SNEAK ATTACK: Octavio Flores (44) of Rancho Alamitos High is crushed by Luis Amaya (27) and Chris Camacho (12) of Anaheim High in the third quarter. ROSE PALMISANO, OCVARSITY.COM |
Anaheim legs it out over Rancho Alamitos (WITH VIDEO)
Despite a calf injury, Contreras rushes for 219 yards and a touchdown.
Anaheim running back Matt Contreras played it a bit conservative in the first half, although that wasn't his idea. Colonists coach Lanny Booher was unsure how Contreras' strained left calf would hold up.
It held up pretty well.
Contreras rushed for 140 yards on 22 second-half carries to help the Colonists beat Rancho Alamitos, 24-17, Thursday in a nonleague game at Bolsa Grande High.
Contreras, a 5-foot-9, 200-pound senior, finished with 219 rushing yards and a touchdown on 33 attempts.
"Coach said we would go light on the carries," Contreras said. "Then at halftime, he said I might have to buckle down." Contreras had told Booher before the game that the injury, a strained ligament, would be fine. The coach wasn't buying it.
"You know how kids are," Booher said. "They always want to play. I wanted to see how it was."
Contreras has rushed for 729 yards and 10 touchdowns over Anaheim's three games, and is averaging 7.1 yards per carry.
Anaheim improved to 3-0. Rancho Alamitos is 2-1.
It was a rematch of a 2006 CIF-Southern Section Southern Division playoff game. Anaheim beat Rancho Alamitos, 35-0, in that first-round game last year. Anaheim had a 14-7 lead at halftime.
The Vaqueros closed the gap on their first possession of the second half with a 28-yard field goal by Bryan Camino to make it 14-10.
That's when Contreras and the Anaheim offensive line of Art Cortez, Isaac Iosefa, Mike Linden, Eric Rodriguez and Alejandro Torres took over, with some additional blocking help from tight end Chris Noblecia and fullback Anthony Lopez.
Contreras carried the ball on 10 of the 12 plays on the Colonists' ensuing drive that ended with a 7-yard touchdown run by Contreras for a 21-10 lead.
In the fourth quarter, Anaheim's Ramon Mejia kicked a 31-yard field goal with 7:04 to go to make it 24-10.
Rancho Alamitos scored with 4:16 remaining on an 8-yard touchdown run by Jason Willis, two plays after he passed to receiver Trevor Collier for a 52-yard gain. That cut the Colonists' lead to 24-17, but Anaheim ran out the clock, with Contreras carrying seven times on the nine-play, game-finishing possession.
Collier finished with 128 yards on five receptions.
Anaheim's Rodriguez also played defensive line. He had a sack for an 18-yard loss in the first half, and later batted down a pass on a third-down play, forcing the Vaqueros to punt.
The Colonists scored first on a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Vince Gomez to David Diaz. A 31-yard touchdown pass from Gomez to Luis Amaya made it 14-0 in the second quarter. The Vaqueros scored on a 33-yard pass from Willis to Collier to cut Anaheim's lead in half.
Anaheim plays Loara in a nonleague game next Friday at Glover Stadium. The Colonists' other two victories this season were against Sunny Hills and Katella. They have won 15 of their past 17 games; last year, they went 12-2 and reached the Southern Division final, losing to Kennedy.
Rancho Alamitos, which had shut out Costa Mesa and Sunny Hills in its previous games, plays Sonora next Friday at La Habra High.
Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com
| It's really nice to see Anaheim winning again after so many dismal seasons. Keep it up Colonists! |
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| Class of \'65 - Sep 21, 2007 05:47:52 PM | Remove Comment |
