ANAHEIM – Rancho Alamitos quarterback Nick Brown threw for 481 yards and six touchdowns and ran for another score as the Vaqueros came from behind to defeat Savanna, 48-27, in a nonleague game Friday night at Glover Stadium.
Brown had little trouble moving the ball through the air, but Rancho Alamitos (2-0) was unable to get into the end zone more than once in the first half.
Meanwhile, Savanna (0-1) looked as though it would be just as effective on the ground, scoring three touchdowns in the opening 10 minutes. Logan Thomas scored twice and led the Rebel running game with 147 yards on 25 carries.
Early in the second quarter, the tide began to turn for Brown, who finished with 38 completions in 51 attempts with one interception. A 13-play, 68-yard drive culminated in the first score for the Vaqueros, a 6-yard pass to Devin Velez, who caught 14 passes for 171 yards.
Savanna appeared poised for another touchdown but Brown was picked off by Nathan Gonzalez at the Rebel 24-yard line with a minute left before halftime.
Brown and the Vaqueros were efficient in the first six minutes of the third quarter, scoring 28 unanswered points with some help from two turnovers from Savanna.
Brown hooked up again with Velez for a 7-yard score on the first possession. Less than three minutes later, Brown found Joe Lainez open for 44 yards. With the extra point by Emannuel Cuevas, the Vaqueros took the lead for good, 21-20.
An interception by Arturo Salazar set up Brown’s 6-yard run into the end zone with 6:31 remaining. Two plays after a fumble was recovererd, Velez was on the back end of another scoring toss, good from 8 yards out.
Gonzalez gave Savanna some hope on the first play of the fourth quarter with a 9-yard scoring run, but Brown added twio more TD passes, for 22 yards to Albert Meneses and 27 yards to Velez.
