PREP FOOTBALL ROUNDUP : Calvary Chapel Takes Defensive to Hold Off Orange Lutheran

BREA —  Don’t hand the Olympic League championship to Orange Luthern just yet.

The Lancers could have guaranteed themselves a playoff berth and eliminated Calvary Chapel from postseason play with a victory Saturday. But it was Calvary Chapel that was the better team on this night, taking a 21-14 victory at Brea-Olinda High.

Eagle running back David Kuhn ran for 106 yards and scored the winning touchdown on a 22-yard dash with 2 minutes 16 seconds left to play. Equally important was the 139 passing yards by quarterback Dallas Kruse, who was subbing for older brother Waylan.

But the deciding factor for Calvary Chapel (4-4, 1-2) was a stingy defense that contained the high-powered offense of Orange Lutheran (6-2, 2-1). The Eagles didn’t completely stop Lancers running back Che Holloway, who rushed for 139 yards and a touchdown, but they frustrated quarterback Joe Juliano, who completed only four of 18 passes for 59 yards.

Fourteen points is the fewest scored by the Lancers this season.

“We got better offensive execution tonight,” said Eagle Coach Kris Van Hook, whose team had scored only nine points the past two games. “And we got a great defensive effort. We didn’t let them hit too many deep passes and we weren’t shook up by all their formations.”

Orange Lutheran took a 6-0 lead on its first possession on a two-yard run by Matt Stratton. But when the Lancers missed a 34-yard field-goal attempt in the second quarter, the momentum began its swing toward Calvary Chapel.

Kruse sneaked into the end zone from two yards with about four minutes left in the first half, and the extra point gave the Eagles a 7-6 lead. The margin became 14-6 in the third quarter when Calvary Chapel recovered a Holloway fumble at the Lancers’ 28 and Kruse later found Alex Oakland free for a seven-yard touchdown pass.

Holloway made up for his gaffe, however, scoring from four yards on Orange Lutheran’s next possession. Holloway then tied the score on a two-point run.