After a second half stall, Cypress High’s offense put together a drive in the final two minutes, with sophomore quarterback Justin Hall hitting Matt Rodriguez for a four-yard touchdown to give the Centurions a 21-20 win over Brea Olinda on Friday at Cypress High.
It was the first varsity football game ever played on the school’s new turf field. The Centurions had started strong, taking a 14-6 lead into halftime, but its offense stalled in the second half, allowing the Wildcats to score two touchdowns to take a 20-14 lead.
Cypress’ defense was steady most of the night and when they held the Wildcats on a fourth down attempt, the Centurions took over at the 37 yard line with 2:06 left in the game. Junior quarterback Xavier Guerrero started the drive with completions to Jayden Anthony and Mekaih to get down to the Brea 34 yard line. He completed a five-yard pass to Matt Rodriguez on fourth down to keep the drive alive.
Guerrero later converted on another fourth down pass, this time it was Felix who made a diving catch at the four yard line to set up the Centurions for first and goal. But Guerrero was hurt on the play. Hall, who has shared quarterback time with Guerrero, came in to eventually connect with Felix for the game-winner.
“We have a lot of guys who are playing their first two varsity football games, and the speed of it, and under the lights, and then playing our first game ever here, what a great experience it was, a win like this in the first game that we’re ever hosted,” Feldman said.
Guerrero finished the game with 143 passing yards and connected with Rodriguez and Felix for touchdowns in the first half. The Centurion defense held the Wildcats to just 46 passing yards, but The Wildcats were able to compile 145 yards on the ground.
The Centurions will travel to Eisenhower High of Rialto to take on the Eagles, who are 1-1 on the season, starting at 7 p.m.
Friday
Kennedy High (2-0) at Garfield High (1-0), 7 p.m. at Handel Stadium at Western High
The fighting Irish improved to 2-0 with a 37-0 win over Woodbridge High on Friday. Derek Almazan threw for 209 yards and two touchdowns to pace the Kennedy offense. The defensive shutout included interceptions by Mahseiah Banks, Cody Herrera and Steven Aldapa. Garfield of Los Angeles is coming off a 34-0 loss to Bakersfield High.
Los Alamitos High (3-0) vs Serra High (2-0), 7 p.m. at Serra High of Gardena
The Griffins are coming off a 48-0 win over Narbonne High of Harbor City. Serra High has posted shutout wins over Palos Verdes and Hamilton High. Serra is ranked No. 4 in the MaxPreps state rankings. Los Alamitos is ranked No. 17 in the same poll.