Orange County Prep Football : Unfriendly Skies Greet Anahiem : Four Interceptions Pace Valencia, 21-0

Anaheim High School found the airways congested Friday night in Bradford Stadium at Placentia.

Valencia limited the Colonists to only 31 yards passing and intercepted four passes in a 21-0 victory in front of a homecoming crowd of 3,000.

The victory moved the Tigers (6-2, 2-1) into a first-place tie with Anaheim (6-2, 2-1), Western (6-2, 2-1) and Brea-Olinda (4-4, 2-1) in the Orange League with two games remaining in the regular season. Valencia has won or shared the league title four straight years.

Robert Aldaz, Anaheim’s quarterback, threw an interception on his second pass of the game, and the junior struggled throughout against the Tigers’ secondary. Cornerbacks Guy Shepard and Nacho Garcia, free safety Randy Roskelly and defensive end Marty Dunn all had interceptions.

Dunn began Aldaz’s problems by intercepting his short pass at the Tigers’ 45-yard line and returning it to Anaheim’s 13-yard line. Four plays later, fullback Keef Leasure scored on a one-yard run for a 7-0 lead.

“That first interception killed us,” said Ted Mullen, Anaheim coach. “If we had played error-free ball, it might have been a game. But we played a good team and finally got beat.”

While Aldaz had trouble passing against Valencia, Anaheim’s secondary had its problems containing Valencia wide receivers Mike Edwards and Terrance Green. Edwards scored the Tigers’ second touchdown on a marvelous 32-yard reception in the second quarter for a 14-0 lead.

Edwards’ touchdown catch was a study of concentration and determination. The senior raced down the right sideline and somehow caught up to quarterback Robert Navarette’s pass, which appeared to be overthrown by about five yards, leaping over a defender to make the catch.

“He (Edwards) might have been the difference in the game,” said Mike Marrujo, Valencia coach. Edwards finished with 4 receptions for 89 yards. Green caught 2 passes for 45 yards.

“We knew they were going to throw deep,” Mullen said. “We’ve got some little guys back there in the secondary and they capitalized on it. Edwards is an outstanding receiver.”

Valencia, traditionally a running team under Marrujo, passed for 149 yards with Navarette completing 8 of 11 attempts. The Tigers also rushed for 138 yards as Leasure returned to the lineup after a one-month absence and gained 72 yards in 14 carries.