Fryer: Tournaments provide fundraising and fun for basketball teams

• December 12, 2024

The two basketball teams battled for 48 minutes and then went to In-N-Out together.

It’s tournament time in Orange County basketball, the only time of the season when that sort of thing happens.

The San Juan Hills Invitational is one of the boys basketball tournaments this week. It is being played at host schools Capistrano Valley Christian and San Juan Hills. After San Juan Hills beat Damalan College Prep of Australia, the teams headed to a nearby In-N-Out for a postgame feast.

Tournaments are important fundraisers for the host schools. Jon Bahnsen has run many tournaments in his eight seasons as the coach at Capistrano Valley Christian and his 20 years previously at Brethren Christian. He said teams pay a $475 fee to play in the San Juan Invitational. Spectator admission and snack bar revenue create needed income.

“Tournaments offset our costs when we travel to other tournaments like in Palms Springs or Las Vegas,” Bahnsen said. “I take a lot of pride in running a quality tournament. This year we have a team from the CIF Los Angeles City Section, two from the San Diego Section and two teams from Australia.”

Getting officials for a tournament is not a problem. Teams that rescind their commitments to a tournament can be.

“That’s getting worse and worse,” Bahnsen said. “Even after contracts are signed coaches back out of their commitment. At one time we had 16 teams and we were hoping to make a 16-team bracket but then it came down to the 12 teams we have.”

The Orange Holiday Classic boys basketball tournament will be played for the 59th time this season, making it the longest-running tournament in Orange County. It goes from Dec. 26-30 at Orange High, and this time it has eight boys teams and eight girls teams.

Another veteran tournament in boys basketball is the Coast Classic, Dec. 26-30 at Estancia High. This will be the 39th season for that one, and this year it has 16 teams broken into two eight-team divisions. It also charges $475 for teams.

“Thankfully, we have been very lucky at Estancia to be able to hold this great tournament over the years with little to no issues,” Estancia coach Xavier Castellano said via email. “Not only are we able to host some great basketball teams, coaches, players and games in our gym but we are also able to raise funds that will help support our program.”

And a side trip for a Double-Double might be a bonus. Grilled onions, please.

NOTES

• The semifinals of the North Orange County Championships boys basketball tournament at Sonora on Friday: Pacifica Christian vs. Pilibos, 6 p.m.; Canyon vs. Etiwanda, 7:30 p.m. The tournament championship game is Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Sonora. …

• Los Alamitos hosts the two-day Los Alamitos Varsity Showcase event Friday and Saturday. Friday’s schedule has St. Pius X-St. Matthias vs. Los Alamitos at 7 p.m. Those are two of the better teams in the CIF Southern Section. …

• The Maya Enomoto Showcase on Saturday at Esperanza has several outstanding girls basketball matchups including Brentwood vs. Orange County No. 14 Esperanza at 6 p.m. and county No. 1 Mater Dei vs. No. 3 Sage Hill at 7:30 p.m. …

• The 25th annual Orange County North/South Challenge is Dec. 21 at Tesoro, with the first game at 9 a.m. and the final game at 7:30 p.m. Its final two games are great matchups: San Clemente vs. Los Alamitos, 6 p.m. and San Juan Hills vs. Cypress, 7:30 p.m. …

• The Tustin Holiday Classic is another long-running boys basketball tournament. It goes from Dec. 26-30 at Tustin High. Teams in it include Edison, Newport Harbor and Tesoro. …

• El Dorado won the Gary Raya Classic boys basketball tournament last week with a 66-63 win over Yorba Linda in the final. El Dorado’s Caleb Hendrix was named tourney MVP. …

• Newport Harbor beat Tustin 61-60 in the Euclid Extravaganza boys basketball tournament championship game. Newport Harbor’s Jack Berry was named tournament MVP. Berry also is a standout volleyball player. …

• Buy parking in advance if you’re going to the CIF State Championships football games at Saddleback College. The $5 fee can be paid here. …

• Not too many names in the CIF-SS record book pop up as both athlete and coach, but Lance Stewart’s name does. He was the CIF volleyball player of the year in 1981 and coached Corona del Mar’s girls volleyball team to CIF section and state championships in 1992 and ‘93 and coached Laguna Beach’s girls volleyball team to CIF-SS titles in 2006 and ‘07. “Stewey,” also an outstanding football player, passed away a few days ago, age 61. A GoFundMe page was established to help the family with medical costs. …

• Servite’s soccer team did well against two outstanding opponents this week. The Friars tied Aliso Niguel 0-0 on Monday, defeated Valencia 4-2 on Wednesday. …

• Fairmont’s hockey teams is 9-1-1 and in first place in Division 1 of the Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey League. The Huskies’ leading points-getter is Cole Bieksa who has 16 points off of two goals and 14 assists. He is the son of former Duck and Fairmont coach Kevin Bieksa. Orange Lutheran’s Cole Kostanian is the leading scorer among Orange County teams with 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points. …

• The CIF Southern Section will have its own weekly TV show:  “CIF Southern Section This Week.” It premieres Saturday, 7:30 p.m. on Spectrum SportsNet. CIF-SS communications coordinator Taylor Martinez will host the program. …

• Fifteen or 16 football games is too much for high school athletes. Yeah, high school kids want to keep playing but sometimes high school kids don’t make the greatest decisions. If someone told my parents to let 17-year-old me do whatever I want, my parents would have disagreed.

​ Orange County Register 

Edward Snowden deserves a pardon more than Hunter Biden

• December 12, 2024

If you had the power to save your son from 17 years of incarceration for crimes like lying on a gun purchase form and tax evasion, you would almost certainly wield that power.

But, if there were a national election taking place where this could be a talking point used against your party, maybe you would wait until after the election. To maintain the perception of moral and professional righteousness, you would probably insist that you would not be pardoning your son.

Joe Biden’s decision to pardon Hunter Biden is everything that everyone has said about it: it’s an abuse of power for personal gain, it undermines the perception of fairness in the justice system and it contributes to the normalization of presidents corrupting the purpose of the pardon.

It’s also a decision that we should find it difficult to blame him for. Biden had many competing duties to consider while deliberating on whether to pardon Hunter.

As president, he had a duty to use his power impartially.

As a father, he had no choice but to save his son. In fact, if he stood by his principles, he could be blamed for being excessively moralistic when he had the opportunity to spare his loved one. Arguably, he had a duty to protect his family and he weighed it similarly to how many of us would.

Republicans and Trump supporters may be tempted to point to Biden’s clemency as a demonstration of a lack of principles and a vindication of their criticism of Biden as a corrupt politician — he did lie, after all.

For years Biden has fashioned himself as a principled adherent to propriety as a contrast to Trump’s profile.

They are correct to point out that this appears to defeat at least some of Biden’s self-attributions of virtue but there is also some hypocrisy there. Trump would pardon the tentacled aliens that blew up the White House in Independence Day if it aligned with his personal interests.

In his statement, Biden justified his decision by claiming that his son has been unfairly targeted by his political opposition: “No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son — and that is wrong.”

Well, many reasonable people have indeed looked at the facts of the case and have reasonably concluded that Hunter was not unfairly targeted but instead may have received privileged treatment. If the power to pardon is best used when a miscarriage of justice has occurred, this wasn’t an example of that. Hunter wasn’t failed by the justice system despite what Biden claims, and this is unlike what has happened to many nameless Americans.

If Biden is going to abuse his power to benefit his own family, then we should at least get something in return. There are federally incarcerated individuals who are genuine victims of miscarriages of justice.

There are those who had the misfortune of committing their crimes during the ‘80s and ‘90s when the war on drugs was in full force, leading many of them to receive disproportionately harsh sentences.

The draconian mandatory minimums of the time saw people like Michelle West receive life sentences for first-time drug offenses.

On behalf of the government, Biden should also apologize to and pardon Edward Snowden so that he can return to his family. Snowden did us all a great service by exposing the government’s secret programs to illegally and unconstitutionally spy on us.

Among others, Snowden revealed the existence of PRISM, a mass surveillance program used by the NSA to indiscriminately collect our private communications, violating the Fourth Amendment.

Snowden sacrificed everything to bring to light the abuses of the federal intelligence agencies. He is an American hero who showed us how easily our government is willing to violate our personal freedoms. He did so at the great cost of leaving his home country and his loved ones behind. There is no evidence that his actions harmed anyone, which makes his continued exile all the more unjustified.

Joe Biden’s pardoning of Hunter was an ethically ambiguous decision, so the least he can do is extend that same mercy to the thousands of others who are more deserving.

Rafael Perez is a columnist for the Southern California News Group. You can reach him at rafaelperezocregister@gmail.com.

​ Orange County Register 

Los Alamitos football flattened by Murrieta Valley in Division 2 quarterfinals

• November 16, 2024

LOS ALAMITOS – The Los Alamitos football team was looking to add another nightmare chapter to MurrietaValley’s postseason story. But the Nighthawks, who finished second in CIF-SS Division 2 last season, served notice about 90 seconds into the game that it was their night to crush dreams.

The Nighthawks (10-2) rushed for 336 yards, and quarterback Bear Bachmeier accounted for 255 yardsand three touchdowns for a 49-28 victory over the Griffins on Friday in the Division 2 quarterfinals at Los Alamitos High.

“There was no turning point,” Griffins coach Ray Fenton said. “That’s a really good football team, and there’s a reason they’re the No. 1 seed.”

Bachmeier connected with Julian Treadwell for a 49-yard touchdown pass on the third play of the game. TheGriffins (6-6) recovered from that punch a few minutes later when Alonzo Esparza hit Lenny Ibarra for a 40-yardtouchdown at the midway mark of the quarter.

Murrieta Valley responded by scoring on its next three possessions, the last when Bachmeier’s 1-yard TD rungave the Nighthawks a 28-7 lead with 3:32 left in the first half.

Esparza and Ibarra responded again, with Ibarra pulling in a 41-yard touchdown with 1:29 left in the half.

“Our kids played hard,” Fenton said. “They played well on both sides of the ball.”

Esparza passed for 301 yards and three touchdowns, but the Nighthawks made him work for every yard. Hecompleted 20 of 32 passes, but it was rarely easy.

“We wanted to keep it simple and play fast,” Murrieta Valley coach George Wilson said. “We have some reallytalented players in the secondary. We’ve played some good teams this year, and I think that prepared them forthis.”

The defensive scheme was fairly simple, Fenton said: Swarm the secondary with defenders and force Esparzaout of the pocket to try to find an open receiver somewhere.

“They dropped eight guys in coverage and rushed three, so there aren’t a lot of holes back there,” Fentonsaid. “I thought Alonzo did a great job of being patient and finding guys back there.”

Ibarra caught three balls for 97 yards and Tron Baker caught five balls for 87 yards. Tight end Beckham Hoflandshowed why he may be the primary target of opposing defenses next season, making several athletic catches enroute to six receptions for 78 yards.

“The tight end coach from Texas Tech said they consider him a top-two tight end in the country, which iswhy they’ve offered him a scholarship,” Fenton said of Hofland, a 6-foot-5, 225-pound junior.

Los Alamitos could not complement Esparza with a solid run game, as Murrieta Valley held the Griffins to 82yards on the ground.

​ Orange County Register 

George Toia sparks Summit football past Huntington Beach, into CIF semifinals

• November 16, 2024

FONTANA — George Toia will probably be a defensive lineman at the next level like two of his brothers, who are college seniors.

On Friday night, the 6-foot-2, 305-pound sophomore turned to the offensive side of the ball and ran for four touchdowns to lead Summit to a 45-14 victory over Huntington Beach in a CIF-Southern Section Division 5 quarterfinal.

Summit (11-1), which has a nine-game winning streak, will face La Serna in a semifinal next week.

“We decided to have George run the ball more because we thought we needed to control the ball,” Summit coach Nicholas Matheny said. “Every week it’s been a different guy for us. Last week, Daniel Bonilla scored three touchdowns for us.”

Mark Mitchell III, who gained 170 yards on 20 carries, joined the party with a 3-yard touchdown on the opening drive of the second half. Mitchell’s score gave the Skyhawks a 28-14 lead with 8:53 to play in the third quarter.

“Mark gave me some pointers on running the ball,” Toia said. “He and Daniel are special to me.”

Toia carried only six times for 53 yards, but all of his attempts were crucial to Summit’s victory. In addition to the four touchdowns, he kept drives alive with two fourth-down runs.

Pinned at their own 15-yard line with a fourth-and-1, Summit set up for a punt before calling a timeout with 3:53 left in the third quarter. After the timeout, the Skyhawks lined up in a regular formation and Toia burst out for a 33-yard gain. Toia also had a 4-yard run on fourth down to keep a third-quarter drive going.

Jay Toia is a defensive lineman at UCLA, while his other brother, Spine, is a senior at San Jose State. George Toia envisions himself as a defensive lineman in college.

“I’ll do whatever the team needs,” Toia said.

Huntington Beach (7-5) had no answers to bring down Toia.

“We knew they (Summit) were a big, physical team,” Huntington Beach coach Brett Brown said. “Our kids played hard all game and they didn’t give up. We answered them in the first half, but we made too many mistakes in the second half.”

The highlight for the Oilers came in the second quarter. Quarterback Brady Edmunds completed an 8-yard touchdown pass to Steel Kurtz with 4:07 remaining in the first half.

Kicker Mattheo Zavala attempted an onside kick and made the recovery himself. Two plays later, Edmunds completed a 51-yard touchdown pass to Troy Foster to tie the score at 14.

“We practiced receiving onside kicks all week,” Matheny said.

The Summit coach wasn’t unhappy for long, as quarterback Francisco Hernandez completed a 48-yard touchdown pass to Nickolas Miramontes with 1:24 remaining. Summit did not relinquish the lead after that.

“We had a good season and we have a lot of young players,” Brown said. “We got an automatic (playoff berth) and that was an accomplishment.”

​ Orange County Register 

Murrieta Mesa football tops Northwood to reach CIF-SS Division 6 semifinals

• November 16, 2024

MURRIETA — Murrieta Mesa’s football team is returning to the CIF-Southern Section Division 6 semifinals for the second consecutive year, but Coach Oscar McBride wasn’t smiling Friday night.

Oh, he most certainly is proud of the Rams’ achievement. But the effort and execution in a 19-10 victory over Northwood, in his opinion, left much to be desired.

Alex Krishan kicked four field goals to bail out the Rams, whose seven trips deep into Northwood territory were blunted by penalties and netted only one touchdown, Daniel Richie’s 1-yard leap with 1:50 left in the second quarter. Krishan connected twice from 29 yards, and added a 42-yarder and a 25-yarder to propel Murrieta Mesa (8-4) into next week’s matchup at St. Francis in La Cañada Flintridge. St. Francis topped Muir, 28-27, on Friday.

“I’m really not happy,” McBride glowered. “We left probably five touchdowns down here. Thank God for our kicker, Alex. Outstanding player, phenomenal character. He’s a stud.”

The numbers, though, will return a smile to McBride’s face.

The hosts amassed 441 yards in offense against a Timberwolves squad that had limited opponents to an average of 226.5 yards per game. And the Murrieta Mesa defense limited Northwood to 154 totals yards, which included four sacks of quarterback Gavin Lounsbury for 34 yards in losses. The Rams surrendered three first downs in the second half.

But the penalty bug hit Murrieta Mesa often. The Rams were flagged 20 times for 206 yards, including four dead-ball personal foul penalties after a play was over.

“I think it was anxiety,” McBride said about the mental lapses. “They controlled the tempo in the first half, and usually we control the tempo. They got us out of our element by slowing the game down.

“We’re an up-tempo, fast-paced team. I really don’t want to go back to the huddle. I don’t want to give them time to think about the mistake that was just made. I want them to get on the ball and play. Next play … next play.”

Once the Rams found their rhythm, they were difficult to stop – until the penalty flags flew. Quarterback Trey Gamble Jr. completed 20 of 28 passes for 316 yards. Dez’mun Franklin used his quickness to snag six passes for 123 yards. Cooper Murphy had a 65-yard catch-and-and run among his four receptions or 86 yards.

“This team just beat us. I’m not going to make excuses. They beat us,” Northwood coach JC Clarke said. The Timberwolves, who missed the playoffs in 2023 after winning the Division 8 title in 2022 and the Division 11 crown in 2021, finish their season with a 9-3 record.

Lounsbury’s strong arm kept Northwood in the game after the Rams took a 13-3 lead with 1:50 to play in the half. He threaded a perfect pass over the secondary that Issac Kwon hauled in for a 39-yard touchdown with 39 seconds to play, cutting the lead to 13-10.

But Northwood never mounted a threat in the second half. Lounsbury finished with 13 completions for 174 yards. Kwon caught six passes for 94 yards.

​ Orange County Register 

Dana Hills football defeats San Dimas with game-winning field goal

• November 16, 2024

SAN DIMAS — Second-seeded Dana Hills kicked a 20-yard field goal as time expired to pull out a 38-35 win over San Dimas in a CIF-Southern Section Division 6 quarterfinal game Friday night.

The Dolphins (10-2) will play the winner of the Glendora/Rancho Verde game in a semifinal matchup next Friday at a place TBD.

The two teams combined for 838 yards of offense in an old-fashioned shootout. It appeared they were headed for overtime when the Saints (9-3) tied the score with 50 seconds left on a nine-yard run by Caleb Morquecho.

The Dolphins took the kickoff and went 70 yards capped by junior Deven Meyer zu Drewer’s 20-yard field goal to win it.

“I was really excited to kick the field goal,” Meyer zu Drewer said. “I was a little nervous but, it’s just a football game.”

The key play on the drive was a 46-yard pass from Dolphins Vanden Dugger to Aiden Desormiers to the Saints’ 12-yard line.

Dugger was being chased out of the pocket, getting rid of the ball just as he got to the line of scrimmage.

“We needed a goal-line stand to win our game last week,” Dolphins coach Tony Henney said. “This week we had some unsung guys make plays on the final drive to give us the win. The fans got their money’s worth.”

The Dolphins scored first when Dugger looked like he was just throwing the ball away to avoid a sack when tight end Charlie Eckl grabbed the ball off his shoe tops and took it 55 yards for the score.

The Saints came right back, tying the score on a 35-yard pass from Aaron Gomez to Jacob Gallegos with 6:04 left in the first quarter.

“We got two good teams in the quarterfinals,” Saints coach Mark Holman said. “I wish we could have had one more possession but, they made one more play than we did. This is a tough loss for our seniors, they’re a really good group and I’m proud of the whole team.”

The Saints took a 14-7 lead with 10:30 left in the second quarter. On the Dolphins’ next drive, the Saints’ Julian Vigil intercepted a Dugger pass in the end zone.

Two plays later, Dolphins linebacker Grant Peters batted an Aaron Gomez pass and made a diving interception before the ball hit the ground giving them the ball at the Saints’ 17.

Two plays Dugger ran it in from four yards out, tying the game.

With the Saints leading by a touchdown and only four seconds left in the first half, the Dolphins decided to go for it rather than take the field goal.

Dugger hit his favorite receiver, Cameron Weaver with an 11-yard scoring pass as time expired.

“I knew this was going to be a touchdown wins games,” Henney said. “A field goal won it at the end but, in the first half I felt we needed to go for it.”

​ Orange County Register 

Simi Valley stops La Habra, reaches Division 3 football semifinals

• November 16, 2024

SIMI VALLEY — Simi Valley’s season came down to the hands of a freshman.

While touchdowns were aplenty in Friday night’s CIF Southern Section Division 3 playoff football game between Simi Valley and La Habra, a defensive play by freshman Salvador Villa sealed the victory for the Pioneers.

Trailing by seven with 23 seconds left in the game, La Habra quarterback Kenneth Saucedo looked for his tight end Ulavai Fetuli in the end zone.

Saucedo already connected with Fetuli for two touchdowns in the first half, but this time around, Villa leaped alongside Fetuli and snatched the ball from him in midair.

It was the exclamation point on a defensive effort that saw Simi Valley hold La Habra to zero second-half points, finalizing a 41-34 Division 3 quarterfinal victory for the Pioneers.

“They were running the same play over and over. So I anticipated that they were going to throw a tight end pop because as you saw earlier they got me on that,” Villa said. “He goes for a flat, the other tight end comes from a drag, I just read it and be athletic right there and make a big play for my team.”

“In the first half they threw the touchdown to (Fetuli) in the corner and (Villa) was right on him. I think he learned and that wasn’t going to happen again,” Simi Valley head coach Jim Benkert said. “He made a great play, pulled the ball away. Give those guys some credit, that ball was thrown right on the money and Sal just made a great play.”

The first half featured an offensive spree by both teams, with eight touchdowns scored between them.

Saucedo had 147 rushing yards in the first half, including an 80-yard touchdown run that gave La Habra a 27-14 advantage.

Running backs Bobby Brooks and Kevika Martinez also scored rushing touchdowns in the first half for La Habra.

But Simi Valley’s defense was determined to shut down the run in the second half, and didn’t allow La Habra to get back on the scoreboard.

“We came out slow. They came out prepared. Coaches gave us a good halftime speech, told us to play like the team like we’ve been playing these 10 weeks,” Villa said about the defense’s second-half turnaround. “We came out fired up and prepared and just executed.”

Simi Valley quarterback Tagg Harrison led his team through the air, throwing for 310 yards and two touchdowns, including an 85-yard touchdown to Quentin McGahan that gave his team the lead down the stretch.

Harrison connected with five different receivers including Jayden Clarke who scored a 31-yard touchdown in the first quarter.

“We have so many weapons it’s so easy to spread the ball around. One week one guy is getting it, another week this guy is getting five touchdowns,” Harrison said. “It’s helpful to be able to put the ball in anyone’s hands it will work either way.”

Coming off a five-touchdown performance in the first round of the playoffs last week, Simi Valley running back Brice Hawkins scored three rushing touchdowns.

The senior finished with 61 rushing yards and added 33 receiving yards.

Brooks finished with 160 rushing yards and Martinez had 64 rushing yards for La Habra.

​ Orange County Register 

Wilson holds off Estancia to reach Division 12 football semifinals

• November 16, 2024

HACIENDA HEIGHTS – The Wilson Wildcats have advanced to the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 12 playoffs after a dominant 27-12 win over Estancia Friday night at Los Altos High School and will play next week at Carter High School.

Dominic Ezeonye ran the ball 23 times for 173 yards and two touchdowns in their convincing win. Defensively, he was a force, causing havoc in the Eagles backfield from the edge rusher position, having multiple rushes, including a sack in the first quarter.

“I just think, ‘Run, ball, score,” Ezeonye said. “No matter who hits me. No matter what happens, just keep running. Pick up your feet. Drag however many people you want to the end zone. Just, ‘Score score score.’ That’s all that’s going through my mind.”

Ezeonye’s performance put him just 60 yards shy of reaching 2,000 yards this season. He also has 28 touchdowns this year.

“Dom preps like no other. Takes care of his body, lifts hard, runs hard and he’s a workhorse,” Wilson coach Charles Lewis said.

The Wildcats scored on their first three possessions to begin the game. Enezonye scored the first two Wilson touchdowns. The first came from a 14-yard run. The second was a 20-yard run. Sean Lawson scored the third offensive touchdown of the night for Wilson with a 60-yard reception.

Wilson’s leading receiver was Brian Silva who connected with quarterback Juaquin Villalobos three times for 67 yards. Silva’s longest reception was on the Wildcats’ first offensive drive on a 58-yard pass that put them near the end zone. Villalobos went seven for eight with 157 yards.

Estancia’s first score came on its second offensive possession of the game.

Facing a third-and-long situation, the Eagles drew up a wide receiver pass trick play that resulted in a 40-yard reception by Andru Durazo. Running back Jeff Brown finished the drive with a 4-yard touchdown reception to tie the game at 7-7.

The Wildcats’ offense did not come near the end zone again until late in the second quarter. With less than 30 seconds left before half and the clock ticking, quarterback Heriberto Sanchez had a 15-yard completion to Joseth Zarate Groth.

With five seconds left on the clock, the Eagles elected to kick a 35-yard field goal to make the game 21-10 at halftime.

Sanchez completed 8 of 23 passes for 109 yards. Zarate Groth was Estancia’s leading receiver with 81 yards.

Estancia’s offense found success by running the ball with Jeff Brown who had 82 yards. Despite Brown’s success, Estancia had a hard time sustaining a decent drive in the second half and only scored one more time from a safety that was called on a blocked punt in the third quarter.

“We’re primarily a run team,” Estancia coach Mike Bargas said prior to the start of the game. “When we’re able to run the ball well and have success, it kind of makes for a pretty good football game.”

Sanchez threw two interceptions in the game. The first came in the third quarter to Wilson cornerback Noah Becerra who made a great play jumping the receiver’s route and taking the ball downfield 23 yards to give the game its final score. It was the second straight game Becerra had an interception.

“It felt great. And I got a touchdown.” Becerra said.

“My defense they showed up tonight,” Lewis said. “They like to run the ball and we stood up to the test of playing hard physical football. Playing gap sound and making tackles.”

The second interception was on a deep ball to the middle of the field where Lawson was standing all alone to nearly ice the game in the fourth quarter.

“Me and Sean always hang out a lot at school. … We always push each other at practice,” Becerra said. “We just keep pushing.”

With five seconds left until halftime Estancia nails a 35-yard field goal to decrease their deficit at 11 @SGVNSports @ocvarsity

Game is now at halftime

Wilson: 21
Estancia: 10 pic.twitter.com/Ti9ZqP0hkR

— Thomas Murray (@Thomas_L_Murray) November 16, 2024

Postgame interview tonight with Dominic Ezeonye who has ab2 touchdown performance for the Wildcats tonight @SGVNSports pic.twitter.com/mNjP1Mavhh

— Thomas Murray (@Thomas_L_Murray) November 16, 2024

Spoke with Wilson’s Noah Becerra who had a interception for a touchdown in the third quarter. We also talked about his teammate Sean Lawson who had one in the fourth quarter. Lawson also had a 60 yard touchdown reception @SGVNSports pic.twitter.com/vUY8NG0WeI

— Thomas Murray (@Thomas_L_Murray) November 16, 2024

Wilson coach Charles Lewis spoke with me about his running back Dominic Eseonye’s performance and the physicality his defense had following tonight’s game @SGVNSports pic.twitter.com/sqIjHd3BlI

— Thomas Murray (@Thomas_L_Murray) November 16, 2024

​ Orange County Register