GARDEN GROVE – Behind a punishing run game, Rancho Alamitos scored two late fourth-quarter touchdowns and beat Loara, 33-19, in a nonleague contest Friday night at Bolsa Grande High.
A back-and-forth game ended with Rancho Alamitos running backs Nathan Kanyavong and Miguel Rosales wearing down the Loara defense, rushing for 220 yards between them.
“We’re trying to establish more of a run game, so we could be a more balanced attack,” Rancho Alamitos coach Mike Enright said. “We were able to get control there in the end.”
With over two minutes to play Rosales punched the ball into the end zone on a 2-yard carry that capped a 55-yard scoring drive to give Rancho Alamitos a 26-19 lead.
After Loara (1-4) went four plays with three incomplete passes, Rancho Alamitos (3-2) sealed the victory with a 17-yard touchdown run by Rosales.
Rancho Alamitos quarterback Blake Culbert completed 18 of 27 passes for 151 yards and a TD.
Kanyavong rushed for 142 yards on 18 carries. Jiggy Mendoza rushed for 146 yards on 20 carries for Loara.
After recovering a Vaqueros fumble, Loara drove down the field to tie the score at 19 with 8:42 to play when Frankie Nocella scored on a 10-yard run.
Rancho Alamitos took a 19-7 lead in the third when Culbert threw a 2-yard TD pass to Cross Faletoi.
Gaining a total of 443 yards on the night — 280 yards rushing and 163 yards passing — Rancho Alamitos wore down the Loara defense.
