ANAHEIM – There were no playoff berths at stake during Thursday’s Empire League finale between Cypress and Western, but they played as if there was.
The Pioneers overcame five first-half turnovers and scored 18 second-half points to defeat the Centurions, 24-15, at Western High.
Don Anderson and Jacob Adams each rushed for more than 100 yards and combined to score three TDs as Western snapped its eight-game losing streak.
Western (2-8, 1-4) put together two long second-half scoring drives primarily on the ground. The Pioneers had 336 yards rushing.
Trailing 15-6 at halftime, Western drove 85 yards in 13 plays to cut the lead to 15-13 late in the third quarter. Anderson (110 yards rushing) capped the march with a 32-yard TD run that was keyed by a fourth-down conversion.
In the fourth quarter, Isaiah Calhoun picked off a pass near the Pioneers goal line. Western then drove 86 yards in 15 plays to take the lead. Adams capped the march with a 5-yard TD run with 5:43 left.
The Pioneers forced a fumble on the ensuing possession and Rene Santillian booted a 22-yard field goal to seal the win for the Pioneers.
Ean Dettmer kicked two field goals, Derrick Corso caught a 20-yard TD pass from Alex Ashcraft and Dominique Thompson had two interceptions to spark Cypress (2-8, 1-4) in the first half.
