ORANGE – Keeping your wide receivers happy is one key to being a successful quarterback. Winning titles is another.
Nick Sipe has certainly learned how to do both as a three-year starter at Villa Park.
He shared the football to perfection Friday night against Foothill, throwing for career highs of 390 yards and six touchdowns to five different receivers while leading the Spartans to a 48-14 victory at El Modena High and the outright Crestview League title for a third consecutive season.
Villa Park (9-1, 3-0) came into the week ranked No. 6 in CIF-SS Division 3 and likely will host a home playoff game next week against an opponent to be determined.
Foothill (5-5, 0-3) finished last in the four-team league, but can still petition for an at-large berth based on its .500 overall record. The Knights haven’t defeated Villa Park since 2013, when both were in the Century League.
Sipe, a 6-foot-4, 205-pound senior who committed to Purdue, came into the game with a 64.2 completion rate and 22 touchdown passes with six interceptions. He completed 25 of 35 against Foothill.
Sipe didn’t waste any time putting the ball in the air against the Knights, completing his first four throws, the last a 15-yard touchdown pass to Paul Valle.
Following a sack on Foothill quarterback Bobby Garcia that forced a fumble recovered by Villa Park nose guard Anthony Shipton, the Spartans moved ahead, 14-0, on a 23-yard touchdown reception by Isaiah Williams.
Dylan Bonilla then found the end zone for Villa Park, fooling the coverage with an out-and-up pattern that resulted in a 27-yard touchdown catch and the lead was 21-0 late in the first quarter.
Sipe would continue moving the ball around in the second quarter, throwing touchdown passes to Matthew Roach and Andy Talavera to stretch the lead to 35-7 at the half.
