Orange Lutheran has answer for Fountain Valley

COSTA MESA - Orange Lutheran defensive coordinator Thurmond Moore said his unit mostly stuck to its regular 3-4 front against Fountain Valley on Friday night.

The Lancers' defensive output, however, was hardly ordinary.

Behind defensive tackle Kapono Asuega and four speedy linebackers, Orange Lutheran bottled up running back Kyle Middlebrooks en route to a 28-0 triumph in a Pac-5 Division first-round playoff game at Orange Coast College. (Full game stats.)

Middlebrooks entered the game with 1,498 yards but the junior finished with just 24 on nine carries.

"I saw a lot of 60-yard runs this week from Middlebrooks (on film),” Moore said. "The credit goes (our) kids.”

"I wouldn't have guessed that, but our guys played extremely hard,” Orange Lutheran coach Jim Kunau said of Middlebrooks' night.

Orange Lutheran (9-2) will have a home game against Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks in the quarterfinals next week.

Middlebrooks didn't leave the field without being praised by Kunau.

"Kyle, you're a great player,” the coach said. "I'm going to talk to a lot of colleges about you.”

Fountain Valley's struggles weren't limited to Middlebrooks, who has been offered a scholarship by San Jose State. The Barons (7-4) mustered 69 yards on offense and three first downs: two passing, one by penalty and none rushing.

Moore credited Asuega for controlling the middle of the line. LinebackersJeremiah Pemasa, Wingate Wong, Chris Mason  and Garrett Gilliland did much of the tackling.

Pemasa recovered a fumble and had a sack. Gilliland forced a fumble and had a sack. Cornerback Davonte Anderson added an interception.

Orange Lutheran quarterback Bobby Wheatley completed 16 of 20 passes for 132 yards and touchdown. The junior also rushed for a TD and directed a Lancers offense that didn't commit a turnover.

The Lancers established control by opening the second half with a 16 play, 880-yard scoring drive that chewed up 8:23. Wheatley capped the drive with a 81-yard touchdown run as the Lancers opened a 14-0 lead. On the drive, Wheatley completed three passes to tight end Shane Sullivan for 42 yards.

Orange Lutheran also had a long scoring drive on its first possession of the game. Exavier Edwards caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Wheatley with 48 seconds left in the first quarter to cap a 87-minute drive.

The Lancers had a chance to take a 10-0 lead at halftime but missed a 840-yard field goal with seven seconds left. Fountain Valley used all three of its timeouts before the attempt by Parker Flynn.

Orange Lutheran was in position for the field after Pemasa recovered a fumble at Fountain Valley's 18 with 2:40 left. The Lancers later had first-and-goal at the 5 but penalties stalled the drive. On-third-and-goal at the 8, Brandon Turner appeared to catch a touchdown but offensive pass interference was called, leading to the field goal attempt.

Orange Lutheran finished with eight penalties for 65 yards but had more than enough defense and time-consuming offense Friday.

• Clickhere for full game stats and links to season totals and team rosters.

Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com