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  • Villa Park's Ramon Chaves, right, is congratulated by Carlos Trellez...

    Villa Park's Ramon Chaves, right, is congratulated by Carlos Trellez after Chaves scored a TD in the Spartans' 28-15 win over Valencia in a CIF Southwest Division quarterfinal.

  • Villa Park's Jake Ruiz makes the catch for a touchdown...

    Villa Park's Jake Ruiz makes the catch for a touchdown against Valencia in the second quarter of Friday's second round of the CIF-SS Southwest Division football playoffs.

  • Villa Park's Carlos Delgado, left, celebrates with a teammate after...

    Villa Park's Carlos Delgado, left, celebrates with a teammate after Villa Park's victory over Valencia in the second round of the CIF-SS Southwest Division playoff on Friday.

  • The Villa Park football team salutes their school song after...

    The Villa Park football team salutes their school song after their victory over Valencia in the second round of the CIF-SS Southwest Division playoff on Friday.

  • Villa Park's Josh Moorehead makes a catch to set up...

    Villa Park's Josh Moorehead makes a catch to set up a Villa Park touchdown on the one yard line against Valencia in the second round of the CIF-SS Southwest Division football playoff on Friday.

  • Villa Park's Ramon Chaves runs around Valencia's Jacob Briggs for...

    Villa Park's Ramon Chaves runs around Valencia's Jacob Briggs for a big gain in the second round of the CIF-SS Southwest Division playoff on Friday.

  • Valencia's Jahquon Speed doesn't make it far before Villa Park's...

    Valencia's Jahquon Speed doesn't make it far before Villa Park's Joshua Torres brings him down in the second round of the CIF-SS Southwest Division football playoffs on Friday.

  • Villa Park's Brennan Corbin is wide open as he waits...

    Villa Park's Brennan Corbin is wide open as he waits to make the catch and take it in for a touchdown in the first quarter in the second round of the CIF-SS Southwest Division playoff on Friday.

  • Valencia's Chachmoni Ben-Yisrael falls to the ground when he can't...

    Valencia's Chachmoni Ben-Yisrael falls to the ground when he can't make a catch in against Villa Park in the second round of the CIF-SS Southwest Division playoff on Friday.

  • Valencia quarterback Tyler Switzer, left, is caught by Villa Park's...

    Valencia quarterback Tyler Switzer, left, is caught by Villa Park's Khalil Wilson, center, and Lance Vecchio in the second round of the CIF-SS Southwest Division playoff on Friday.

  • Villa Park fans cheer their team in the second round...

    Villa Park fans cheer their team in the second round of the CIF-SS Southwest Division playoff on Friday against Valencia.

  • Villa Park fans cheer for their team against Valencia in...

    Villa Park fans cheer for their team against Valencia in the second round of the CIF-SS Southwest Division playoffs on Friday. For more fan photos, go to ocvarsity.com.

  • Villa Park fans sing along with the music between quarters...

    Villa Park fans sing along with the music between quarters during the second round of the CIF-SS Southwest Division playoff on Friday against Valencia.

  • Valencia's Mason Paine, right, leaps up to intercept a pass...

    Valencia's Mason Paine, right, leaps up to intercept a pass intended for Villa Park's Josh Moorehead as Valencia tries to turn the tide of the game in the second round of the CIF-SS Southwest Division playoff on Friday.

  • Villa Park's Jake Ruiz makes the catch for a touchdown...

    Villa Park's Jake Ruiz makes the catch for a touchdown in the second quarter against Valencia during Friday's second round of the CIF-SS Southwest Division playoffs.

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ORANGE – Villa Park’s football team just did something it had not done since the 1960s.

The Spartans hope they can do something they have not done since the 1970s.

The Spartans beat Valencia, 28-15, in a CIF-SS Southwest Division second-round playoff game Friday night at El Modena High.

Villa Park is 12-0 for the first time since 1968. The Spartans will play at La Habra (11-1) in the semifinals next week, with the hopes that leads to their first CIF-SS football championship since 1977.

Postgame Talk: How Villa Park advanced to the semis

Offensive balance and defensive steadiness were the chief factors in Friday’s win. Junior quarterback Nick Sipe completed 15 of 22 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns. He did make one mistake – an interception returned 78 yards for a touchdown by Mason Paine in the third quarter – but was otherwise precise.

Spartans senior running back Ramon Chaves rushed for 85 yards and two touchdowns, both 2-yard runs in the second quarter. Brennan Corbin had 114 receiving yards, including a 76-yard touchdown catch. Jake Ruiz had five receptions for 67 yards, including a 23-yard scoring reception.

Villa Park, which beat Troy, 48-19, in the first round, will try to qualify for its fifth CIF-SS football championship game when it plays the top-seeded Highlanders on Friday. The Spartans’ most recent finals appearance was in 2012, when they lost to Edison in the Southwest Division game at Angel Stadium.

Valencia finished 11-1. The Tigers won the Empire League championship and last week beat University, 27-14, in the first round. Among the other highlights was Coach Mike Marrujo, the Tigers’ coach since 1981, getting his 300th career win.

Villa Park coach Dusan Ancich said he was pleased with the outcome and overall performance by the Spartans offense and defense. But, as he sometimes is, Ancich was slightly dismayed by a few details.

“We played a good game offensively,” Ancich said. “In the second half we got a little too conservative and put ourselves in some third-and-long situations. We could have made some better choices and played more efficiently.”

The Spartans took an 8-0 lead in the first quarter on the Sipe-to-Corbin touchdown pass of 76 yards and Chaves’ run for two points.

Valencia tied it on a 6-yard screen pass for a touchdown from Tyler Switzer to Darren Sandoval. Switzer passed to Chach Ben-Yisrael for two points to tie it 8-8.

Villa Park took the lead for good, 15-8, on Chaves’ first 2-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. After Villa Park recovered a fumble, Chaves’ second scoring run make it 22-8.

The Spartans stretched the lead to 28-8 on Sipe’s 23-yard touchdown pass to Ruiz.

Paine provided the only touchdown of the second half on his 76-yard interception return. Villa Park’s defense kept the Tigers offense in check, including a drive-stopping interception by Josh Torres on a pass tipped by teammate Khalil Wilson.

It was a winning effort all around for Villa Park, which faces a tough challenge next week.

“We just have to tune up,” Ancich said. “We have a talented team. We have a chance to do some good things.”

Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com