SANTA ANA – Katella appeared to have nothing left on defense. The visiting Knights had been on the field for all but eight plays of the second half and were asked to stop Santa Ana Valley one more time in the final minutes Friday night.
And Katella stepped up, stopping the Falcons on downs to preserve the 8-6 win and pull within a victory of a second straight outright Orange League title.
“Our defense won the game for us, bar none,” Katella coach Fred Di Palma said.
The Knights (9-0, 4-0) were vulnerable coming out of the half, holding just an 8-0 lead and playing without last season’s Orange League lineman of the year, Ector Loayza, who went down with a lower leg injury late in the second quarter.
Santa Ana Valley (3-5-1, 3-1) burned nearly half the third quarter on the opening drive of the half, but came up empty. Katella generated just one first down on its opening drive of the half and the Falcons were back on offense, marching down the field behind running back Chris Hernandez.
The Falcons reached the red zone for the first time and kept on going, scoring a touchdown on a 2-yard quarterback sneak by Jason Wilkenson to cut the deficit to 8-6. Wilkenson’s 2-point pass attempt was incomplete, however.
Santa Ana Valley forced a punt after three plays and took over at its 24 with 6:56 left. The Falcons were able to move the ball just past midfield with 3:22 still remaining, but were finally stopped on fourth-and-2 when Wilkenson’s desperation pass to Hernandez went for minus yardage.
The Knights scored on their second possession of the game as Sebastian Damasco had a 1-yard plunge and then added a 2-point conversion run.
