Valencia Has No Defense for Brea Olinda Onslaught

Defense? What defense?

It took Brea Olinda all of one half Friday night to shred, for the moment at least, the theory that Valencia’s defense is one of the best around.

The No. 8 Wildcats dropped a 20-point second quarter on the Tigers en route to a 41-7 victory at Brea that gave them their third consecutive Orange League title.

In one game, Brea (9-0-1, 4-0-1) scored more than half of the 73 points Valencia (8-2, 4-1) had given up in nine previous games combined. Led by Kenny Washington’s 186 yards rushing and three touchdowns, the Wildcats rolled up 406 yards of total offense.

“I can’t believe the score was that big,” said Washington, his eyes wide in amazement. “We wanted to make a statement, and I guess we made it.”

Brea scored touchdowns on each of its four first-half possessions to jump out to a 27-7 lead and essentially put the game out of reach.

Defensively, it was the Wildcats who came up big, limiting Valencia to 54 yards rushing for the game. Tiger quarterback Brian Bartczak did complete 13 of 25 passes for 172 yards, but he never got into a rhythm. Two of Bartczak’s passes were intercepted by Brea defensive back Mike Salazar.

“We played our best game in Game 10 of the year, and that’s just what we wanted to do,” Brea Coach Jon Looney said. “It was a complete game.”

Brea’s celebration was almost as impressive as its victory. Jubilant fans pelted the field with oranges, and Looney took a huge bite out of an orange and spit the juice back out at his gleeful players.

Looney then pointed out two interesting tidbits: First, that the last time the Wildcats went undefeated came when astronaut John Glenn was still in his heyday. Second, that the Brea seniors have compiled a four-year record of 41-2-1.

One of those seniors, defensive lineman Dan Scott, said it’s about time the Wildcats got some respect.

Brea players might as well have given Looney his Gatorade shower before halftime, when the Wildcats had taken their 27-7 lead.

And it as if Brea was getting easy scores. The Wildcats dominated, scoring on drives of 84, 62, 80 and 67 yards. Running back Ryan Fortner (53 yards) put Brea ahead for good after his six-yard reverse gave the Wildcats a 14-7 lead on the third play of the second quarter.

Brea took a 21-7 lead on its next possession when sophomore quarterback Steve Stagnaro connected with his senior brother, Nick, for a dazzling 30-yard touchdown reception with 4:23 left until halftime.