ORANGE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: PREP EXTRA : CENTURY LEAGUE : Spartans Hang On to Beat Foothill

Running back Chris Bell rushed for 186 yards and three touchdowns as Villa Park finished as co-champions of the Century League with a 35-28 victory over Foothill in front of 2,400 Friday night at El Modena High.

Quarterback Sam Stremick’s 44-yard touchdown pass to Chuck Reid with 8 minutes 29 seconds remaining provided the Spartans’ margin of victory and enabled them to share the league title with Santa Ana Valley, which lost to Canyon Friday night.

Villa Park’s defense preserved the victory by stopping Foothill on fourth down near midfield with 3:10 remaining. Foothill was called for a roughing-the-kicker penalty with 1:25 left, which allowed Villa Park to run out the clock.

Villa Park Coach Pat Mahoney said he was worried his team might fold in the game’s final minutes. “We haven’t been able to hold on in the fourth quarter against good teams,” he said. “We tend to wear down a little bit, but this time we didn’t. This was our night.”

Foothill (5-4-1, 2-2-1), which lost for only the second time in league in three seasons and needs an at-large berth to advance to the postseason, cut Villa Park’s lead to 35-28 on a five-yard scoring run by Tramel Robinson with 6:14 left. But the Knights failed to score on their final series as quarterback Tyler Lang was pressured into throwing an incompletion.

Bell, a senior, helped key a strong start by the Spartans (7-3, 3-2). After an 81-yard touchdown run by junior Todd Snider on Villa Park’s first play, Bell raced 80 yards for a score on the second play of the next drive, giving Villa Park a 14-0 lead.

Bell added a two-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter after a Foothill turnover, then scored again on a six-yard run with 4:47 left in the third quarter. The latter score gave Villa Park a 27-14 lead.

Foothill’s Robinson rushed for 179 yards and scored four touchdowns.