SANTA ANA – No Briseno brothers. No problem.
Santa Ana rolled to a 36-0 win over Anaheim on Thursday at Santa Ana Stadium.
The Saints, ranked No. 1 in CIF-Southern Section Division 13, are 2-0. They play Marina, 2-0 going into this week, next Friday at Westminster High.
Santa Ana’s Briseno twins, seniors Jonathan and Jorge, did not play for the second week in a row. Saints coach Charlie TeGantvoort said both were healthy enough to play but TeGantvoort is being cautious.
Jonathan, a quarterback and defensive back and Golden West League MVP last season, has a bruised shoulder. Running back/defensive back Jorge tore an ACL last season in the season’s fifth game at which point he had 1,584 yards rushing.
Their absence has given other Saints some time in the spotlight, and those other Saints looked comfortable in it Thursday.
Damian Macias, playing some minutes at quarterback and others at receiver, scored on touchdown runs of 5 and 23 yards and caught a 37-yard touchdown pass from Santa Ana’s other quarterback Thursday, sophomore Julian Gomez. Senior receiver Chris Nava caught a 54-yard touchdown pass from Gomez. Junior running back Allen Pacheco rushed for 42 yards and a touchdown.
Santa Ana’s defense contributed to the scoring with safety. Saints sacks were recorded by Steven Cruz, Israel Pantaleon and Kevin Cea. Cea, a senior nose tackle, powered his way into the Anaheim backfield consistently.
The Saints scored touchdowns on their first four possessions, had a 29-0 lead at halftime and did not punt until the fourth quarter.
Santa Ana scored 36 points for the second week in a row. The Saints beat Godinez last week, 36-12.
Santa Ana coach Charlie TeGantvoort said the team can’t get lapse into a complacency that would lead to mistakes and self-destruction.
“We know that the team that can beat us any time is Santa Ana,” TeGantvoort said.
These schools first played each other in football in 1920. Anaheim has a 28-20-3 lead in the series.
After a long break the series resumed in 2010. Upon resumption of the series, Anaheim won five in a row before Santa Ana beat the Colonists last year, 45-14. The three ties in the series happened three years in a row – 1939, ’40 and ’41.
Anaheim has not scored in its two games.
Anaheim plays Rancho Alamitos next Friday at Garden Grove High.
Contact the writer: sfryer@scng.com
