SANTA ANA – After surrendering the lead to Godinez late in the fourth quarter, Rancho Alamitos quarterback Blake Culbert drove his offense 80 yards for a winning touchdown, and the Vaqueros held off Godinez, 23-20, in a nonleague game at the Santa Ana Sports Complex on Friday night.
Finding itself down, 20-16, with two minutes remaining in the game, Rancho Alamitos never lost sight of its goal.
Culbert found receiver Joe Navar open downfield before the wideout dodged a horde of tacklers to reach the end zone for a touchdown with 1:04 left to play in the fourth quarter.
“Our offense is built for those situations,” Rancho Alamitos coach Mike Enright said when asked what he told his team before the winning drive. “I just told our kids, ‘Listen, this is what we do every day in practice.’”
Godinez (1-3) tallied 406 offensive yards; Rancho Alamitos gained 366 offensive yards.
The Grizzlies had a shot to defeat Rancho Alamitos (3-1) after they took the lead late.
After trailing for two quarters, 16-14, the Grizzlies went ahead on Bryan Ibarra’s 35-yard touchdown pass to Izak Verduzco, which extended the lead to 20-16.
The Grizzlies took command of the beginning of the game with the running efforts of its shifty quarterback and a defense that stifled Rancho Alamitos early.
Jonathan Silva dodged a swarm of defenders to make his way to the end zone late in the first quarter with a 42-yard touchdown run, increasing the lead for Godinez, 14-3, after Andy Sosa’s extra point.
