Brea Olinda Capitalizes on Seniority Complex

It’s still too early to tell how good this Brea Olinda team will be. The Wildcats have two consecutive Orange League titles on their resume and last year reached the Southern Section Division IX semifinals.

But one thing is already fact: the Wildcats have a senior class that does not lose often.

After a 28-0 victory Friday over visiting Sunny Hills, the seniors at Brea now have a collective 34-2 record, which includes freshman, junior varsity and varsity football. The Wildcats can win going away, win a close game or win playing sloppy, as they did Friday.

Brea (3-0) lost one of six fumbles, had an interception and were flagged for eight penalties for 55 yards. The Wildcats lost two scores when Sunny Hills recovered a fumble in its end zone, and cornerback James Drummond intercepted a pass by quarterback Steve Stagnaro, also in the Lancer end zone.

But the Wildcats did score a touchdown in every quarter--two by tailback Kenny Washington, who rushed for 100 yards in 17 carries--then watched their defense lock up Sunny Hills, which managed only 98 yards of total offense.

“We did shoot ourselves in the foot a lot tonight,” Brea Coach Jon Looney said. “But our defensive front was able to control the line of scrimmage and that limited what they were able to do.”

Sunny Hills Coach Tim Brogden knew going in the Wildcats would be the best team the Lancers had faced up to this point. Brea turned out to be better than he thought.

“They are very, very good,” Brogden said. “This is the first time we played a team that hits like they do, and they just smashed us in the mouth. I thought our defense played well, but they were on the field too long. Our offense killed us tonight.”

The game was to feature two running backs off to good starts this season. Brea’s Washington came into the game averaging 126 yards and had scored four touchdowns. His Sunny Hills counterpart, senior Brandon Shepard, was averaging 112 yards with three touchdowns.

But Shepard spent most of the game running back to the line of scrimmage. He broke only one long run--29 yards--and finished with 46 yards in 12 carries.

Brogden had hoped to open up the passing game as well, but neither starting quarterback Bryson Ignarta (36 yards) nor Drummond had much time or protection.

Washington was having better luck against Sunny Hills. He ran 11 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter, then reeled off a 38-yard punt return in the second quarter to set up his four-yard touchdown run.