ORANGE – To charm people these days, young quarterbacks generally have to throw fancy passes that illuminate the sky.
None came Friday night from Westminster junior Matt Dinh, whose brand of play was plenty entertaining anyway and the catalyst for the Lions’ 48-6 defeat of host Orange.
Dinh doesn’t even play full-time – he has been rotating this season with senior Lucas Goode – and yet his crisp decision-making in Westminster’s read-option offense, not to mention a willingness to block on running plays, validated the Lions’ unblemished Golden West League record.
In his first two possessions, Westminster (6-2, 3-0) cruised to touchdowns on scoring drives of 52 and 56 yards.
“I try to emulate the style of our team, which is just to play hard every down,” said Dinh, who rushed for 38 yards on six carries and had a 31-yard scoring pass to Dat Tranh in the second quarter.
Orange (1-7, 0-3) did briefly threaten to dampen the Lions’ night. Dion Peronin’s 65-yard touchdown run three minutes into the second quarter cut the Westminster lead to 13-6.
But Ken Tranh responded with a 56-yard return on the ensuing kickoff to set up Humberto Maciel’s 6-yard touchdown run.
