After earning a bye in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 1 playoffs, Orange Lutheran pulled away late to defeat JSerra Catholic High School 42-20 in the quarterfinal matchup on their home field at Orange Coast College on Friday night.
Special teams got the Lancers out of the starting blocks as senior Logan Gutierrez returned the first punt of the game 58 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead. After forcing another punt by the Lions, the Lancers faced a 4th and 10 situation at the Lions 49-yard line. Senior AJ Campbell took a direct snap and picked up a first down with a 19-yard run on the fake punt attempt.
The Lancers then overcame four penalties and converted another 4th down opportunity to help complete a 14-play, 74-yard drive capped by an 8-yard TD run by Senior Steve Chavez to put the Lancers on top 14-0 after the first quarter.
Senior TJ Lateef led the Lancers on another 74-yard scoring drive using ten plays and more than 5 minutes, sealed by a 12-yard scramble for a touchdown and a 21-0 lead. JSerra began to move the ball, taking the ensuing kickoff down to the Lancer 8-yard line before sophomore Anthony Mcclure intercepted QB Ryan Hopkins's pass in the end zone for a touchback.
Lateef then took the Lancer offense all the way to the Lions 22-yard line with just 22 seconds remaining in the half. After a time-out, the Lancers scored for the final time of the half on an attempted screen pass where Chavez lost his footing. Lateef scrambled to the other side of the field and completed a touchdown pass to sophomore Chris Flores to take a 28-0 halftime lead.
JSerra showed their resilience as they scored three touchdowns in less than 6 minutes to climb back within eight in just 6 minutes in the third quarter. Lion's sophomore CB Travis Jeffrey intercepted Lateef's first pass of the second half and returned it 41 yards for their first score.
Forcing three-and-outs on the Lancer's next two possessions, Hopkins led the Lions to two scores. The first was an 18-yard TD run on a QB keeper, followed by a 23-yard TD pass to sophomore WR Clark Cokely. After a failed extra point attempt, the Lions found themselves back in the game down just eight points at 28-20 late in the third quarter.
The Lancer offense turned to Chavez, handing him the ball 8 times for 41 of the 65 yards on the drive, finishing with a 2-yard TD to give the Lancers a 35-20 lead early in the fourth quarter .
After a quick three and out for the Lions, Lateef sealed the game with his second rushing TD, a 4-yard effort that put the game out of reach.
The Lancer running game racked up 254 total rushing yards as Chavez led the way with 125 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns. Lateef added 58 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while sophomore Kameron Shingleton added 71 yards to the Lancer total.
JSerra finished their season at 6-5, while the Lancers (8-3) will move on to the CIF-SS Division 1 semifinal next Friday when they take on St. John Bosco (9-1), trying to avenge a 4-point loss earlier in the season and advance to the Finals on November 29th.
