PREP SCHOOL FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES : Orange Lutheran Lets It Slip Away

It all fell apart for Orange Lutheran in the second half.

With five of the Lancers’ seven turnovers coming after the intermission, a 19-13 halftime lead by Montclair Prep quickly became a 53-13 rout in the Division X title game Saturday night at Los Angeles Valley College.

“We just had too many mistakes,” Orange Lutheran Coach Jim Kunau said. “You can’t turn the ball over that many times against a team like that.”

Montclair Prep converted four of the seven turnovers into touchdowns. It scored on three in the second half, outscoring the Lancers, 34-0, in the half.

Montclair Prep’s first second-half score came after a fake punt by Orange Lutheran turned out to be a bad decision when the Mounties dropped Matt Stratton for a one-yard loss. On the next play, quarterback Darrel Dent hit Kenny Peffer on a 47-yard touchdown pass for a 25-13 lead.

Then came the rash of turnovers by the Lancers. Orange Lutheran’s Che Holloway fumbled twice on consecutive kickoffs, leading to touchdown runs by Akil Anderson and Demetrius Green for a 39-13 advantage with 50 seconds remaining in the third quarter. It was a cakewalk from there.

Quarterback Joe Juliano accounted for five of the turnovers. Three of his passes were intercepted in the second half, and he fumbled twice in the first half, the first coming on the game’s first play. That turnover led to a one-yard run by Dent, with 7:48 left in the first quarter.

Montclair Prep had no turnovers.

Even when it didn’t turn the ball over, Orange Lutheran had problems getting into the end zone.

On their second possession, the Lancers drove to the Montclair Prep four-yard line but after Holloway got down to the one on first and goal, they failed to score on three rushes. On fourth and goal, Holloway was stopped for no gain with 3:45 left in the first quarter.

“We didn’t score then and that really hurt,” Kunau said. “That was one possession where we really needed to score.”

Juliano, who completed 10 of 14 passes for 180 yards in the first half, managed to complete only seven of 19 for 63 yards in the second half, most coming in the fourth quarter when the outcome was settled.