Villa Park moves and grooves past Canyon

Villa Park cheerleader and senior, Sara Miller, points out something to a teammate while resting inside her cheer box before the football game against Canyon High at El Modena High's Fred Kelly Stadium.
A swarm of Villa Park defenders tackles Canyon's Noah White during a failed last-minute drive before halftime. The Spartans won, 41-12.
Villa Park alumni Nick Bush prepares flags for the pre-game ceremony before the game between Canyon and Villa Park at El Modena High's Fred Kelly Stadium.
Villa Park's Kory Garcia breaks up a pass in the end zone for Canyon's Trace Hobbs during their game at El Modena High's Fred Kelly Stadium.
Some early arrivers of Villa Park's student cheering section get excited for a photo before their team's football game against Canyon High at El Modena High's Fred Kelly Stadium.
Canyon's Jake Owens is unable to haul in a pass during his team's final drive of the first half as Villa Park's Nick Martinez, center, defends during their game at El Modena High's Fred Kelly Stadium.
Villa Park's Kyle Harlin catches a reception for his team's first touchdown of the evening against Canyon at El Modena High's Fred Kelly Stadium.
Villa Park's Kory Garcia breaks up a pass in the end zone intended for Canyon's Jake Owens during their game at El Modena High's Fred Kelly Stadium.
Villa Park's Lance Vecchio eludes the grasp of Canyon's Trace Hobbs to pick up more yards during Friday's game.
Canyon's Trace Hobbs falls into the end zone before his body touches the ground for a ruled touchdown in the first quarter of their game against Villa Park at El Modena High's Fred Kelly Stadium.
Canyon's Jason Harman is wrapped up by Villa Park's John Stamos during the first half of their game at El Modena High's Fred Kelly Stadium.
Villa Park's Ramon Chaves looks for a hole during their game against Canyon at El Modena High's Fred Kelly Stadium.

By Dan Arritt | Orange County Register

October 10, 2014 at 11:28 p.m.

ORANGE – Villa Park coach Dusan Ancich wanted to try something new Friday night, so he went the extra mile.

Rotating his entire offensive unit after nearly every play, Ancich and the Spartans finally found their groove in the second quarter and rolled to a 41-12 victory over visiting Canyon in the nonleague game at El Modena High.

“We’re trying to revolutionize football,” Ancich said. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”

Villa Park senior quarterback Andrew Navarro rotated throughout the night with sophomore Nick Sipe and the elder finished with the better numbers, throwing for two touchdown passes and catching another. Austin Zurbuchen also ran for two touchdowns.

Ancich said he was pleased with how the offense operated, but will take a look at the tapes before deciding whether to use it again next week against Brea Olinda. Ancich said he got the idea while coaching flag football.

“You get a chance to have little timeouts every play because you get to talk to the team,” he said.

The Spartans (4-2) started slowly and even fell behind after Jake Owens caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Jason Harman to give the Comanches (0-6) a 6-0 lead, but they got rolling as Navarro found Kyle Harlin down the seam for a 50-yard touchdown strike and a 7-6 lead with 2:51 left in the opening quarter.

Villa Park offensive tackle Jake Whitton made a key fumble recovery after Navarro was sacked on first-and-goal at the Canyon 1, keeping the drive alive so Navarro could find Brennan Corbin for a 10-yard lob in the corner of the end zone.

The Comanches then fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Villa Park capitalized as Zurbuchen scored on a 6-yard run and Ramon Chaves ran in the 2-point conversion for a 22-6 lead.

Canyon got down to the Villa Park 1 with 4.1 seconds left but Harman was stopped short of the goal line on a sneak and the score remained 22-6 at the half. Michael Vega scored on a 22-yard TD run early in the third and Zurbuchen added his second TD midway through the quarter to make it 34-6.