ORANGE – El Modena raced to an early lead behind running back Kennth Lamb and never looked back, defeating Western, 42-14, in a nonleague game Friday at Fred Kelly Stadium.
Lamb scored two first-quarter touchdowns as the Vanguards (2-1) built a 21-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. Lamb finished with 151 yards on 22 carries, while teammate Frank Salinas rushed for 150 yards on 14 carries.
Western (1-2) got off to a bad start. On its first play of the game, quarterback Nick Zarate and running back Don Anderson miscommunicated on an option read, resulting in a fumble that was recovered by El Modena’s Gio Peralta.
On the next play, quarterback Daniel Contreras found Jacob Gonzalez on a screen pass and the senior receiver did the rest, racing down the sideline for a 17-yard touchdown.
El Modena kept the ball on the ground for most of the game. Lamb rushed for 121 yards by halftime.
In the third quarter, Salinas scored on an 83-yard run to give the Vanguards a 42-0 lead.
For Western, its offense came late in the fourth quarter. After David Salgado scored the first Pioneers touchdown on a 1-yard run, Anderson took an underneath pass from Zarate and took it 67 yards with 2:43 remaining in the game.
