GARDEN GROVE – Ruben Mendoza led a potent rushing attack to help Garden Grove to a 47-28 victory over La Quinta on Thursday night in a Garden Grove League game at Garden Grove High.
The Argonauts (8-2, 5-0), who ran for 342 yards, ended the regular season on a six-game winning streak and swept their way through the Garden Grove League for their fifth consecutive title.
Mendoza (130 rushing yards) set the pace early on as he gashed the Aztecs defense for huge gains on Garden Grove’s first series. His 41-yard run gave the Argonauts the ball inside the La Quinta 20. Mendoza’s 14 yard run made it 7-0 two plays later .
After a Fitu Lupematasila fumble recovery for Garden Grove, Mendoza added his second rushing touchdown in as many drives for a 14-0 advantage.
Mendoza’s first pass attempt was a 33-yard strike to Adam Johnson that led to Dominik Sanchez scoring on a 9-yard run as the Argonauts raced to a 21-0 lead.
La Quinta (7-3, 3-2) finally responded with a scoring drive of its own as Dylan Do broke a 62-yard run to cut the deficit 21-7. Do finished with 104 yards rushing and three TDs.
La Quinta came within 12 when Anthony Alvarez caught a touchdown pass from Michael Nadeau with 9:15 left in the fourth quarter.
Tthe Argonauts defense came up with a crucial stop when Peselao Gauta sacked Nadeau forcing the Aztecs to punt on their next drive.
On its next possession, Garden Grove finally put the game out of reach as Anthony Herrera scored on a 62-yard TD run up the middle, giving the Argonauts a 19-point cushion.
Garden Grove qualified for the CIF-SS Division 8 playoffs, which start next week, by winning the league title.
The CIF-SS football pairings come out Sunday and they will be published at ocvarsity.com shortly after they are released.
