Eagles win on late FG

LANCASTER — The Lancaster football team lifted junior kicker Johnny Velasquez into the air in the locker room after the game on Friday night. Velasquez delivered the game-winning field goal for the Eagles with 1.5 seconds left on the clock in a 17-14 victory over Highland at Lancaster High School.

The last-second victory gave Lancaster (7-2, 6-0) sole possession of first place in the Golden League and assured the Eagles of at least a share of their first league championship. Highland (5-4, 5-1) entered the game tied for first with Lancaster and is now in sole possession of second place with one game remaining in the regular season. “It felt amazing,” Velasquez said.



“I’m happy, because for the last two years, it wasn’t just me. This year, I’m able to say that I made it. “For my team, last season’s seniors, two years ago seniors, my whole team, the whole staff, the current coaching staff, the whole school, we helped get the Golden League win and beat Highland for the first time in history.

” Lancaster tied the game at 14-14 with two touchdowns in the third quarter, after Highland had a 14-0 lead at halftime. Highland got the ball at its own 13-yard line with 7:30 remaining, thanks to an interception by Highland sophomore Arturo Carrillo. The Bulldogs’ drive stalled out at midfield and Highland turned the ball over on downs on the 49-yard line, coming up short on fourth-and-seven yards.

Lancaster took over with the ball on the Highland 49 with 2:09 remaining. Lancaster senior Sahmon Smith broke off on a 15-yard run on the fourth play of the drive to put the Eagles on the eight-yard line. Smith had a three-yard run to put the Eagles on the one-yard line with 6.

2 seconds left, but a false start penalty pushed Lancaster back to the six-yard line. Lancaster and Velasquez lined up for a 23-yard field goal three times, with Highland taking its final two timeouts. “Everyone here, my teammates supporting me,” Velasquez said.

“They gave me some knees. I felt better than ever.” With Lancaster sophomore Seth Wilson holding, Velasquez drilled the field goal with 1.

5 seconds remaining. The field goal ignited a raucous celebration by the Lancaster players. “He’s definitely one of the players of the game,” Lancaster coach Jermaine Lewis said.

“Coming in like that, he kicked excellent tonight. We practiced that all week. Thursday night, when we do our walk through, we called Johnny up to kick a game winner.

Same exact spot, he went ahead and did it.” Velasquez still had to kickoff the ball to Highland. Highland senior Demond Blanchard caught the kickoff at the 10-yard line and returned it to the 45 before he was tackled, ending the game.

“I’m just happy for them,” Lewis said. “They’ve been working their butts off since January. Since I came in they put all the work in.

It’s a testament to all the work they put in. “One of the goals we had was to win the Golden League championship and now we’re one step closer to doing that.” Tempers flared during the handshake line at midfield following the game, as opposing coaches pushing each other sparked a frenzy that security and school officials were able to break up.

Lancaster took its team off the field to celebrate in the locker room. Lancaster junior Cameron Owens got the momentum going for the Eagles with 6:36 remaining in the third quarter, blocking a Highland punt from the six-yard line. Lancaster recovered the ball at the 12-yard line and junior Arthur Turner scored on the first play.

Turner then recovered a Highland fumble on the first play of the ensuing drive, giving the Eagles the ball on the Highland four-yard line. Smith scored on a six-yard run with 5:31 remaining to tie the game at 14, after Velasquez converted his second PAT kick. Lancaster finished with 201 yards rushing on a combined 41 carries by seven different players.

Smith led the Eagles with 70 yards on 10 carries, junior Jacob Walker had 23 yards on 12 carries, junior quarterback Jayson Wilson had 13 yards on seven carries and Turner had 34 yards on nine carries. Senior Omari Thompson had one carry for 57 yards. Wilson completed 1-of-3 passes for no yards.

Highland finished with 233 total yards of offense. Highland senior quarterback Justin Wyatt Jr. completed 10-of-23 passes for 91 yards and one touchdown and rushed for 62 yards on 12 carries.

Highland senior Roderick Erwin rushed for 36 yards on nine carries and senior Jaden Williams had 44 yards on 13 carries. Highland senior wide receiver Andrew Garner caught five passes for 55 yards and one touchdown. Highland was penalized 17 times for 136 yards, while Lancaster was flagged 12 times for 90 yards.

It was a defensive standoff to start the game, as both teams had lengthy drives that stalled out in the red zone. Highland had a 16-play drive to open the game, but an incomplete pass turned the ball over on downs at the 26-yard line on fourth-and-16 yards. Lancaster answered with a 13-play drive that advanced to the 35-yard line, but a run by Wilson came up short on fourth-and-14 to turn the ball over on downs.

The two drives took up almost the entire first quarter. Lancaster seniors Zeon Camps and Armani Cortez-Castillo both had a sack in the first quarter for the Lancaster defense. After a scoreless first quarter, it was fitting that the first score of the game came on defense.

Lancaster fumbled the ball on the third play of its third possession of the game. The ball bounced right into the hands of Highland senior Taron Smith, who returned the ball 30 yards for a touchdown with 6:34 remaining in the first half. Smith also had a sack in the second quarter.

Highland seized momentum in the game, scoring on its next possession. Wyatt Jr. started the drive with a 43-yard scramble.

He then threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Garner with 3:05 remaining in the second quarter. Highland beat Lancaster last season, 33-26. The Bulldogs finished in a three-way tie for the Golden League championship with Quartz Hill and Palmdale.

Lancaster finished fifth in league last season with a 3-4 record. The Eagles finished in a three-way tie for second place in 2022, with Quartz Hill and Palmdale, when the Bulldogs went undefeated in league..