ORANGE – Villa Park won its Crestview League opener in dominating fashion Friday against Yorba Linda, but the 38-0 victory at El Modena High came with a cost, and maybe a life lesson or two.
Spartans leading receiver Brennan Corbin was ejected from the game late in the first half after he was flagged for his second unsportsmanlike penalty. Corbin, who caught his 10th and 11th touchdown passes of the season and intercepted a pass earlier in the half, won’t be available for Villa Park’s league showdown next week against Foothill.
“I think he’s the best receiver in the division and one of the top receivers in the county,” Villa Park coach Dusan Ancich said of Corbin, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound senior. “We can’t replace what he brings.”
Corbin helped get the Spartans rolling after a slow start in which they were stopped on fourth down on their first two possessions, including a fake punt.
After the Mustangs (3-5, 0-1) badly missed a 29-yard field goal with seven seconds left in the opening quarter, Villa Park faced another fourth down from the Yorba Linda 25. But this time quarterback Nick Sipe found Corbin open down the left sideline for the first TD of the game.
The Spartans (8-0, 1-0) got the ball right back via punt and needed just one play to strike again. Sipe threw a sideline pass to Corbin, who spun away from a tackler and outran the rest of the defense for a 71-yard score on his 20th reception of the season.
After the Spartans stretched the lead to 21-0 on a 29-yard touchdown run by John Stamos with 5:24 left in the half, Corbin halted Yorba Linda’s next possession with an interception near the Villa Park goal line with 34 seconds remaining.
After he battled for the ball with the Yorba Linda receiver, Corbin stood up and took his helmet off, generating the first unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. As he lined up on offense on the ensuing series, the side judge near him threw another flag, ending his night.
“It was just talking,” Ancich said of Corbin’s penalties. “It’s tough to take that away from a high school kid, but we’ll have to deal with it.”
