SANTA ANA – Santa Ana rushed for 345 yards behind the swift legs of Jonathan Briseno, and the Saints piled up touchdowns early to beat Loara, 49-14, in a Golden West League game Friday night at Santa Ana Stadium.
Scoring five second-quarter touchdowns to pull away with a comfortable lead in the first half, the Santa Ana offense rallied behind Briseno, who moved to running back in the first half because his twin brother, workhorse runner Jorge Briseno, left the game because of injury.
Jorge was sent to the hospital in the first quarter with what Coach Charlie TeGantvoort called a lower-leg injury. Jonathan Briseno took the offensive reins, scoring four touchdowns on offense and also returning a kickoff 85 yards for a score.
“He’s just a great player,” TeGantvoort said about Jonathan Briseno. “It’s great to have someone like Jon, who even in the face of adversity, can step up, play hard and stay focused even when his best friend and brother is on the sideline hurt.”
Loara (0-6, 0-1) managed 212 offensive yards against what seemed like a stingy defense by Santa Ana (6-0, 1-0).
Santa Ana’s Ricardo Garcia intercepted a pass from Loara quarterback Boogie Augustine in the second quarter and ran it back 20 yards for a touchdown to increase the Saints’ lead 21-7 in the second quarter.
Santa Ana’s Tui Levano blocked a punt and recovered it at the 6-yard line. Briseno scored three plays later for a 28-7 lead.
