

“I saw it coming,” Estes said, “because I was watching the quarterback’s eyes. I read it all the way. We had been working on that in practice.”

Western cut a 13-3 halftime deficit to 13-10, with an impressive opening drive in the second half.

Running back Justin Starkey had a 24-yard run, and Brennan completed two passes--22 yards to Josh Christensen and 16 yards to Chris Karrer for a touchdown.

But Brennan completed only two more passes, and Western managed only 56 more yards of offense the rest of the game.

Valencia junior Rob Petko tossed an eight-yard touchdown pass to a diving Jermaine Gray with 35 seconds left in the third quarter to give the Tigers a 19-10 lead.

Estes added his interception return and Valencia was in control.

Valencia’s final score came with 20 seconds left in the game, when running back Ace Riggins ran 34 yards off tackle for a touchdown.

The Tigers trailed only once, when Western took a 3-0 lead on a 35-yard field goal by Jason Covarrubias with 1:27 left in the first quarter.

On the next possession, Draft beat everyone around the right corner and broke loose for his 72-yard touchdown run, giving Valencia a 6-3 lead.

That opened up the passing game for Petko, who completed his next five pass attempts for 67 yards, including a 30-yarder to Paul Tamblyn over the middle that gave Valencia the ball at the Western four. Draft scored his second touchdown on the next play, and Valencia had a 13-3 halftime lead.