FULLERTON – Fullerton led by 20 points at halftime and 14 heading into the fourth quarter against Gahr of Cerritos in the final nonleague game of the season Thursday at Fullerton District Stadium.
Gahr got even closer in the fourth, but the Indians wound up hanging on to a 41-33 victory.
The big story of the night was the individual performances of Fullerton quarterback Andrew Tavarez, receiver Kaene Soto and running back Joshua Hill.
Tavarez completed 16 of 23 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns, Soto had seven receptions for 128 yards and two touchdowns with an interception, and Hill rushed for 204 yards and two scores on 25 carries.
Fullerton (3-2) led 41-27 and had possession with less than a minute remaining in the game.
But the Indians couldn’t convert on third down and were forced to punt.
De’jah Pickett returned the punt for a 60-yard score to get the Gladiators within a touchdown with 38 seconds left.
Justin Kim recovered the ensuing onside kick for the Indians, who were then able to run out the clock.
The Indians have a week off and will then open the Freeway League schedule against Troy on Oct. 10.
Tavarez will head into league play, having completed 78 of 119 passes for 1,123 yards and 10 touchdowns.
In the fourth quarter, Fullerton’s Christian Clayton stopped quarterback Malik Smith short of the end zone on a fourth-and-4 play.
Contact the writer: lponsi@ocregister.com
