YORBA LINDA — Brea Olinda football coach Justin Villasenor went into his team’s final game of the regular season knowing that the Wildcats controlled their destiny,
The Wildcats trailed by 20 points midway through the third quarter but scored four consecutive touchdowns to erase the deficit and beat Esperanza 35-27 on Friday night at Yorba Linda High.
Brea Olinda (7-3, 4-1) clinched second place in the Kappa League and a CIF-SS playoff berth. A loss would’ve put them in a three-way tie for second place with St. Margaret’s and Esperanza (4-6, 2-3).
Wildcats quarterback Gavyn Nicholson had three touchdown passes and also had a rushing TD, Ryan Nero caught six passes for 110 yards and a score and Kolo Liti ran for 81 yards and a touchdown.
“This is nothing new. We were down 21 to Trabuco (Hills),” Villasenor said. “A couple plays here and there, and we have the guys that could do it. And I think it just took the confidence and the belief that we could do it. But, I mean, Esperanza, they’re a great team, man. And we knew it coming in.”
Esperanza built a 21-7 halftime lead behind a pair of TDs from Eddie Matthews. He scored on a 69-yard punt return and a 25-yard reception, and Esperanza added an 84-yard TD strike from Travis Frazier to Jordan Sicard.
The Aztecs made it 27-7 on a 25-yard touchdown catch, this one from Frazier to Davian Franco.
The Wildcats closed the gap with a pair of third-quarter scores — Nicholson’s 14-yard run and a 34-yard catch by Nero that made it 27-21.
That score was set up by a Jaxon Simmons’ interception. Simmons finished with two interceptions.
“We’ve been kind of waiting for Jaxon Simmons to make some picks all year,” Villasenor said. “I mean, he’s had a couple of just dropped (interceptions) and today he was able to hold on to them. They were really huge for us.”
Villasenor also had major praise for his offensive line which gave Nicholson plenty of time to throw, especially in the second half.
Jesse Jimenez, Andres Zuniga, Matthew Gieldon, Austin Elder, Nick Major, and Jacob Vega all played a role in the victory.
“Those guys up front were the ones to lift us up and push us through and they rose to the challenge,” Villasenor said.
The go-ahead score came early in the fourth quarter when Carson Tracey caught a 43-yard pass from Nicholson.
Esperanza coach JP Presley pointed out the mistakes that hurt his team’s chances.
“Anytime you have penalties and you turn over the ball, I think that always is a game changer,” he said. “But, you know, Brea came out, made good adjustments to what we came out with in the beginning.”
Presley admitted it was difficult to end the season on that note, but he thanked the team’s senior class for its commitment to the program.
“This was my first freshman class when I got to Esperanza and nobody knew, really what was to be expected,” Presley said. “They bought in right away, which was great. And I think for them, it’s always been, we measure, not perfection, we measure progress. And so these guys have helped make us better and push the progress of our program that was definitely in need of a good, good senior class to help us.”
