GARDEN GROVE – David Cabral rushed for 192 yards and three touchdowns, helping visiting Sunny Hills roll over Santiago, 44-7, in a nonleague season opener Friday night at Garden Grove High.
Sunny Hills rushed for 385 yards and did not attempt a pass, while Santiago struggled to maintain a rhythm throughout the night.
“We were really physical that second half,” an emotional Cabral said, crediting the offensive line for the team’s stout running game.
Sunny Hills rushed for 265 yards on 39 attempts in the first half, gaining big chunks of yardage on key downs.
The Lancers (1-0) held the Cavaliers to 165 total yards and one touchdown, and held utility man Dominick Smith-Dotson to 104 yards. Smith-Dotson, last season’s Garden Grove utility player of the year, scored Santiago’s lone touchdown.
The Cavaliers (0-1) held the lead for a short time in the first quarter.
Wide receiver Smith-Dotson caught a deflected pass from quarterback Ruben Prieto with 7:47 left in the quarter, and Prieto’s extra point gave Santiago a 7-6 lead.
Smith-Dotson left the game with an injury in the third quarter.
Sunny Hills running back Derrick Davis broke countless arm tackles and ran for a 31-yard touchdown late in the second quarter to extend the lead to 20-7.
Cabral’s third touchdown, from 2 yards out, pushed the lead to 28-7 in the third quarter.
Lancers running back Caleb Morris added an 11-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter and Josh Neumann rushed for the two-point conversion for the final points of the night.
