Yo … it’s time for ‘Thursday Night Football Madness’

I’m out at Valencia High for a key Empire League game between Valencia (6-2, 2-1) and Kennedy (4-4, 1-2), who are traditionally two of the more competitive teams in the county.

Kennedy finds itself in a must-win situation to keep its playoff hopes alive, while the Tigers can move one step closer to a playoff berth with a victory.

Every game is critical at this point of the season for teams with playoff aspirations. Teams have to lay it all on the line to get “Over the Top” and into the playoffs.

Before we let the madness officially begin (kickoff is at 7 p.m. over here at Valencia High), I think teams out there should draw on Sylvester Stallone’s character Lincoln Hawk from the 1987 classic arm wrestling epic “Over the Top” for inspiration.

Lincoln Hawk gave up huge size and strength advantages to Bull Hurley in the Arm Wrestling World Championships. But that didn’t stop the vertically-challenged Hawk from pulling off the unthinkable upset.

So when you underdogs out there think you are facing the impossible, think about Lincoln Hawk and let out a “Yo” or a “Huuugh!!” and go for it 1980s-Stallone style.

Bad snap and Valencia is in business

Kennedy was forced to punt on its first possession, but they didn’t get the punt off after a bad snap over the punter’s head.

It went for a 23-yard loss and Valencia has a first down at Kennedy’s 22-yard line. Let’s see if the Tigers do anything with this.

Valencia wastes prime opportunity

Valencia was unable to take advantage of that great field position Kennedy gave them after a bad punt snap.

The Tigers started at Kennedy’s 22-yard line and went backwards. They ended up settling for a 44-yard field goal try by Jason Sandoval, but he missed wide right.

So it’s 0-0 with 7 minutes left in the opening quarter.

First update barrage of the night

Damian Calhoun, a.k.a. D.C. of “The Calhoun Six” fame, Damian Dottore, a.k.a. “Mr. Sunshine,” and “Action” Dan Albano have checked in with updates.

D.C. says Pacifica scored on its first play from scrimmage against Loara in an Empire League game. Loara botched the opening kickoff and Joe Willies recovered for Pacifica at the 11-yard line. Josh Brannon went 11 yards for a TD 9 seconds into the game.

Brannon added a 55-yard TD and Pacifica leads the Saxons 14-0 with 5:51 left in the first.

Mr. Sunshine says OLu is on the board first as Kyle Dravis scored on a 60-yard run to give the Lancers a 7-0 lead over Santa Margarita in the Trinity League.

“Action” Dan is getting his first look at Westminster’s Aaron Garbutt and Garbutt is not disappointing. Garbutt scored on a 40-yard TD run early in the first to give the Lions a 6-0 lead over Orange.

Lou Ponsi is out at Cypress-Katella and it looks like Cypress is going to stay undefeated in the Empire League. The Centurions are up 13-0 after scoring on their first two possessions.

Steve Fryer is out at Pacific Coast league Laguna Hills-Irvine game and he reports the Hawks are up 6-0 late in the first quarter.

Valencia’s Dave Pina just scored on the first play of the second quarter to give Valencia 7-0 lead over Kennedy in this Empire League game. That was an 11-play, 68-yard drive for the Tigers.

The updates just don’t stop

Garrett Gilliland capped a 9-play, 85-yard drive with a 28-yard TD run to give OLu a 14-0 advantage over Santa Margarita in the Trinity League with 3:38 left in the opening quarter. That report courtesy of Mr. Sunshine, a.k.a. Damian Dottore the beacon of hope.

Louie Villa scored on an 8-yard TD run to help Westminster open up a 13-0 lead over Orange in the Golden West League. Villa set up his TD with a 23-yard run. “Action” Dan Albano is all over that one.

Dominick Buchanon has TD runs of 2 and 9 yards to help Cypress to a 20-0 lead over Katella in the Empire League. Lou Ponsi is your man on the scene with that update.

You are about to enter update heaven

Westminster has a 19-0 lead over Orange in the Golden West League with 26 seconds left in the first quarter. Louie Villa scored on a 27-yard TD.

I told “Action” Dan to keep an eye on Westminster’s two-way stud Aaron Garbutt. Here’s what Dan said about Garbutt: “Garbutt likes to bring the pain – very aggressive kid. Runs over DBs – I think he knocked one Orange DB out in the first and he is slamming guys as a MLB. He’s a man among boys out there.”

Garbutt just added a 23-yard TD run to make it 25-0 Westminster with 7:53 left in the half.

D.C. says Loara is on the scoreboard against Pacifica in the Empire League. Anthony Bautista scored on a 4-yard run to cap a 13-play, 78-yard drive. That cut Pacifica’s lead to 14-7.

Damian Dottore, a.k.a. Mr. Sunshine, says OLu has scored on its first three possessions against Santa Margarita in the Trinity League. Garrett Gilliland gets his second TD on a 6-yard run to make it 21-0 in the second quarter.

Santa Margarita just got on the scoreboard after Ryan World connected with Greg Beaudin on a 51-yarder to cut OLu’s lead to 21-7 with 9:30 left in the half.

Valencia increases lead to 14-0 over Kennedy

Dave Pina, who scored Valencia’s first TD, picked off Kennedy’s Andy Peterson and the Tigers took over at their own 45.

That eventually set up Isaac Dominguez’s 6-yard TD run and the Tigers have a 14-0 lead over the Fighting Irish with 5:53 left.

It looked like Kennedy’s offense had finally found some rhythm, drving to Valencia’s 16 on its ensuing possession.

But Pina came to the rescue again for the Tigers, picking off Peterson in the end zone to end the threat.

Valencia controlling Kennedy, 17-0, at halftime

The Empire League game between Valencia and Kennedy came to a wild finish to end the first half.

Dave Pina got his second interception of the game, this one in the end zone, to give Valencia the ball at the 20 with 1:19 left in the half.

Omar Perez looked to pass on a halfback option, but no one was open, so he cut back across the field and went all the way on a 56-yard TD run. It was anamazing play as he slashed and dodged defenders all the way down the field.

But it got called back because of an illegal block.

With only a few ticks left on the clock, Jesse Sandoval nailed a 37-yard field goal to give the Tigers a 17-0 lead over Kennedy at halftime.

I was expecting this rivalry game to be a lot closer, but Valencia appears to be too good for the Fighting Irish this season.

I couldn’t stop this barrage of updates if I wanted to

D.C. is out at the Pacifica-Loara Empire League game, which is turning into a rout. Josh Brannon scored on a 2-yard run and Mario Nava threw a 5-yard TD pass to Seth Trader to give Pacifica a 28-7 at the half.

Steve Fryer is out at the Pacific Coast League game between Laguna Hills and Irvine and its tied, 13-13, at halftime. I thought the Hawks were going to pound Irvine, but I should have remembered to never underestimate a Terry Henigan-coached ballclub.

Here’s some details from Fryer. Laguna Hills jumped to a 13-0 lead. The vaqueros came back with an 11-yard TD pass from Allen Merritt to Tra’shon Young and Irvine tied it in the final minute of the half on a TD catch by Jake Day.

In another Empire League game, Cypress is beating Katella, 33-0, at halftime.

In the Golden West League, Westminster is beating Orange, 25-0, at halftime. “Action” Dan Albano says Aaron Garbutt has 114 yards and two TDs on 10 carries and Louie Villa has 85 yards and two TDs on six carries to lead the Lions rushing attack.

OLu with 35-7 lead over SM at halftime

Damian Dottore, a.k.a. Mr. Sunshine the King of Positivity, says the Lancers have taken a 35-7 lead over Santa Margarita into halftime.

Damian Wilson scored on a 3-yard run. A Santa Margarita fumble set up that scoring drive.

The Eagles fumbled twice in the first half and both turnovers led to OLu TDs.

Valencia stops Kennedy on 4th down, then drives for score

This one is on the verge of getting out of hand.

Valencia is pretty much dominating Kennedy on both sides of the ball.

Valencia fumbled on the opening kickoff of the second half, but Kennedy was unable to do anything and got stopped on fourth down. To make matters worse, the Fighting Irish got called for an offensive pass interference on that fourth down play, so Valencia took over at its own 42.

The Tigers proceeded to drive 58 yards in eight plays to take a 24-0 lead with 557 left in the third. Isaac Dominguez scored on a 19-yard burst off tackle to cap it.

Valencia’s defense just got a three-and-out. Get ready for some more Tigers offense.

Pacifica’s Josh Brannon headed for another 200-yard game

D.C. was hyping Magnolia RB Robert Cruz early this season, but he has jumped on the Josh Brannon bandwagon in recent weeks.

Brannon just scored on a 60-yard run on the first play of the second half to give Pacifica a 35-7 lead over Loara.

Brannon has 157 yards and 4 TDs on 11 carries. He has rushed for 242, 195 and 245 in his first three Empire League games.

Is Westminster’s Aaron Garbutt All-County material?

“Action” Dan Albano is getting his first look at Westminster’s Aaron Garbutt and he is liking what he is seeing … for the most part.

Here is “Action” Dan’s latest report:

“Garbutt could work on his blocking – poor block just allowed a sack. (On the) next play (Garbutt) catches a 38-yard TD pass with some sweet moves. He ain’t perfect, but he looks All-County to me.”

Westminster leads Orange, 32-0, with 7:56 left.

Can Santa Margarita mount a comeback against OLu?

Damian Dottore, a.k.a. Mr. Sunshine with the Change We Need, says OLu is off to a rough start in the second half against Santa Margarita in the Trinity League.

OLu fumbled the opening kickoff of the second half which led to a 28-yard field goal by Santa Margarita’s Robert Maniaci.

OLu fumbled on its next play from scrimmage and again the Eagles capitalized. Spencer Tyson scored on a 1-yard TD that pulled Santa Margarita within 35-17 with 9:22 left.

Damian says: “Well, so much for Santa Margarita getting back into it. Damani Wilson just scored on a 68-yard run and it’s 42-17 OLu.”

Oh well.

If only the Eagles could have channeled Damian’s positive vibes.

Valencia’s Dave Pina is player of the game

OK, it’s not over, but Valencia QB/DB Dave Pina has had a great game against Kennedy and the Tigers lead 31-0 late in the 4th.

Pina has two interceptions on defense, and both led to Tiger TDs.

He broke a 61-yard TD to help set up an Isaac Dominguez TD that made it 31-0 Tigers. He’s done a very good job managing the offense.

Chris Tobolski, whose gamer will appear in the OC Register tomorrow, says Pina deserves Player of the Game honors. Who am I to argue with C.T., who seems to be the brains of this outfit.

Here’s your friendly neighborhood update barrage

Steve Fryer is out at the Pacific Coast League showdown between Laguna Hills and Irvine, which was knotted, 13-13, at halftime.

Derek Browning scored on a 15-yard TD run in the third quarter and the Hawks held on to win 20-13 and remain undefeated. Laguna Hills wins the league title. The Hawks have a bye next week, so this will be the first time Laguna Hills has gone undefeated in the regular season.

Josh Brannon finished with 234 yards and 4 TDs on 18 carries for Pacifica. He came out of the game late in the third quarter according to D.C. with the Mariners leading Loara 35-7. Loara’s Marcus Meraz hooked up with Howard Gauta on a 19-yard TD to cut the deficit to 35-14 in the fourth quarter.

Here is a final in the Empire League. Cypress just beat Katella, 40-0, to clinch at least a share of the league title.

In another Empire League game, Kennedy just scored two TDs in garbage time against Valencia, but Valencia prevails 31-12. That’s a final.

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