Indians pull out victory in OT

MEMORIAL FIELD — Friday night’s Pacific League contest between Burroughs High and Arcadia was tied after one half of play.

And the score remained knotted after two halves, as a game filled with penalties and key defensive stops went into overtime.

In the end, the Indians — led by quarterback Lucas Yanez — scored on five plays in their overtime drive and kept the Apaches to just four yards in their failed attempt to answer.

“Hard-fought battle,” said Indians Coach Keith Knoop after the thrilling 21-14 victory at Memorial Field. “We needed this.”

Both teams’ offenses were stagnant in the first half, combining to punt the ball on the first eight drives of the game.

Then, the Apaches finally got something going, moving the ball 71 yards and setting up a golden first-and-goal opportunity. However, quarterback Myles Carr threw an interception in the end zone.

“Obviously, not what we wanted, but we knew we had to keep fighting, and not let up,” Apaches Coach Jon Dimalante said.

Carr would redeem himself on the team’s first drive of the second half, hooking up with Taylor Lagace for a five-yard touchdown.

Lagace caught six balls for 72 yards, leading all receivers and accounting for all but 36 of Carr’s passing yards.

Then a bit of luck happened for the Indians (3-3, 3-0 in league) on the ensuing drive that picked up a struggling offense in the oddest way. Yanez’s intended a pass for Zack Meijer, but the ball went off the receiver’s hands and right into the arms tight end Nick Brown. Brown made the most of the opportunity with a 66-yard touchdown reception.

Yanez passed for 164 of his 230 yards in the second half, including his second touchdown that went to Matt Volland as time expired in the third quarter.

Volland returned a kickoff for an apparent touchdown after the Apaches (3-3, 2-1) tied the score at 14. But a holding penalty nullified the score.

Volland still had a solid game with six receptions for 64 yards and the touchdown.

“This isn’t the NFL, so I don’t have to worry about getting fined, but the calls were inconsistent and lopsided tonight,” Knoop said. “But if you’re a good team, you battle through it.”

The Apaches missed a field goal at the end of regulation, giving Yanez and his offense the stage to go 25 yards in five plays — the last a one-yard sneak from the quarterback.

“Somebody had to score first,” said Knoop of the extra period. “Our whole mentality is to keep fighting, and that’s what we did tonight.”

Burroughs got 135 yards on the ground, 90 from senior running back Tadeo Zuniga.