OLYMPIC LEAGUE FOOTBALL : When Trick Play Fails, Orange Lutheran Loses

Orange Lutheran reached into its bag of trick plays but came up short in a 17-14 Olympic League loss to Cerritos Valley Christian Saturday at Orange Lutheran High School.

The Crusaders capitalized on three first-half turnovers to take a 17-0 lead. The Lancers rallied, but came up a yard short on a fake punt on fourth-and-seven from their 46-yard line with 2 minutes 17 seconds left.

The Lancers’ Dale Huss took the short snap from center and placed the ball between the legs of Ken Brown, also an up-man in the punt formation. But Brown was stopped a yard short of the first down, giving the Crusaders possession. The Lancers (6-3, 2-2 in league) got the ball back with 1:24 remaining, but failed to move beyond their 45.

Cerritos Valley Christian (8-1, 3-1) moved into a first-place tie with Brethren Christian and Whittier Christian.

“This was a do-or-die situation for us,” Crusader Coach Mike Wunderley said. “In the first half, we played really well. I feel real good about getting out of here.”

Jeff Stice set up Valley Christian’s first score by recovering a fumble on the Orange Lutheran 17 early in the first quarter. Jeremy Hogan kicked a 35-yard field goal.

Valley Christian’s Matt Oliver recovered Todd Williamson’s fumble to blunt a Lancer drive on the Crusader 27. Seven plays later, Crusader quarterback Jeremy DeBie found his brother, Bob, for a 42-yard touchdown pass. On the next Lancer possession, Valley Christian cornerback Jeff Davis put Orange Lutheran deeper in the hole, intercepting Chris Timothy’s pass and returning it 23 yards for a score.

Orange Lutheran’s Mark Somers recovered a muffed punt on the Crusader 36 to set up the first Lancer score, a one-yard run by Huss with 38 seconds left in the half.

Somers recovered an on-side kick for the Lancers at the beginning of the second half. Quarterback Joe Juliano capped that drive with a 26-yard touchdown pass to Huss and get Orange Lutheran back in the game.