CENTURY LEAGUE FOOTBALL : Foothill Rallies to Win in Fourth Quarter

TUSTIN â€”  Foothill football Coach Tom Meiss was worried when the Knights trailed Villa Park by 17 points at halftime.

His concern grew even more when the Knights trailed, 24-6, five seconds into the fourth quarter.

“I thought we just had to keep doing what we do and not be embarrassed out there,� he said, “and hope something pops up and goes our way.�

It did.

Quarterback Steve Wielandt’s seven-yard touchdown run with 35 second left capped a stunning Foothill comeback, and the Knights edged the Spartans, 25-24, in a Century League game Thursday night at Tustin High.

Jason Vlcek’s winning extra-point kick capped a 19-point fourth quarter for the Knights, who kept their slim playoff hopes alive by improving to 4-4, 1-2.

“We’ve had a few dramatic finishes, and we’ve been on a short end of a few,� Meiss said. “The full impact hasn’t hit us yet. I hope we can build on it.�

Foothill rallied from a pathetic first-half performance of 15 yards total offense and one first down. Grant Pearsall’s touchdown runs of three and four yards and a 41-yard field goal by Jeremy Bently gave Villa Park (4-3-1, 1-1-1) a 17-0 halftime lead.

Wielandt, a 5-foot-11 senior, got the Knights’ offense going midway through the third quarter. His 26-yard touchdown pass to Justin Bower cut Foothill’s deficit to 17-6 with 4:55 left in the third quarter, but Kevin McCarthy’s extra-point kick sailed wide right.

A 25-yard touchdown pass from A.J. Strapp to Hector Flores pushed Villa Park’s lead to 24-6 with 11:55 left in the fourth.

Then came the comeback:

--Wielandt threw 29 yards to Bower for a touchdown with 8:21 left. Villa Park 24, Foothill 12.

--Sean Miller blocked a Ryan Tsui punt, and Foothill’s John Bain caught it in midair and ran 41 yards for a touchdown with 5:17 left. Wielandt’s two-point conversion pass was deflected incomplete. Villa Park 24, Foothill 18.

“It’s huge anytime you have that situation (with a blocked punt),� Meiss said. “And Bain had the presence of mind to run it in instead of being satisfied where he got the ball.�

Then came The Drive.

After a 24-yard Tsui punt, Foothill got the ball back at the Knight 47 with three minutes remaining. Wielandt, who completed all six of his second-half passes, threw 13 yards to Bower and 12 yards to Eric Foster as the Knights drove to the Spartan seven with 44 seconds left.

Then Wielandt rolled out to his right, found no one open, broke two tackles at the five and scampered into the end zone. Vlcek, who replaced McCarthy as the place-kicker, gave Foothill the lead, and Foster sealed the victory by intercepting Strapp with 18 seconds remaining.