PREP EXTRA / ORANGE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL : El Dorado’s Defense Stifles Mistake-Prone Brea Olinda

After El Dorado’s 17-point loss to La Verne Damien last week, Brea Olinda provided some healthy therapy for the Golden Hawks.

The Golden Hawks took advantage of Brea’s penchant for turnovers and ineffectiveness on offense, rolling to a 31-0 nonleague victory Friday night at Brea Olinda High.

“We got beat up against a good Damien team,” El Dorado Coach Rick Jones said. “Brea is a good team, but we seem to be getting better and better. Our guys played a full football game. I’m very proud of them.”

El Dorado (3-2) cashed in three interceptions for touchdowns and limited the Wildcats (3-2) to just 37 yards in offense. Defensive back Matt McRae led a superb defensive effort by the Golden Hawks, intercepting two passes-he returned one for a touchdown-and recording two sacks.

El Dorado dropped Brea runners for 94 yards in losses. Brea finished with a minus-32 yards rushing. They sacked backup quarterback Tommy Pernovost six times for 69 yards in losses.

El Dorado running backs DeLonne Kelly and David Myers carried the offensive load. Kelly ran for 105 yards and a touchdown in 10 carries. An interception by Kelly led to set up a 46-yard touchdown run by him with 7:16 left in the second quarter. El Dorado got a 25-yard field goal by Mike Zurhellen early in the second for a 3-0 lead.

Myers, who rushed for 76 yards in 10 carries, tossed a 54-yard touchdown to wide receiver Kevin Badii on a halfback option to cap a 17-point spurt in the quarter.

In the third quarter, two interceptions by McRae in the opening three minutes buried the Wildcats. His first one led to a one-yard run by quarterback Mike Marzicola with 2:14 gone.

Eight seconds later, McRae intercepted Pernovost and returned it 49 yards for the game’s final score. The Golden Hawks, who finished with 296 yards in offense, spent the rest of the game draining out the clock with its ground game.

“Hopefully we can use this to build on going into league,” Jones said.