Villa Park Gets in Gear in Time

The only thing that could stop Villa Park’s Dache Dameron Friday night was his own teammates. Once they stopped holding, clipping and moving before the snap, he was able to run free.

Dameron rushed for 200 yards in 25 carries and scored five touchdowns, including four in the second half, to lead the fourth-seeded Spartans to a 41-14 victory over El Dorado in a Southern Section Division VI first-round game at El Modena High. Villa Park advances to play Servite.

“Our coaches stressed not jumping offsides, not holding, and tonight it seemed like in the first half the only thing we could do was wrong,” Dameron said. “But we went into halftime and made a couple of key adjustments, then came out and picked up our game.”

Villa Park trailed, 14-7, at the half, despite moving the ball with ease against the Golden Hawks (6-5).

On the Spartans’ opening drive, they moved the ball to the El Dorado 23, but Mike Clements hooked a 40-yard field goal. Villa Park (5-5-1) then drove just inside the Golden Hawks’ 20 in its next possession, but a false start, followed by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty ended that threat.

On El Dorado’s next possession, Villa Park was called for a late hit after stopping El Dorado on third down, and five plays later Brandon Fischer gave the Golden Hawks a 7-0 lead with a four-yard touchdown run.

Dameron then had a 61-yard touchdown run wiped out because of a clipping penalty and Villa Park was forced to punt. The Spartans finally got it right on their fourth possession, with Dameron scoring on a 21-yard touchdown run with five minutes, 13 seconds remaining in the first half.

El Dorado moved ahead, 14-7, on Tim Fairfield’s one-yard run, and nearly went up by 10 points, but Brian Zurhellen’s 35-yard field goal attempt just before halftime was a yard short.

Dameron opened the second half with a 49-yard touchdown run to tie the score, 14-14.