White Hits 6,000 Yards, but Saugus Gets Victory

Manuel White of Valencia High joined an elite group Friday night, surpassing 6,000 career rushing yards.

But it was Saugus and quarterback David Parker who will recall the game fondly.

Parker took care of the offense and the Centurion defense turned back the Vikings four times inside its 20-yard line, and Saugus held on for a 21-13 victory in a Foothill League game at College of the Canyons.

“This is a huge win for us,” Coach Ron Hilton of Saugus said.

Saugus (8-2, 4-1 in league play), ranked No. 6 in Division III, claimed second place and is assured a home game for the first round of the playoffs next week.

Valencia (7-3, 3-2), ranked No. 3 in Division III, did not look sharp against its cross-town rival.

“Bottom line, we just didn’t play real well,” Coach Brian Stiman of Valencia said. “They played well and my hat’s off to them.”

White ran for 140 yards to become the third player from the region to surpass 6,000 career yards, but Valencia had little to cheer after falling behind, 21-7, on Parker’s eight-yard touchdown run with 56 seconds left in the third quarter.

“We knew if our defense could stop their running game, we could score some points on them,” Parker said.

Parker, who had only four passes intercepted in nine games, had two picked off by Valencia. He finished 19 of 32 for 192 yards and a touchdown.

On four consecutive possessions in the second half, the Vikings turned the ball over on downs on the Saugus seven-, seven-, 18- and 15-yard lines.

The Vikings finally found the end zone with 1:31 seconds left when quarterback Kyle Bauer hit Stephen Stokes with an eight-yard touchdown pass.

Brian Miller of Valencia recovered an on-side kick at Saugus’ 47 on the ensuing kickoff. Bauer and Stokes hooked up for a first down on third and 10, but Dusty Titzel ripped the ball from Stokes’ hands and Andrew Gutierrez recovered the fumble at the 27 with 56 seconds left to secure the victory.

“I just felt it and pulled on it,” said Titzel, who was in on a gang tackle. “It was a crucial play.”

White scored on a 50-yard run in the first quarterbut never got on a roll.

Bauer passed a season-high 30 times, completing 12 for 180 yards.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re running or passing, if you don’t execute, you don’t win,” Stiman said.

The Centurions scored on two of its first three possessions and had 206 yards in the first half.