Brea Olinda storms back in second half to capture non-league win over Fullerton

Brea Olinda coach Jae Kim speaks to his squad after Friday’s win. (Photos: Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone).

Brea Olinda High School’s football team scored three second-half touchdowns to erase a double-digit deficit and came back to defeat Fullerton 35-26 in a non-league game Friday night at Brea Olinda.

Wildcats running back Nathan Aceves carried the lion share as he rushed for 184 yards on 30 carries and scored three touchdowns to lead Brea Olinda (4-1).

“We knew we had to win; the line blocked fantastically and we came together in the second half,” said Aceves, a junior.

After Fullerton (2-3) scored on its first possession of the second-half to increase its lead to 26-14, it appeared the Indians had the momentum and were on their way to a victory. 

However, the Wildcats battled back.

Aceves scored on an 8-yard run to close the gap to 26-21 midway through the third-quarter.

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Brea Olinda rallied and scored two more touchdowns in the final five minutes of the game to complete its comeback. Aceves capped a six-play, 40-yard drive with a  four-yard TD run that gave the Wildcats a 27-26 lead with 5:01 to play.

On the ensuing Indians possession, Isaak Rivas-Melendez picked off a Fullerton pass in Indians territory. Three plays later, Rene Gonzales scored on an 11-yard TD run and the Wildcats added a 2-point conversion to increase its advantage to 35-26 and secure the victory. Fullerton missed two extra points earlier in the game.

“This was a scary one for me,” said Brea Olinda Coach Jae Kim. “We kept fighting and the guys handled adversity and showed us their resiliency. We still have some things to clean up, but we’re going to be all right.”

Wildcats quarterback Cullen Doyle completed 13 passes for 155 yards and a TD pass, but he had numerous passes dropped. 

“We didn’t give up and there is no quit in this team,” said Doyle, a junior quarterback.

Eli Sanchez and Addison Altermatt combined to catch 10 passes for 127 yards for Brea Olinda.

Fullerton had a number of strong performances. Quarterback Ryan Reger passed for 306 yards and four touchdowns.  He threw TD passes of 39, 35, 64 and 43 yards but it wasn’t enough.

Deshawn Cobbs rushed for 45 yards and caught three passes for 52 yards and a touchdown. Aidan Zavala had two interceptions for the Indians and the Fullerton defense recorded four sacks by Adrian Silva, Garrett Chew, David Williams and Zavala.

“We couldn’t get our offense going in the second-half; we had too many three and outs,” said Indians Coach Richard Salazar.

The game was marred by multiple penalties, delays and chippy play.   

Brea Olinda took a 7-0 lead following a six-play, 64-yard scoring march midway through the opening quarter. Aceves capped the scoring drive with a 28-yard TD run.

After sputtering in the first-quarter, Fullerton’s offense got into high gear in the second-quarter as Reger tossed three TD passes in a span of six minutes of the quarter.

Cobbs caught a screen pass and darted 39 yards to tie the score at 7-7. Four plays following a Wildcats touchdown, Nico Mendez caught a short pass and outran the secondary on a 35-yard touchdown. With just over two minutes to play in the half, Malachi Meni caught a pass across the middle and fought off a Brea tackler and sped into the end zone to propel  the Indians to a 20-14 halftime lead.

Fullerton outgained the Wildcats 288-190 yards in the opening half. Friday marked the fifth consecutive time Brea Olinda has defeated Fullerton, dating back to 2018. The last time Fullerton defeated the Brea Olinda was 2009.  

Notes:

—-The Brea Olinda High School Class of 1973 was honored during the game for celebrating its 50^th class reunion.

—The Wildcats Band wore yellow in recognition of Pediatric Cancer Awareness.

— Fullerton was without All-Freeway League wide receiver and defensive back Henry Pillon, who is out for the season with a knee injury. 

—-Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone