NORTH COUNTY ROUNDUP

Katella 47, Orange 6--Brian Jeffrey rushed for 284 yards and four touchdowns in 26 carries for Katella at El Modena High.

The Knights (1-2) had a 14-0 halftime lead then Al Williams opened the second half with a 72-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Jeffrey added touchdown runs of one, 65 and 36 yards in a span of 3:48 to put the game away.

“I just thank God and my line,” said Jeffrey, who came out of the game after his final touchdown opened the fourth quarter. “That [one-yard] touchdown means the most to me. I’m getting more confidence with my short game.”

Orange (0-3) had trouble generating offense, especially after the Panthers’ top all-purpose runner, junior Jeremy Poole, suffered a sprained right ankle on a kickoff return late in the first quarter.

Without Poole, the the Panthers were lucky to make the line of scrimmage--14 of Orange’s 23 rushes lost yardage. But the results weren’t much better in the air. Orange quarterbacks were intercepted five times. Quarterback C.J. Joiner came up with the Panthers’ only score, a 74-yard scramble with 3:21 remaining in the third quarter.

“I don’t think there was any one thing we did at halftime,” said Katella Coach Dominik Unger. “They just decided to come out and play in the third quarter.”