Villa Park Quickly Puts Away San Juan Hills, 46-6

Defending Century League champion Villa Park looked every bit the part Thursday night at Tesoro High, where the Spartans ran away from San Juan Hills, 46-6, thanks to a fast and furious 34-point, first-quarter outburst.

The Spartans scored the conventional way early on as tailback Nick Privitelli ran one in from six yards after quarterback Blair Boyce hooked up with Thomas Harper on a 38-yard strike. Following a three-and-out by the Stallions, Jonny Semaan made it 13-0 with a six-yard scamper of his own set up by a 46-yard Privitelli burst around the left corner.

Privitelli finished the night with 121 yards in 13 carries to lead a Spartan run attack that gained 207 yards and three scores.

Ultimately though, it was three San Juan Hills turnovers on consecutive posessions that opened the door wide open for Villa Park.

With the ball on the Stallions' 25 after a fumble recovery, Boyce (7-of-11 for 101 yards passing) found Dustin Harrison in the corner of the end zone for a three score lead, then the Spartans' defense, namely Ty Hudson, got in on the act. The 6-foot-2 defensive end set up two teammates for touchdowns.

First Hudson sacked Ryan Crowe on the Stallions' next offensive play, forcing the ball loose and into the waiting hands of linebacker Grant Klasna, who rumbled the fumble to the house. Then Hudson deflected a Crowe pass attempt two plays later toward cornerback Andrew Yoon, who caught and carried it back all the way, making it 34-0 with 5:30 left to play in the first.

"This was the best thing that ever could have happened to us," San Juan Hills head coach Aaron Flowers said. "Obviously, we made a ton of mistakes, and [Villa Park] is going to play a long time this year, but it was the best thing that could have happened to us because this is the quickest way we're going to get better. We need to play the best."

The Stallions showed a spark in the second half behind Crowe.

The diminutive junior signal-caller threw the ball 21 times, connecting on 11 for 71 yards, but it was his work on the ground that finally got the offense rolling.

Late the fourth, Crowe broke a first-down run on a keeper for 11 yards, then audibled back to the keeper on the ensuing play and picked up 11 more. After a slip screen to Isaiah Danley picked up 22 yards, Crowe ran through several Spartan defenders on his way to the Stallions' lone score, again, from 11 yards.

"Our quarterback grew up a lot for one game," Flowers said. "He did a good job."

Crowe finished with 60 yards rushing in seven carries, while Corey White chipped in 27 hard-nosed yards of his own, well-earned, considering just how dominant Villa Park's swarming 3-4 defense was.

As for San Juan Hills' defense, Nathan Smith and Chase Tamillo stood out, collecting a tackle-for-loss each, while Caleb Roush notched a sack from his spot at outside linebacker before leaving the game early with a tweaked ankle.

Flowers wasn't concerned with the injury after the game, a bit of good news for the Stallions, who can't afford to lose their senior captain.

"Defensively in the second half, we only allowed three points," Flowers said. "We're building on every success we have. We got a lot of guys that haven't played a lot of football, so we're trying to get as much experience as we can."

Up next for San Juan Hills (0-1) is a trip to Dana Hills, one of Flowers' former coaching stops, and a meeting with the Dolphins, next Friday at 7 p.m.

The Spartans (1-0) return to their home field at El Modena High next Thursday for a 7 p.m. contest with Valencia.

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GAME STATISTICS

Quarter             1     2    3    4    Totals

Villa Park           34    7    2    3  --  46

San Juan Hills      0     0   0    6   --  6                          

                      Villa Park        San Juan Hills 

First Downs           13                    10

Rushing Yards       207                  104

Passing Yards        101                   71

Total Yards            308                  175

Turnovers                1                     3

Penalties-Yards      7-70                 5-50  

SCORING 

1st Quarter 

Villa Park -- Nick Privitelli 5 run; Andrew Sanders kick, 9:24

Villa Park -- Danny Kissee 6 run; Sanders kick, 7:57

Villa Park -- Dustin Harrison 28 pass from Blair Boyce; Sanders kick, 7:46

Villa Park -- Grant Klansna 20 fumble return; Sanders kick, 6:54

Villa Park -- Andrew Yoon 20 interception return; kick failed, 5:30 

2nd Quarter 

Villa Park -- Boyce 1 run; Sanders kick, 1:02 

3rd Quarter  

Villa Park -- Safety, 11:37 

4th Quarter 

Villa Park -- Sanders 42 field goal, 10:42

San Juan Hills -- Ryan Crowe 11 run; kick failed, 1:56

Complete game story and photos to arrive soon. Stay tuned!