When it comes to payback, El Dorado's QB is money

Kane Wilson wasn't perfect on Friday in El Dorado's 13-12 victory over Trabuco Hills, but he was money when it mattered in the Southwest Division championship game.

He blamed himself for a failed series midway through the fourth quarter. The Golden Hawks trailed, 12-6, and had first and goal at the four-yard line. On fourth down at the two, the center snapped the ball and no one else moved -- except the Trabuco defense. The kid shows no reluctance in accepting blame.

"I told the seniors every day this week that I wasn't going to ruin their senior year," said Wilson, who blamed himself for having three passes intercepted last week in a 23-17 overtime victory over South Hills. "I had to make up for last week's performance."

The reality is that Wilson had already made up for last week's sub-par performance when he carried 25 yards on El Dorado's first play of overtime for the winning score.

He repeated his promise to the seniors on Friday's final drive, which covered 84 yards in less than three minutes. He completed a couple of big passes along the way. On second and goal, he discovered his "receivers were covered like white on rice," he said. He pump-faked, then ran into the end zone from five yards. It looked like a designed play. It wasn't. It should be.

He finished Friday with 159 yards passing, 43 yards rushing, including TD runs of 13 and five yards. The first scoring run came after he was leveled by a violent hit from Evan Pesonen. Wilson fumbled, a teammate recovered, and Wilson scored on the next play.

"We've never faced a defense like that," said Wilson, who got rocked a couple of other times but bounced up. "That's the best defense we've played."

He was not as sharp as when I saw him earlier this season against Anaheim Canyon, but the junior from Louisiana -- a Hurricane Katrina refugee -- continued to show why he's one of Orange County's outstanding prospects. He's a leader. And a winner.

And so are the seniors he felt he had to repay.

-- Martin Henderson

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