ANAHEIM – Westminster quarterback Matt Dinh rarely has his helmet on while the Lions’ defense is on the field.
Friday night would have been an ideal time to get yearbook photos of him.
After getting off to a dazzling start, Westmister ran out of steam in a 35-14 win over host Loara at Glover Stadium on Friday night.
The Lions ran a mere 12 plays and had just two first downs in the first 191/2 minutes after halftime – an extreme difference from the way their Golden West League meeting with the Saxons (0-8, 0-3) began.
In the opening 16 minutes, three of the first four touchdowns scored by the Lions (7-1, 3-0) came on a 71-yard kickoff return by Antonio Olea, a 52-yard carry by Josh Avila and a 53-yard scramble by Dinh. Avila finished with 182 yards on 19 carries.
“I’m disappointed with our effort in the second half,” Dinh said. “In the first half, we did very well.”
The scoring sprint from Dinh, who threw for 121 yards on 9-of-15 passing, put the Lions ahead 35-7 with 7:54 left in the second quarter.
But Loara sapped Westminster’s momentum the rest of the way thanks to quarterback Boogie Augustine, running back Austin Williams and receiver Aaron Lopez. Augustine and Williams combined to rush for 102 yards in the second half as Loara chiseled a 9-4 advantage in first downs.
Lopez caught Williams’ 16-yard touchdown pass 31/2 minutes into the third quarter.
