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  • Dana Hills' Brian Scott, right, is taken down by Villa...

    Dana Hills' Brian Scott, right, is taken down by Villa Park's Kory Garcia during Thursday's nonleague game.

  • Villa Park's Kyle Harlin, middle, catches the ball while under...

    Villa Park's Kyle Harlin, middle, catches the ball while under pressure form Dana Hills' Connor McCloud, right, and Jay Schuyler during Thursday's nonleague game at El Modena.

  • Dana Hills' Brandon Rogers, right, is tackled by Villa Park's...

    Dana Hills' Brandon Rogers, right, is tackled by Villa Park's Kory Garcia during Thursday's nonleague game at El Modena.

  • Dana Hills' Connor McCloud, right, prepares to get hit by...

    Dana Hills' Connor McCloud, right, prepares to get hit by Villa Park's Khalil Wilson during Thursday's nonleague game at El Modena.

  • Dana Hills' Jay Schuyler, right, is pushed out of bounds...

    Dana Hills' Jay Schuyler, right, is pushed out of bounds by Villa Park's Khalil Wilson during Thursday's nonleague game at El Modena.

  • Villa Park's Jake Ruiz, right, is tackled by Dana Hills'...

    Villa Park's Jake Ruiz, right, is tackled by Dana Hills' Jay Schuyler on Thursday night at El Modena.

  • Villa Park football fans cheer during a nonleague game against...

    Villa Park football fans cheer during a nonleague game against Dana Hills on Thursday at El Modena.

  • Villa Park football fans cheer during a nonleague game against...

    Villa Park football fans cheer during a nonleague game against Dana Hills on Thursday at El Modena.

  • Dana Hills football fans cheer during a nonleague game against...

    Dana Hills football fans cheer during a nonleague game against Villa Park on Thursday at El Modena.

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Dan Albano. Sports HS Reporter.

// MORE INFORMATION: Staff Mug Shot taken August 26, 2010 : by KATE LUCAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER.

ORANGE – Villa Park continued to show Thursday night the progress it has made since a season-opening, 63-point loss against Mater Dei.

Junior Ramon Chaves rushed for two touchdowns, including a spectacular, 75-yarder early in the fourth quarter, to help lead the Spartans past visiting Dana Hills, 25-10, in a nonleague game at El Modena.

The Spartans (2-1) also played strong defense early in the second half en route to their second straight victory after a 63-0 loss to top-ranked Mater Dei.

“It was a good mind-changer for us,” Chaves said of the Mater Dei game. “We had to really improve. … We’re getting to the ball a lot quicker. Our effort is a lot better than the first week.”

Villa Park’s defense showed improvement in the second half as it made two key stops to preserve a 15-3 lead and set the stage for Chaves’ game-breaking touchdown run.

The Spartans forced Dana Hills (0-4) to turn the ball over on downs at the Villa Park 13 after a third-quarter opening drive chewed up just over six minutes.

Dana Hills and running back Connor McCloud (season-high 204 yards) were on the move again on their second drive of the third quarter, driving for a first down at the Villa Park 14. But the Chaves contributed to the drive stalling with a third-down sack to his 32, forcing a punt on the final play of the third. It was his third sack of the season.

On the third play of the fourth, Chaves broke a 75-yard touchdown, shedding tacklers at Dana Hills’ 30 and 20 with straight-arms.

“It was a trap, too,” said Chaves, who rushed for 129 yards on 11 carries. “Usually, those runs are supposed to go for 5 yards.”

Steven Barnett added a 19-yard field goal later in the fourth for Villa Park and McCloud capped the scoring with a 56-yard TD run with 3:20 left.

“Offense, defense, special teams, that kid played his heart out,” Dana Hills coach Todd Rusinkovich said of McCloud, a junior. “We have a tough, resilient group.”

Villa Park led, 15-3, at halftime thanks in large part to tight end/defensive Christian Williams and the Spartans’ defense.

Williams caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Anthony Navarro on fourth-and-goal with 2:56 left in the first quarter to give the Spartans a 6-0 lead. Barnett added the extra point.

Villa Park later capitalized on an interception by Kory Garcia early in the second quarter to open a 15-0 lead. After Garcia’s interception at his 23, the Spartans drove for a 9-yard touchdown run with 9:06 left in the half by Chaves, who also ran in the 2-point conversion.

Williams sparked the drive with a 36-yard reception on third down to the Dana Hills 12.

The two first-half touchdowns gave the Spartans their best start to a game this season. And the Spartans finished with just one turnover for the second consecutive game, a strong improvement from their eight turnovers against Mater Dei.

“It’s never good to lose like that,” Villa Park coach Dusan Ancich said before Thursday’s game. “There’s probably something in there (to learn from). We’re still trying to see what it is.”

Late in the first half, Dana Hills turned an interception by McCloud into a 36-yard field goal Brendan Villacreses with 3:25 left in the second quarter but it could have been more. The Dolphins used to a 34-yard reverse-pass from wide receiver Jay Schuyler to Brandon Rogers to move to the Spartans’ 18. Dana Hills had first-and-goal at the 5 but were hurt by intentional grounding and false start penalties before the field goal.

“We’ll get stuff corrected in film and during practice during the week and hopefully, we’ll come out with a solid effort against Garden Grove next Friday,” Rusinkovich said. 

Villa Park plays El Modena next week.

Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com