Valley Christian Improves to 6-1 Against Hobbled Calvary Chapel

NEWPORT BEACH —  At the start of the season, those in the know thought the winner of Saturday’s Calvary Chapel-Cerritos Valley Christian game would have the inside track for the Olympic League title.

They were right. While the injury-plagued Eagles have struggled, Valley Christian, ranked second in Division X, improved to 6-1 with a 21-0 victory at Newport Harbor High. The Crusaders (2-0 in league) are tied with Orange Lutheran for the league lead.

The Eagles (3-4) managed only 131 yards and crossed the 50-yard line only twice.

Part of the trouble was the situation at quarterback.

Mark Echan, normally a running back, started in place of Waylan Kruse, who is recovering from a sprained ankle. Dallas Kruse, Waylan’s younger brother, also took a turn as the Eagles changed quarterbacks nine times, rotating three players.

“We’re scrambling a bit because of our injury situation,” Eagle Coach Kris Van Hook said. “Waylan was hobbling a little bit and so we started Mark, but we brought Waylan in early to try to establish the passing game.

Waylan Kruse completed six of 10 passes for 95 yards in the game.