LA HABRA — The La Habra football team opened play in its new league the same way it did in so many openers in its former league … with a victory.
La Habra scored four first-half touchdowns and was outstanding on defense and special teams in a 25-7 victory over El Dorado in the Epsilon League opener for both teams Thursday at La Habra High School.
If the Highlanders (5-1, 1-0) give out game balls, one would have go to Ulavai Fetuli, who rarely left the field and made plays on both sides of the ball.
Fetuli caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from Kenneth Saucedo in the second quarter to give the Highlanders a 20-0 lead.
That score came on the second play of a drive that started on the El Dorado 25-yard line because the Golden Hawks were forced to punt from their 5 in their previous drive.
Fetuli had an interception on the final play of the first half when the Golden Hawks (2-4, 0-1) faced a third-and-10 from the La Habra 30.
The 6-foot-5, 245-pound senior also had two of the Highlanders’ five sacks.
“It’s nothing that we don’t practice,” said Fetuli who plays defensive end and tight end. “We have such a tight knit community in our O-line and D-line. We just make each other better. We like to take pride in going against a really good O-line as a defense and then going against a really good defense as an O-line.”
Linebacker Noah Barajas also recorded a solo sack and teamed up on a sack with Noah Holm.
La Habra came out fast, scoring on a 20-yard touchdown pass from DJ Mitchell to Blake Rogers to take a 6-0 lead.
The Highlanders made the score 13-0 later in the quarter when Kevika Martinez blocked a punt deep in El Dorado territory and then scooped up the ball on the Golden Hawks 10 and ran it for a touchdown.
“I think our defense did well, and I think El Dorado is a good football team,” La Habra coach Frank Mazzotta said. “They have big strong kids playing over there, they are well coached and they made life rough.”
La sputtered on offense in the second half and Mazzotta acknowledged his team needs to improve its passing game moving forward when three of the Highlanders next four opponents are also ranked among the top 25 in the county.
La Habra plays at Huntington Beach on Friday, Oct. 11, and then plays Crean Lutheran at home on Oct. 18.
But the intention of the league realignment that took place heading into this season was to create these types of matchups, Mazzotta said.
“We’re supposed to be (closely matched),” he said. “That’s why they made the leagues. We have to get tons better to play the teams that are coming up.”
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