ORANGE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PREP EXTRA : Sunny Hills Gets Late Tie With La Mirada

BUENA PARK — Sunny Hills and La Mirada exchanged late touchdowns to tie their season opener, 10-10, Friday night at Buena Park High.

La Mirada had two chances to win the game but two field goal attempts by Ben Orr, from 48 yards and 47, just missed.

Jeff Nicolini led La Mirada with 144 yards rushing on 19 carries, including a 67-yard run that set up the tying touchdown with 7:36 left. Four plays later, on fourth and goal from the 1, Nicolini burst through the middle for the touchdown.

Sunny Hills took the lead on its first possession of the fourth quarter, after La Mirada punter Greg Ridiger touched his knee to the ground trying to field a low snap. That set up Sunny Hills at the La Mirada 26-yard line.

An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty put the Lancers at the 12. Greg Garand’s 11-yard pass to Robert Oliver put Sunny Hills ahead, 10-3.

Garand, who passed for 1,766 yards last season, struggled early, missing his first six passes.

Sunny Hills didn’t get going until just before halftime, when Chris Velotta gave the Lancers their first first down with a seven-yard run with 1:55 left in the half. After that Garand completed his first two passes, then followed those with a 45-yard pass to Daren Solomon that set up the game’s first score.