SANTA ANA – After coming up empty for most of the first half, Pablo Aguirre needed about five minutes to turn things around for Santa Ana.
He was the main culprit in a 17-point barrage that provided the Saints the boost they needed for a 36-12 victory over Godinez Thursday night at Santa Ana Stadium.
Aguirre, a junior slot receiver, finished as the team’s leading rusher (128 yards on nine carries) and top receiver (three catches for 69 yards).
Before he took over late in the first half, much of the game was marked by turnovers, penalties, shaky snaps and bad timeouts.
Santa Ana began to find its groove midway through the second quarter behind Aguirre. After the Saints converted on fourth-and-one from the Godinez 20-yard line, Aguirre caught a pass in the flat and made a pair of nice horizontal moves to finish off the 18-yard touchdown pass from Damian Macias.
Santa Ana got the ball back in the final minute of the half, but didn’t play conservative. Instead, Aguirre made an impressive tackle-breaking 55-yard run, setting up a 35-yard field goal by Ismael Mojica as time expired that gave the Saints momentum heading into the locker room.
A 35-yard run by Aguirre on the opening drive of the second half then set up a 6-yard touchdown run by Allen Pacheco that stretched the lead to 17-6. The Saints would tack on another 13 unanswered points in the quarter to take a 30-6 advantage into the fourth.
Godinez played without last season’s Orange Coast League co-MVP, quarterback Bryan Ibarra, who was suspended for the first two games for “internal reasons,” Coach Michael Echaves told the Register last month.
Sophomore Patrick McMorris started in Ibarra’s place. He threw just five passes, completing two for 30 yards, and rushed for another 31 yards.
