Lancers End a Road Drought

Orange Lutheran was finally able to break the visitors’ jinx, defeating Cerritos Valley Christian, 35-20, in an Olympic League game Friday at Valley Christian High in front of about 3,000 fans.

In the seven years Jim Kunau has been Orange Lutheran’s coach, neither the Lancers nor the Crusaders had won on the other’s home field. And when Valley Christian running back Keith Witt went 58 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage, it looked as if the streak would continue.

But Lancer quarterback Jason Whieldon rallied his team from a 20-14 second-quarter deficit with three unanswered touchdowns, giving his team control in the league race.

“This was a huge win for us,” Whieldon said. “We’ve never won over here, so this was great. It was a dogfight, but we hung in there and got the win.”

The Lancers (7-0, 2-0 in league), ranked fourth in the county and third in Southern Section Division XI, fell behind, 10-0, after a 24-yard field goal by Witt midway through the first quarter.

Scott Ausmus closed the gap to 10-7 when he took a pitch from Whieldon went 46 yards for a touchdown.

The Lancers then took a short-lived lead when Whieldon stepped up into the pocket and connected on a 47-yard pass play to wide receiver Ryan Nath.

Valley Christian (5-2,1-1), answered with a 15-play, 74-yard drive that took 7 minutes and 11 seconds off the clock. It was capped by a four-yard touchdown pass play from Mark Streelman to Chris Cottgias.

Witt followed with a 37-yard field goal to give the Crusaders a 20-14 lead.

From that point on it was all Whieldon and Nath.

With no time left on the halftime clock, Whieldon, the top-rated quarterback in the county, ran to his right and threw across the field to Nath, who caught it and ran it 39 yards for a touchdown and a 21-20 halftime lead.

Whieldon opened the second half hitting Nath with his third touchdown on 21-yard strike that Nath caught while falling into the end zone, a defender hanging on his back.

Nath had six catches for 128 yards and three touchdowns.

Whieldon, who carried 17 times for 120 yards, scored on a 28-yard run in the fourth quarter. He finished nine of 16 for 212 yards, three touchdowns and one interception--only his second of the year.

“[The Crusaders] played extremely well in the first half,” Kunau said. “In a lot of ways this was the most talented team we have faced this season. Their line was outstanding on both sides of the ball.”