CENTURY LEAGUE : Villa Park Shuts Down Orange, 14-0

ORANGE — Villa Park got a strong effort from its defense when it mattered most and sophomore Franklin Haynes rushed for 198 yards as the Spartans beat Orange, 14-0, in a Century League football game Thursday at El Modena High School.

Villa Park’s offense, which struggled to move the ball consistently, relied on big runs by Haynes to set up both first-half touchdowns.

He put Villa Park ahead, 14-0, with a 70-yard run with 5 minutes 45 seconds left in the first half. Haynes, who has 638 yards this season, appeared trapped in the backfield after taking the handoff but broke two tackles. He then cut to the right and outran the Orange defense.

Haynes appeared to get past the 200-yard mark with a four-yard run with less than two minutes to go but the play was nullified by a motion penalty. Haynes also lost a 62-yard reception to a holding penalty.

He had set up Villa Park’s first touchdown with runs of 41 and 17 yards. The second run gave Villa Park (7-1, 2-1) a first down at the one.

Fullback Tony D’Amato then took the ball in the end zone for a 7-0 lead with 9:32 left in the first quarter.

Orange also got a strong performance from a running back: Junior Markus Garza gained 174 yards in 24 carries. He had 125 yards in 15 carries in the second half.

“We played a courageous game, but we just couldn’t get it in the end zone,” Orange Coach Dick Hill said.

The main reason the Panthers (4-4, 1-2) failed to reach the end zone was Villa Park’s defense. The unit had seven sacks for minus-41 yards and got interceptions by Bo Barnes and Sam Stremick.

Orange was stopped six times inside the Spartans’ 35, including three times inside the 10.

“We’d prefer they didn’t bend that much,” Villa Park Coach Pat Mahoney said. “But the defense played a great game.”

D’Amato, a linebacker, led the defense. He had a sack, shared another and also tipped away a fourth-down pass when Orange had an open receiver well past the first-down marker.

Orange reached the Villa Park one but Garza was stopped for no gain on fourth down with 4:15 left in the game.

The Panthers got to the Villa Park five with seven seconds left but Orange quarterback Andy Lauridsen was sacked by linebacker Bryan Choate and lineman Dan DeClark to end the game.