Fullerton Lives in Past, Blasts Anaheim

Fullerton turned in the kind of performance Thursday that had its coach thinking back to 1995, when defense was king and the Indians reached the Southern Section semifinals.

Fullerton intercepted five Anaheim passes in the second half and turned them into 31 points in a 38-0 nonleague victory at Fullerton.

The Indians lived by the big play. Anaheim died by it.

Armando Lopez scored on a 50-yard run in the first half--the only touchdown in the half--in a game that was certainly competitive if not dull. Aside from Lopez’s scamper down the left sideline, Fullerton gained only 40 yards and Anaheim 42.

“Our defense just wanted to keep it up, get a shutout and start impressing people,” said Lopez, who also plays linebacker. “Our defensive line helped out our secondary.”

And how.

On Anaheim’s third, fourth and fifth offensive plays of the second half, quarterback Robert Ramirez had passes intercepted under pressure. Andy Zarate returned his interception 50 yards for a touchdown. Jonathan Pate returned his 35 yards for an apparent touchdown, but it was negated by a penalty; still, Modesto Paz kicked a 22-yard field goal to make the score 17-0. Pate (also the quarterback) intercepted the next pass, setting up his four-yard scoring run capping a 22-yard drive.

Fullerton scored 17 points in a 3-minute, 59-second span. There was more, too.

Lopez returned an interception 39 yards for a touchdown, and Abel Hernandez intercepted a pass at the Anaheim 40, preceding Brian Mitchell’s 38-yard scoring run two plays later with 6:01 remaining.

“Our defense did a great job,” Fullerton Coach Julian Smilowitz said.

The defensive line, anchored by Paz, Manuel Corral and Fabian Chavez, limited Anaheim to minus-2 yards rushing on 26 attempts (Justin Brown had two sacks), and only 63 yards of total offense. Fullerton finished with 166 yards rushing, led by Lopez (seven carries, 84 yards) and Brian Mitchell (seven for 52).

“In 1995, we had an extremely tight defense like that,” Smilowitz said.

Question: Is this defense comparable to the ’95 team?

“It’s too early to say that,” Smilowitz answered. “It’s a good way to start the season.”