Villa Park Works Past Falcons on the Day Shift

Villa Park was still smarting from forfeiting three games earlier in the week for using an ineligible player and was not accustomed to playing in the afternoon. So the drowsy Spartans struggled throughout the first half Saturday in their Century League opener against Santa Ana Valley.

But they woke up in time to put away the battered Falcons and won easily, 33-7, in front of a small and listless crowd at Santa Ana Stadium.

“I don’t think I’ve played one of these afternoon games in 15 years,” Villa Park Coach Pat Mahoney said. “In fact, I don’t think I’ve played one since my junior college days. It takes the emotion out of the game. It takes away the crispness and it makes it seem like a practice. We made a lot of mistakes in the first half.”

But thanks to a late second-quarter touchdown pass from John Henry Jackson to Dache Dameron, the Spartans took a 10-7 halftime lead. Dameron accounted for 75 of the 91 yards on the drive, 62 on the ground. He finished with 170 yards in 25 carries before leaving because of an ankle injury in the fourth quarter.

Santa Ana Valley (2-4, 0-1) moved the ball effectively through the air in the first half, but quarterback Miguel Guerrero (six of 12, 103 yards) was injured while playing linebacker on the Spartans’ first drive. That left the quarterbacking duties to sophomore Maurice Dunning, who had been playing for the junior varsity. Dunning completed only four of 11 passes for 43 yards with one interception.

“That’s a tough spot to put a kid in,” Santa Ana Valley Coach Eddie Steward said. “The injuries forced us to start substituting some of our younger kids and that hurt us.”

Guerrero was forced to fill in at linebacker because starting linebacker David Guevara left because of an injury. The holes at linebacker gave Dameron and Nick Busciglio some big holes to run through. Busciglio rushed for 66 yards in the second half after being held to minus-seven in three carries in the first half.

Villa Park (1-5, 1-0) extended the lead to 17-7 when Jackson hit tight end Spencer Grace with a seven-yard scoring pass. Jackson’s 32-yard pass play to Bryan Arguello set up the touchdown. Jackson scored on a one-yard keeper three minutes later as the Spartans took advantage of a short Santa Ana punt and drove 59 yards in five plays.