Fullerton was led by (from left) Caden Wise, Evan Tellez-Soria, Sergio Andrade and David Salgado Thursday night. (PHOTOS: Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone).
The resurgence of the Fullerton High School football team has been turning heads all season.
On Thursday night, the No. 4 seeded Indians, winless a season ago, continued to amaze defeating La Quinta of Riverside County 38-21 in a CIF Division first round playoff game at Fullerton.
The Indians, who finished 0-10 in 2024 and are participating in the playoffs for the first time since 2019, rushed for 263 yards and forced four turnovers.
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Fullerton (9-2) advances to the quarterfinals and will travel next week to play the winner of Friday’s La Mirada/Beckman contest. Thursday marked the first playoff win for Fullerton since 2017. The Indians finished second in the Lambda League, behind Beckman, and have now won five consecutive games.
“This was an amazing win, and we are not done,” said Indians Coach Pete Karavedas. “We have one game down and three to go. We have the talent and this team is hungry.”
Evan Tellez-Soria had a huge game for Fullerton as the junior running back/linebacker had major impacts on both sides of the ball. He rushed for 70 yards and scored two touchdowns and recovered a key fumble late in the first half and had a fourth quarter interception that helped seal the victory.
“It’s a great win and it’s a great way to bounce back after a horrible season last year,” said Tellez-Soria. “We all worked hard over the summer, and we want more and we feel we can go farther.”
Fullerton took the opening kickoff and marched 80 yards in six plays to take an early lead. Tellez-Soria capped the drive with a 37-yard TD run, giving the Indians a 7-0 lead at the 9:02 mark.
In the second quarter, following a La Quinta punt, the Indians drove deep into Blackhawks territory, but Caleb Hartwell intercepted a Fullerton pass at the La Quinta 13-yard line and returned it 41 yards.
Seven plays later, quarterback Roman Ansley rambled into the end zone from four yards for a touchdown. The Blackhawks added a 2-point conversion and led 8-7.
La Quinta upped its lead to 14-7 when Ansley completed a 33-yard TD pass to Hartwell on a fourth-down play with 4:27 left in the half.
The Indians then caught fire and stormed back and scored three touchdowns in the final 1:52 of the half.
Fullerton first countered with a six-play, 80-yard scoring drive, capped off by a 49-yard TD pass from quarterback Sergio Andrade to a wide-open Hudson Haiduc. However, the Indians missed the PAT and trailed 14-13 with 1:52 left in the half.
Following a Blackhawks punt, Andrade tossed a 20-yard touchdown pass to Nathan Vejar who outjumped two La Quinta defenders in the end zone for the touchdown. Once again, Fullerton missed the 2-point conversion but led 19-14.
A Blackhawks fumble on the ensuing possession was recovered by Tellez-Soria at the Blackhawks 30-yard line. Two plays later, Andrade lateraled the ball to Caden Wise who then completed a 25-yard TD pass to Zach Bird with 12 seconds remaining in the half. The Indians missed its third PAT but led 25-14 at halftime.
The teams traded touchdowns in the third quarter. Ansley scored on a one-yard TD run for La Qunita, but Tellez-Soria added a 19-yard touchdown run to give the Indians a 31-21 lead after three quarters.
Tellez-Soria and Julian Bohlmann had fourth quarter interceptions for Fullerton to foil La Quinta’s comeback bid. Cyrus Aviles added a one-yard fourth-quarter TD run to complete the Indians scoring.
Wise, Aviles, Tellez-Soria, and Haiduc combined to rush for 247 yards and three touchdowns.
“This win means everything to us, especially for the seniors,” said Wise, who also caught four passes for 62 yards. “We were clicking and we feel we can go all the way.”
Indians center David Salgado anchored the impressive performance by the offensive line.
“It’s an amazing win for us and our Oline and tight ends played hard and kept pushing; our coaches have faith in us,” said Salgado, a junior.
Andrade completed 20 passes for 165 yards, and two touchdowns passes for Fullerton.
“We’ve faced adversity all season; we don’t get down,” said Andrade. “This kind of a win builds character and all of the hard work during the summer is paying off.”
Notes:
—Beckman, the Lambda league champion, handed Fullerton its only league loss this year 34-14.
—Fullerton coach Pete Karavedas said “it’s special” to have his father, Nick, as his defensive back coach.
“It’s a role reversal but it’s what every father wants for his son,” said Nick Karavedas, 65, who had coached previously with his son at Sunny Hills. “We both have a passion for football and to be out here together coaching is a blessing. I’m very proud of what Pete has accomplished.”
Nick attended Warren in Downey and went to school with former Fresno State and California Golden Bears football coach Jeff Tedford.
—-“The turning point of our season was the week following our (34-14) loss to Beckman,” said Pete Karavedas. “The kids took on a “Bulldog” attitude and despite the setbacks we encountered, they pushed forward like bulldogs.”
—Thursday’s playoff win was Fullerton’s first playoff victory since defeating North. 43-30, in 2017. The Indians had lost their last two playoff games in 2018 and 2019 to Pacifica and Long Beach Wilson.
—No. 13 seeded La Quinta finished in third place in the Desert Empire League, behind Palm Desert and Palm Springs.
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