SANTA ANA – It wasn’t pretty, but Santa Ana coach Charlie TeGantvoort doesn’t care.
A win is a win, and for TeGantvoort and his Saints, each victory brings them closer to achieving their ultimate goal – their first league championship in 26 years.
On Friday night, Santa Ana took a step toward that objective as the Saints defeated Ocean View, 14-7, in a Golden West League game at Santa Ana Stadium.
The victory improved Santa Ana’s record to 8-0, 3-0 in league, and sets up a showdown next week with city rival and defending league champion Segerstrom, which also remained undefeated after scoring a 35-14 triumph over Loara Friday.
“That’s going to be fun. Our kids are looking forward to it,” TeGantvoort said.
Santa Ana will have to turn in a better performance – at least offensively – next week than it did Friday if it wants to capture its first league title since 1989. The Saints gained just 220 yards of offense and scored two touchdowns, committed two turnovers, and sputtered throughout the night.
“Every victory is harder than the last one,” TeGantvoort said. “We were so close on so many things … but even when we don’t play well, we’re finding ways to win.”
On Friday, the Saints leaned on their defense, which held the Seahawks (4-4, 1-2) to just 146 total yards and six first downs – none in the second half.
“(Santa Ana) did an amazing job defensively. They really pinned us down,” Ocean View coach Luis Nunez said.
But it wasn’t enough, as Santa Ana scored the winning touchdown on a 17-yard touchdown run by Tui Levao with 6:33 left in the third quarter.
Ocean View tallied the game’s first score on a 1-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Xavier Salgado with 3:16 left in the first quarter. The touchdown – Salgado’s sixth this season – capped a 10-play, 61-yard drive.
Santa Ana knotted the score at 7-7 in the second on a 42-yard TD catch by Jonathan Briseno. Briseno took a pass from Damian Macias in the flat, sprinted down the left sideline, leaped over a defender and strolled into the end zone with 9:38 remaining in the first half.
Contact the writer: magarcia@scng.com
