Chavez, Loara Rout El Dorado

Running back Billy Chavez scored four touchdowns and had 249 all-purpose yards to help Loara defeat El Dorado, 44-14, in an Empire League game Friday at Valencia High.

Chavez rushed for 123 yards in 19 carries, scoring three rushing touchdowns. He also returned a kickoff 94 yards for a score, and the Saxons ran up 330 yards in total offense.

Loara (3-4, 2-0 in league), after scoring 48 points in five nonleague games, has tallied more than 40 points in its league victories over Cypress and El Dorado.

“We are going to be tested in all of our league games,” said Loara Coach John deFries. “El Dorado started the game like a house on fire, but we played good defense and our special teams gave us a break.”

Brian Zurhellen kicked a 32-yard field goal to give the Golden Hawks (0-2, 1-6) a 3-0 lead five minutes into the game. Loara’s Michael Malanga gave his team the lead later in the first quarter when he picked up a fumble by El Dorado punter Karel Paska and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown.

After Zurhellen kicked his second field goal to pull El Dorado within 7-6, Chavez scored his first touchdown on an 11-yard run with 5:38 remaining in the first half.

Zurhellen scored on a one-yard touchdown run, then completed a two-point conversion pass to Jake Jones as El Dorado tied it, 14-14, with 2:17 remaining in the second quarter.

Chavez helped put the game out of reach for the Golden Hawks when he returned the ensuing kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown. Steven Douglas intercepted a Zurhellen pass deep in El Dorado territory, which led to a Chavez touchdown on a two-yard run with 38 seconds left in the half.