Magnolia pounds Century for first victory

SANTA ANA - Magnolia finally felt the thrill of victory as the Sentinels ran all over Century, 27-0, in an Orange League matchup Friday at Santa Ana Stadium.

The Sentinels (1-7, 1-2) notched their first victory of the season thanks to a relentless ground attack. They piled up 405 total yards on offense with 403 coming on the ground.

“I give a lot of credit to these kids,” Coach Dave Perkins said. “It’s hard to come to practice sometimes when you haven’t won a game all season, and their work finally paid off.”

The Sentinels were led by backup fullback Hector Escobar, who entered when Trevor Ofisa suffered a leg injury early in the first quarter. Perkins said it was a strained Achilles’ muscle and that Ofisa could have come back into the game if not for Escobar’s excellent performance.

Escobar took his fourth carry of the game through the middle of the Centurions defense for a 45-yard touchdown. He added a 35-yard touchdown run later and finished with 241 yards rushing on 22 carries. Escobar also caught the only Sentinels pass in the game and notched three tackles on defense.

Devante Bates also proved valuable to the Sentinels offense. He racked up 92 yards on the ground on just 12 carries.

Sentinels defenders held the Centurions (0-8, 0-3) to just 65 yards total and five first downs. They also sacked the Centurions quarterbacks four times and forced a fumble.

 The 27 points were the most put up by the Sentinels this season. Magnolia came into the game averaging just under 10 points a game and had been shut out twice.

The Centurions defense came into the game giving up an average of 45 points per game. They will travel to Savanna next week while the Sentinels make a trip to take on Anaheim.