ANAHEIM – To Angel Roberts, they’re a little insulting, those football cliches “first-half team” and “second-half team.”
So Savanna’s two-way standout came up with his own Friday night: “Every-half team.”
It was his description of how the Rebels were able to outmuscle Santiago for a 28-13 home win at Glover Stadium, and it was a fairly accurate account.
Savanna (2-3) scored four touchdowns before halftime, then afterward kept the Cavaliers (0-5) scoreless besides a trick play Santiago executed well for a touchdown late in the third quarter.
Roberts was the early catalyst with his game-high 57 yards rushing, a 2-yard carry for a score and a 39-yard interception return for a touchdown during the first 24 minutes. From there the Rebels stayed anchored thanks to a key sack from Antonio Diez, Ethan German’s disconnection of a deep pass on-target and a Gabe Hernandez interception.
“We keep pushing,” said Roberts, who finished with 79 yards in 15 attempts. “We were feeling good all night because of the way we started.”
On the game’s fourth play, Savanna’s Robert Mounce carried the ball up the middle before breaking outside to the right for a 40-yard touchdown run. Right back came Santiago with a 17-play possession over seven minutes long finished off by Jason Bui’s 1-yard score.
The Rebels scored 21 points in the final 5:33 of the second quarter on Roberts’ two scores and quarterback Nate Gonzalez’s 1-yard touchdown carry a on fourth-and-goal play.
