Berutich Saves the Day for Laguna Hills

Adam Berutich sacked Foothill quarterback Derek Fitch as time ran out to preserve Laguna Hills’ 20-13 victory Friday at Mission Viejo High.

Berutich’s effort inside the Laguna Hills 10-yard line followed his one-yard plunge with 2 minutes 29 seconds left to play that gave the Hawks the lead.

“We’ve had three straight games like this that came down to the last drive, and it’s nice to see us come out and make some plays,” Laguna Hills Coach Bruce Ingalls said. “We had to find a way to get it done and we did.”

The Hawks (2-2), who brought a two-game losing streak into the game after last-second losses to Trabuco Hills and Mission Viejo, had to get the job done in the second half without leading rusher Matt Chandler. Chandler carried 16 times for 107 yards and a touchdown in the first half, but did he not return after aggravating a hip pointer.

Chandler is also the team’s kicker and that forced Laguna Hills to go for two points after a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns. Ajay Allen followed Berutich’s go-ahead score by blasting his way into the end zone for two points.

It took the Hawks only three plays to go 68 yards for the winning touchdown. Berutich’s touchdown was set up by two consecutive passes from Chris Johnson to Brian Anderson that netted 77 yards.

Foothill (1-3) grabbed a 13-12 lead with 3:59 left to play when Fitch threw an eight-yard scoring pass to Tyler Krudwig.