Buena Park clinches share of Freeway title

Sunny Hills' Branden Stanfill, left, celebrates a running touchdown by Alex Jung, right, that gave them a brief lead over 14-8 over Buena Park Friday in the first half. (ROD VEAL/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER)
Buena Park's Jamiel Henning turns the corner on a TD run in the first half against Sunny Hills giving them an 8-6 lead in the first half Friday. (ROD VEAL/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER)
Sunny Hills' Branden Stanfill, left, picks up a first and goal in the first half as Buena Park's Ricky Barbosa stops him shy of a touchdown though he would score on the next down in the first half. (ROD VEAL/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER)
Sunny Hills' Branden Stanfill, left, picks up a first down against Buena Park Friday. (ROD VEAL/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER)
Buena Park's Jamiel Henning makes it 16-14 when he scores on a kick return with less than two minutes left in the first half against Sunny Hills Friday. (ROD VEAL/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER)
Sunny Hills' Brandon Costelo, center, scores on Buena Park in Friday. (ROD VEAL/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER)
Buena Park's Victor Bates, left, and teammate AJ Allen , 9, celebrate a score which made it 38-14 in 4th quarter against Sunny Hills Friday. (ROD VEAL/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER)
Buena Park Taariq Johnson catches a two point conversion against Buena Park making the score 40-14 in the fourth quarter Friday. (ROD VEAL/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER)
Sunny Hills' Josh Neumann doesn't agree with the referee's ruling that Buena Park's Taariq Johnson, seated, caught a 2-point conversion to make it 40-14 in the fourth quarter Friday.

By Tom Connolly | Orange County Register

October 29, 2016 at 12:25 a.m.

BUENA PARK – Following Buena Park’s victory over La Habra last week, Coyotes coach Anthony White challenged his team this week with the slogan, “So What, Now What.”

Buena Park started slow but responded to White’s challenge as it defeated Sunny Hills, 40-14, in a Freeway League game Friday night at Buena Hills High.

Coyotes quarterback James Rafkin threw three second-half touchdown passes and Jamiel Henning rushed for 149 yards and a TD as Buena Park won its fourth in a row to earn at least a share of the league title.

With a week to go in the regular season, the Coyotes (8-1, 4-0) will capture the league title outright for the first time in over 20 years with a win over Troy next week.

“Today all three levels – varsity, JV and freshman – earned at least a share of the league title for the first time in our history,” White said.

Rafkin tossed a 16-yard TD pass to Taariq Johnson to cap Buena Park’s opening drive of the second half and increase its lead to 24-14.

“We have to finish what we started next week and then on to CIF,” said Rafkin, who completed 14 of 16 passes for 200 yards and three TDs.

In the fourth quarter, Rafkin added TD passes of 9 and 39 yards to AJ Allen and Victor Bates.

Henning broke off an 80-yard TD run in the second quarter that gave the Coyotes an 8-7 lead.

“The O-line was the key,” said Henning. “Without them, I couldn’t run anywhere; they were opening big holes.”

The Lancers (6-3, 2-2) converted a Buena Park turnover and marched 43 yards in seven plays to take a 7-0 lead in the opening quarter.

Brandon Castelo raced in from 21 yards on a fourth-down play.

After Henning’s touchdown run, Sunny Hills countered with a methodical 13-play, 70-yard drive that Alex Jung finished with a 2-yard TD run to give the Lancers a 14-8 lead with 1:05 left in the half.

However, Elijah Gates returned the ensuing kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown and Henning ran in the 2-point conversion to lift Buena Park to a 16-14 halftime lead.

Jung and Castelo, the top two rushers in league, ran for a combined 226 yards and two touchdowns.