ORANGE COUNTY / PREP FOOTBALL : Valencia Stands Up Villa Park : Prep football: Tigers’ goal-line defense keeps Spartans off the board late in the game, preserving a 20-15 victory.

Valencia’s defense stopped Villa Park quarterback John Henry Jackson on a sneak from a half-yard out, enabling the Tigers to escape with a 20-15 victory Friday night at El Modena High.

“He was going to quarterback sneak it,” Valencia linebacker Bob Davis said. “He did the same play on fourth down before.”

The Spartans began the final drive on their 42 with 2 minutes 34 seconds remaining. Jeff Oftelie’s spectacular one-handed catch of a 29-yard pass thrown by wide receiver Bryan Arguello off a lateral moved Villa Park to the Tiger 31.

With 44 seconds and two timeouts remaining, Arguello’s three-yard reception placed the ball at the two. Running back Marquis Colvin barreled his way inside the one, where the Spartans used their final timeout with seven seconds left.

Villa Park opted to send Jackson over the top, which had worked successfully on fourth and one earlier in the quarter, but the Tigers won the surge at the line and stopped Jackson in his tracks.

“We thought we could get a few inches,” Villa Park Coach Pat Mahoney said. “We have a 275-pound guard and we tried to go behind him and they just got underneath us.”

The Spartans had rebounded from a 14-3 third-quarter deficit to take a 15-14 lead on touchdown runs of 62 and 54 yards by Colvin.

Colvin’s second touchdown came with 7:43 left in the game and appeared to be enough after Valencia failed to get a first down on its next possession. But Villa Park failed to get a first down on its ensuing possession and the Tigers had the ball back with 5:04 remaining.

Gio Alvarez kept the drive alive with a 21-yard reception on third and nine, and he then capped it off with a 40-yard touchdown pass from Brian Bartczak with 2:43 remaining.

Villa Park was hindered by the loss of all-league defensive tackle Anthony Bologna, who injured his knee on the opening kickoff and never returned.

Valencia ran the ball successfully up the middle, particularly in the first half when Scott Parker gained 107 yards in 19 carries.

Colvin, who transferred from Buena Park this season, finished with 191 yards in 24 carries.