CENTURY LEAGUE FOOTBALL : El Modena’s Wilson Runs Past Foothill : High schools: Running back gains 177 yards and scores twice as the Vanguards beat the Knights for the eighth consecutive season.

El Modena football Coach Bill Backstrom thinks there’s one basic difference between this year’s edition of the Ernie Wilson running machine and last year’s model.

“This year, he’s not even thinking three yards,” Backstrom said. “He’s thinking bust it for a touchdown.”

Wilson broke Foothill with two long touchdown scores in the second half Thursday as host El Modena overcame a seven-point halftime deficit to gain a 34-14 Century League victory.

El Modena (5-2, 2-0) beat rival Foothill for the eighth consecutive season by scoring four touchdowns in the second half after a sluggish start.

Wilson scored on a 56-yard screen play with 6:09 left in the third quarter to give the Vanguards their first lead, 21-14, and then added a 40-yard touchdown run with 3:30 remaining in the game to seal the victory.

Foothill (3-4, 0-2) had dominated play in the first half by utilizing an unorthodox offense that caught El Modena off guard. An unbalanced Power-I helped the Knights gain 155 yards in the first half.

First-year Coach Tom Meiss had hoped to get an early lead and pull off the upset after a disappointing 6-0 loss to Orange last week. Instead, the Knights collapsed in the second half and will now have to scramble for a playoff spot with two losses in a six-team league.

Wielandt was brilliant until the final quarter, gaining 100 yards in 15 carries and adding 58 yards passing. But he also threw two passes that were intercepted, including an ill-advised pass late in the second quarter that killed a potential scoring drive when it was picked off by El Modena’s Brian Hanson at his own 26-yard line.

El Modena was fortunate to be trailing by only a touchdown going into the third quarter. And then the momentum quickly changed. El Modena quarterback Matt Mitchell connected with wide receiver Mike Seltzer on a 38-yard touchdown pass and then threw the short screen pass that Wilson turned into a 56-yard score.

Asked what made the difference in the second half, Wilson said, “We didn’t do anything different, we stuck with our game plan. The line just blocked better in the second half. If they can get me into the secondary, there weren’t many guys back there who can bring me down.”

Wilson finished with 177 yards in 24 carries and had four receptions for 106 yards. How did he do it? The senior combined speed with power; agility with quickness.