Valencia Ties Villa Park in Last Second

ORANGE —  Valencia Coach Mike Marrujo appeared the least shocked of all after watching Jason Annis kick a 36-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Tigers an improbable 10-10 tie with Villa Park Thursday at El Modena High.

“I’ve been a high school coach long enough to know these kids will give you gray hairs,” Marrujo said.

The turn of events began after Villa Park took over on downs with just under a minute left at the Valencia 13, while holding a 10-7 lead.

Villa Park’s first mistake came when quarterback Matt Jackson scrambled out of bounds on second down, stopping the clock with 40 seconds remaining. Valencia then used its final timeout after the Spartans’ third-down play, leading to fourth and eight with approximately 30 seconds remaining.

Villa Park decided against a field-goal attempt and instead pitched out to running back Dache Dameron, who scrambled behind the line of scrimmage for several seconds before the ball was knocked from his grasp. Linebacker Matt Randolph scooped it up and rambled past midfield before he was finally stopped.

A late-hit penalty on the return, followed by a 13-yard pass from Annis to Chris Brown, put the ball at the Villa Park 24 with four seconds left. Annis then missed a 41-yard field goal attempt, but Villa Park was called for offsides, giving Annis a second chance.