TUSTIN – Brea Olinda sophomore Christian Thongphrachanh was second on the quarterback depth chart when Wednesday afternoon’s walkthrough began, but found himself running with the first string when starter Dylan Flenniken tweaked his ankle.
The youngster got his first lesson early on Thursday night: practice speed and live game action are two different beasts.
The Wildcats turned the ball over on each of their first three possessions, Foothill quarterback Bobby Garcia converted a pair of those miscues into two of his four TD passes, and the Knights held on to defeat Brea Olinda, 28-18, in a nonleague game at Tustin High.
Garcia completed 10 of 18 passes for 229 yards on the evening. After the Knights defense pounced on three Brea (3-1) fumbles in the opening quarter, Garcia gave Foothill (3-1) a 12-0 lead with 42- and 27-yard scoring strikes to David Lopez and Blake Toll. He added a 59-yard touchdown pass to Nick Martinez to put the Knights up, 20-6, at halftime.
“He’s a dangerous runner, dangerous passer, he’s our captain – just the total package,” Foothill coach Doug Case said of his senior signal caller. “He’s doing a great job for us. And our defense – all year long – has been doing a heck of a job. We gave up a couple easy ones there at the end, but they continued to play tonight.”
At least early on, Thongphrachanh struggled adjusting to the rapidity of Brea’s misdirection offense. The sophomore lost three fumbles in the opening quarter, and saw the ball hit the turf five times throughout the contest.
He learned quickly, though, the best thing the offense had going for it was running back Noah Rivera. The elusive senior back finished with 90 yards rushing and added 94 yards receiving. He scored all three of Brea’s touchdowns, rushing for one and hauling in a pair of Thongphrachanh throws from 38 and 33 yards out.
“(Thongphrachanh) is a great kid, got a good head on his shoulder and is very talented,” Wildcats coach Robb Perrance said. “But yeah, experience isn’t something you can just go pick up at the store to get.”
Contact the writer: kconnnolly@scng.com
