PREP EXTRA / FRIDAY FOOTBALL PULLOUT : EMPIRE LEAGUE : Huskey Overcomes Jitters, Lifts Cypress

Bryan Huskey was nervous. He had a right to be.

Huskey kicked a 27-yard field goal with six seconds left as Cypress beat Katella, 17-15, Thursday night in Empire League play at Western High School.

“I was nervous,” Huskey said. “When I went to plant my foot, I slipped and hit the (kicking) tee.”

The ball had just enough to clear the crossbar, but at first it didn’t seem like enough for Cypress (3-7, 1-4).

Especially not after Katella (0-10, 0-5) drove down and Josh Welton kicked a 27-yard field goal with 59 seconds remaining to give the Knights a 15-14 lead and an apparent victory.

Cypress came back on the passing of David Wheeler. The senior quarterback hit two key passes on the final drive.

Wheeler passed 22 yards to Bobby Brito and then hit Huskey for 19 more yards to the Katella 22-yard line.

Three plays later, Huskey knocked out the Knights.

Katella got off to a quick start when it took the opening kickoff and scored in four plays. Sal Viramontes scored on a 20-yard run. Viramontes rushed for 97 yards in 13 carries.

Wheeler hit Brito with a three-yard touchdown pass with 51 seconds left in the first quarter to give Cypress a 7-6 lead.

Greg Cleave ran 72 yards for a third-quarter score. Cleave finished with 151 yards in 16 carries for Cypress.

Welton caught an eight-yard pass from Viramontes late in the third quarter.