ORANGE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL / PREP EXTRA : EMPIRE LEAGUE : Cypress Gets Surprise Victory Over Loara

Cypress surprised its coach with a 21-14 victory over Loara in an Empire League game Friday night at Western High.

The Centurions got a boost from running back Bobby Brito, who rushed for 111 yards and two touchdowns in 11 carries.

The final blow came on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Nick Vanderwal to Joe Gaitley with three minutes left in the game. The Centurions got to the Saxons’ 13-yard line on a 53-yard punt return by Rasham Lawrence.

Cypress clinched the victory 1:38 later when Cypress defensive end Matt Monroe picked off an Archie Lappin pass at the Loara 33.

After a scoreless first half, Brito’s 44-yard run on the second play from scrimmage got the Centurions (1-5, 1-0) on the board.

But the Saxons (1-5, 0-1) struck back quickly on Lappin’s 65-yard touchdown run on a quarterback draw.

After Brito’s second touchdown run from 14 yards, Loara running back Harry Redmond answered with a 70-yard run to tie the score.