Sunny Hills Takes Advantage of El Modena’s Woes

ORANGE — El Modena started Thursday’s nonleague football game with one of its best weapons hobbled. And Sunny Hills took advantage.

Sunny Hills’ defense didn’t give up a touchdown, holding El Modena to 35 yards rushing, and the offense pounded out 286 yards rushing to help the Lancers post a 23-10 victory at El Modena High.

El Modena running back Charlie Williams, who sprained an ankle while rushing for 153 yards in a 28-0 victory over Garden Grove last week, tried to play through the injury Thursday but managed only 11 yards in five carries in the first half.

“We wanted Charlie for the rest of the season,” El Modena Coach Steve Howard said. “He didn’t want to come out. But you could tell something wasn’t right. And when you have eight games left . . . it was an easy decision to pull him.”

Although El Modena (1-1) missed Williams, he couldn’t have stopped Sunny Hills’ dominant offensive line.

Adam Rodriguez rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown in 20 carries and Kevin Haiola had 88 yards and a touchdown in 12 carries for Sunny Hills (2-0). Tight end Guy Porter added three nice runs, gaining 47 yards.

Although Sunny Hills did most of its damage on the ground, it delivered a devastating blow through the air.

With one second remaining in the first half and facing a fourth and 10 from the El Modena 31, Sunny Hills quarterback Jared Bruce lofted a desperation pass toward the end zone.

Porter outmaneuvered El Modena’s Kevin Dykes on the left sideline and caught the ball for a touchdown to turn a six-point lead into a 20-7 halftime bulge.

“That score at the end of the half killed us,” Howard said. “They wanted it more than us tonight.”

El Modena made the game’s first big play when Scott Spearman blocked a punt and Reggie Franklin recovered the ball in the end zone for a 7-0 lead 4 minutes 48 seconds into the first quarter.

But Sunny Hills scored on its next three possessions to take control. Rodriguez scored on a two-yard run, then Haiola scored on a 24-yard run before Porter’s catch.