La Habra Rolls Past Foothill

Using a tough running game, an opportunistic defense and a big-play passing attack, La Habra won its fourth game in a row with a 41-14 victory over Foothill Thursday at Tustin High.

Brent West rushed for 158 yards in 27 carries and scored three touchdowns, including one 20 seconds into the game after La Habra recovered a Foothill fumble.

Mike Keeling got the most from only 11 passes, completing seven for 181 yards and touchdowns of 78 and 64 yards.

Antonio Sanchez recovered two fumbles, turned a short pass into a 64-yard scoring play, and returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown.

The Highlanders’ defense forced four turnovers, three in the first half that led to 21 points.

West converted two of those turnovers into touchdowns on runs of 23 and 25 yards.

Another first-half turnover, an interception by John Tapia, led to Sanchez’s touchdown with 43 seconds left in the second quarter to make it 28-14.

It was part of a devastating sequence for the Knights. Foothill was driving for a potential tying score in the final two minutes of the half and would have had the ball at the Highlander 14-yard line, but an illegal block moved the ball back to the 40. Tapia’s interception came on the next play.

“That broke our backs,” said Foothill Coach Doug Case, whose team dropped to 1-4 while La Habra improved to 4-1. “That changed the momentum of the game.”

About a minute later, Keeling’s off-balance pass while in the midst of tacklers found Sanchez, who avoided being immediately tackled and dashed to the end zone.

Sanchez showed it wasn’t a fluke. He returned the third-quarter kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown and, despite a missed point-after attempt, a 34-14 lead against a team that allowed only 39 points in its first four games.

Keeling’s other scoring pass was a 78-yarder to Pascual Alvarez, cutting Foothill’s lead to 14-13 in the first quarter. Keeling completed five of seven passes in the half for 170 yards.

Despite falling behind early, 7-0, Foothill answered with scores on consecutive possessions, finishing with a one-yard run by Keir Dunston and 49-yard pass from Derek Fitch to Tyler Krudwig for a 14-7 lead.