BUENA PARK – Buena Park coach Anthony White is an eternal optimist. He sort of has to be, to take over a downtrodden program in 2010 and turn it into a perennial playoff contender seemingly overnight.
Players graduate. Assistants leave. Opponents change. And yet the one constant at Buena Park these past five seasons has been White, the gregarious coach with the boyish smile and undying passion for Coyotes football.
Buena Park defeated visiting Fullerton on Friday, securing the Freeway League’s No. 2 seed with a 39-0 victory that White attributed to every player, coach and administrator at the school.
“Yes,” he said after the game, when asked if upon his hiring in 2010 he expected to have this much success this early in his tenure. “We put in the hard work, so we knew we were capable of this. The coaches, the community, the players. We’re a team, and we always believed we could build this.”
Coyotes quarterback Zach Taylor had a hand in three touchdowns. Running back Marcus Loudon scored twice, and receiver Will Latham finished with 113 yards, a receiving touchdown and an interception return for a touchdown.
“Tonight was the best defensive effort, as a whole, we’ve had this season,” Latham said. “We each did one-eleventh part of the defense. It’s too much fun playing in a game where we play as a team, as brothers.”
Buena Park’s defensive line regularly collapsed Fullerton’s pocket, forcing quarterback Andrew Tavarez to abort most pass plays. He finished 4 of 14 for 33 passing yards.
“Our coaches had a great game plan,” Coyotes defensive end Cedric Dashiell II said. “They wanted us to play fast, give a lot of effort on defense. We just did our job.”
Fullerton (5-5, 2-3) must hope to receive one of three Southwest Division at-large bids to continue its season. Co-coach Gus Martinez said before the game he was confident the league’s strength would earn his team that bid.
Meanwhile, Buena Park (9-1, 4-1) will appear in the postseason a fifth straight year.
“We’re confident, but we have a lot of work to do still,” Latham said. “We’re not yet at the top of our game. Our skyline is way higher.”
Contact the writer: bwhitehead@ocregister.com
