SANTA ANA – Godinez used its dominant ground game to beat La Puente, 34-7, in a CIF-SS Division 13 game Friday at Santa Ana Valley High.
The Grizzlies rushed for 320 yards and five touchdowns. Sophomore Patrick McMorris ran for 179 of those yards on 32 attempts and scored a touchdown.
“He is getting better every week,” Godinez coach Michael Echaves said. “The fact that he is just a young sophomore is exciting.”
On the Grizzlies’ second possession of the game, Gerson Lopez scored on a 35-yard sweep to tie the score at seven.
On the ensuing La Puente possession, McMorris intercepted a Warriors pass to give Godinez the ball with good field position. Andy Sosa scored on a 14-yard run to put Godinez ahead 14-7.
The Grizzlies attempted their first pass on the opening play of the second half when McMorris took the ball on what looked like a sweep, then threw a 38-yard strike to Ivan Guzman. Lopez capped that drive with a 10-yard TD run to put Godinez ahead 21-7. McMorris scored for in the fourth quarter to put Godinez ahead 27-7.
The Godinez defense made La Puente uncomfortable. Warriors quarterback Joey Hernandez completed six of 13 passes for 78 yards and an interception. Quinton Groves rushed for 50 yards on 13 carries. He scored the Warriors’ lone touchdown of the game on their opening possession.
Hernandez picked up most of his yardage on two big passes to Daniel Morales of 30 and 27 yards respectively.
“Our defense has been on a tear since Week 4,” Echaves said. “It was a bit of a letdown when they scored that first touchdown. But we recovered and played the way we normally do.”
Godinez has won six straight and will host Rancho Christian in the second round.
