LA HABRA — The offensive trio of Coy Collins, Ben Hannah and Jacob Titchenal helped Villa Park stave off a late La Habra comeback, edging the Highlanders 36-33 in a Bravo League game Friday night.
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Sophomore quarterback Jacob Titchenal completed 24 of 33 passes for 338 yards and a touchdown, including a couple of stretches of five consecutive completions.
“Titch (Titchenal) needed that huge game and to throw that many yards against a quality team like that,” Villa Park coach Dusan Ancich said.
“Last week was a really big first game for him and in this one, he got calm, threw the hell out of the ball,” Ancich added.
Hannah’s 28-yard touchdown reception with 8:14 remaining helped Villa Park (6-1, 1-1 in the Bravo League) maintain its lead.
“It was a great night for him,” Ancich said of Hannah, who finished with 12 receptions for 141 yards. “We wanted to throw the ball to him. It was great that he caught the ball and he got to shine and had a huge touchdown. He’s a big presence, a big athlete and it was great to see him make huge plays and huge points.”
Junior running back Coy Collins collected a game-high three touchdowns for Villa Park.
Collins capped the longest drive of the first half, an 11-play series, with a 7-yard touchdown run to break a scoreless tie 3:49 into the first quarter.
Three minutes later, La Habra (5-2, 0-2) drew even on a 68-yard touchdown pass from DJ Mitchell to CJ Dickerson, capping a two-play drive with 5:11 remaining in the first quarter.
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“DJ is special,” La Habra coach Frank Mazzotta said. “He throws the ball, he gets us out of a lot of trouble with his legs.”
Mitchell completed 13 of 21 passes for 312 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Dickerson had four catches for 110 yards.
Collins added his second touchdown of the night on a 59-yard escape with 4:40 remaining in the second quarter to help the Spartans regain the lead, 13-7. The ensuing 2-point conversion pass fell incomplete.
Trevor Kalma recovered a fumble and returned it 7 yards after Kenny Marshall lost the ball on the ensuing kickoff with 4:29 left in the half, extending Villa Park’s lead to 19-7. The 2-point conversion pass failed.
Dalton Lang ended the first half with a 48-yard field goal to increase the Spartans’ advantage to 22-7.
With the victory, Villa Park defeated La Habra for the first time in at least four meetings. The Highlanders won the previous three matchups, including a 42-21 victory in the CIF Southern Section Southwest Division semifinals on Nov. 27, 2015. La Habra also won 49-31 in 2007 and 38-20 in 2006.
La Habra continues Bravo League play against Crean Lutheran on Friday, Oct. 16.
Villa Park will host Tustin at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on Thursday, Oct. 15, at 5 p.m.
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