Whittier California Overwhelms Brea, 20-3

Brea Olinda’s defense was burned by two early pass plays, its offense was unable to establish any consistency Friday night and the Wildcats were beaten, 20-3, by Whittier California.

Brea (3-2) fell behind, 13-0, midway through the first quarter. It proved too deep a hole, as California (2-3) prevented the Wildcats from reaching the end zone.

“They have some great athletes and physically they just took it to us,” said Brea Coach Rob Perrance. “We had a great week of practice, but it didn’t look like it.”

California opened the game by throwing a variety of short passes before opening up the attack. Quarterback Andy Gonzales threw touchdown passes on subsequent first-quarter possessions, hitting Matt Romero for a 46-yard play and hooking up with Andy Balian on a 28-yard play.

Brea scored early in the second quarter. Trailing, 13-0, the Wildcats drove 69 yards in 12 plays. Brandon Nicholson’s 15-yard reception on a third-and-16 play and Manuel Gutierrez’ two-yard fourth-down run were the key plays. Matt Votaw capped the drive with a 34-yard field goal.

The Wildcats’ defense stiffened in the second quarter. After California had driven to the Brea eight-yard line, the Wildcats had two sacks--one by Chris Cassidy and the other by Gutierrez--to set up a 30-yard field goal attempt that missed.

California struck again on its first possession in the second half, with Gonzales teaming up with David Shellman for a 26-yard touchdown pass.

On Brea’s next possession, the Wildcats drove to the California 23. But a bad snap exchange caused a fumble, which California recovered, ending Brea’s last legitimate scoring threat.