HS FOOTBALL : Notre Dame defeats Valencia 17-14 in OT

Trailing by 14 points with just over seven minutes remaining Friday, Notre Dame High rallied for a 17-14 overtime victory over visiting Valencia in a wild showdown between two of the area's top football programs.

Kevin Carrasco scored on a 42-yard reception from Kelly Hiliniksi with 3 minutes, 50 seconds remaining, followed by a tying 2-point conversion pass from Hilinski to Sam Robinson.

In overtime, Notre Dame sophomore Lucas Alfonso made a 40-yard field goal, then the host Knights clinched the victory when Valencia freshman Jay Jay Wilson was stripped on an 18-yard pass reception, and Dominick Mugavero recovered at the 7.

The place went wild, as a huge home crowd for Notre Dame erupted, while Valencia's players collapsed onto the turf in disappointment.

"When I saw the football pop into the air, I know I had to get it for my team," Mugavero said.

The win was Notre Dame's second without a loss after finishing 2-8 last season, and coach Kevin Rooney was utterly relieved to escape with the win.

"This was a great game, and it gets us ready for what needs to be done," Rooney said. "It was just great to come out on top."

Alfonso joined the team late in the summer, and he was buzzing with excitement after coming through with the go-ahead field goal.

"At first I was a little nervous, just thinking how far it was," Alfonso said. "But Niko Walsh made a great snap, Daniel Khan made a great hold, and it was just an amazing comeback."

Robinson's 7-yard touchdown run ignited the comeback.

Valencia (0-1) scored on Cody Anciano's 1-yard run and Billy Shipman's 70-yard interception return, but the Vikings, rebuilding after being hard by graduation, stalled in the second half.

Hilinski, a 6-foot-6 junior, completed 7 of 24 passes for 109 yards and two interceptions, and he was sacked five times. Khalfani Muhammad added 73 yards rushing on 18 carries.

Valencia's Sean Murphy completed 18 of 29 passes for 156 yards and two interceptions, and Anciano rushed for 98 yards on 18 carries.

It was a hard-hitting game with a playoff-like atmosphere. Murphy was knocked out of the game for a series in the fourth quarter because of a bloody nose, and Hilinski was knocked out on the last play from scrimmage in overtime with an unknown injury.

Notre Dame was limited to 80 yards in the first half before mounting its comeback. The Knights finished with 157 yards total offense, and Valencia had 266 -- way below the Vikings average of nearly 500 per game last season.