ORANGE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL / PREP EXTRA : Santa Ana Valley Rallies to Edge Villa Park, 21-20

Beau Wallace was beside himself Friday night over his performance in what he thought was going to be a loss to Villa Park.

The Santa Ana Valley tailback/defensive back had fumbled twice and didn’t think his team could rebound in the waning moments from a seven-point deficit.

Then Wallace redeemed himself.

His catch in the back of the end zone on a conversion pass from quarterback Ricky Chavez was the difference as Santa Ana Valley rallied to take a 21-20 Century League victory in front of 2,500 spectators at El Modena High.

The victory not only left the Falcons (7-2, 3-1) alone atop the fit-to-be-tied Century League, it also clinched the first playoff berth for Santa Ana Valley since 1978.

“We could have gone for the tie,” Wallace said, referring to Thursday’s Century League games, both of which ended up deadlocked. “But no way. We want the league title. We’ve been waiting for 18 years for this. No way were we going to go for the tie.”

Santa Ana Valley can wrap up the league title with a victory next week.

Santa Ana Valley scored on the first drive of the game, marching 10 plays from its 30, with Wallace and running back Leafi Naea carrying the bulk of the load. Villa Park got even with 1:59 to go in the first quarter when tailback Chris Bell, following a nice block by Sean Mahoney, burst up the middle of the Santa Ana Valley line on a 93-yard scoring run.

Santa Ana Valley regained the lead with just under five minutes to go in the second quarter. Villa Park faced a fourth down and 12 from its 29 when Santa Ana Valley’s Jermaine Kendrick blocked Matt McClary’s punt. Naea, playing defense, picked up the bounding ball at about the 16-yard line and went into the end zone.

But the extra-point attempt by Adrian Buenrostro hit the left upright.

Villa Park quarterback Sam Stremick and Bell led the Spartans on a 40-yard scoring march that opened the second half. Bell rushed for 31 yards in the drive. When the march stalled on the Falcon six-yard line, Stremick rolled to his right and passed into the end zone to Bell, who had his left foot straddling the sideline. But the catch was ruled a completion.

A high snap on the point after sailed through the hands of holder Brian Rodman and his scrambling effort to get off a pass fell incomplete in the end zone.

A fumble by Wallace gave Villa Park good field position at the Falcon 25-yard line as the fourth quarter began, and Stremick capped the scoring drive with by stretching the football over the goal line as he was being brought to the ground by Lee Calvin. This time the kick was good and Villa Park led, 20-13.

A late hit by Villa Park on a 15-yard pass completion from Chavez to Naea set up the winning score for Santa Ana Valley.