FULLERTON – Many of Fullerton’s players are learning on the job.
A young team by age and by varsity experience, the Indians surely will endure growing pains as the season progresses.
But after beating Trabuco Hills, 27-14, Friday night at Fullerton High, there’s reason for Fullerton co-coaches Gus Martinez and Ed De Avila to be optimistic, even as their newcomers find their footing.
Indians quarterback Gavin Klepper threw three touchdown passes in his varsity debut, as Fullerton’s passing offense and defense proved enough to overcome two early deficits.
“This junior class is a very confident group,” Martinez said. “Their first game, we knew we’d have glitches We just wanted to get through the first quarter with no major mistakes. Our youth and our senior leadership, it’s the perfect mix.”
Klepper, a 6-foot-3 sophomore, completed 15 of 21 passes. Running back Arturo Bravo finished with 57 rushing yards.
Defensively, Fullerton’s front seven pressured Trabuco Hills quarterback Tommy Germain all night. Germain was either sacked or brought down behind the line of scrimmage 11 times.
Juniors Adam Gonzalez and Jonoven Smith had valuable takeaways for Fullerton (1-0) in the second quarter.
“Most all of our defensive guys run track, so our team speed is pretty good,” Martinez said. “I was very pleased with how our young guys stepped up. That’s what we were hoping for, what we were expecting, but you never know once you step under the lights.”
Germain scored twice and finished with 244 total yards for Trabuco Hills (1-1).
“It was such a long offseason,” said Martinez, whose 2015 team lost its final five games. “We tried everything this summer. We had to. We ended last year on such a sour note that we had to come out tough tonight and show that our work came through.”
Contact the writer: bwhitehead@scng.com
