Orange Lutheran wins 'sloppy' game

SANTA ANA - Second-ranked Orange Lutheran opened its season Saturday night with a 35-17 home victory over Bullard of Fresno at Santa Ana Stadium, but the Lancers left the field wanting more.

“It was overall sloppy,” Orange Lutheran quarterback Bobby Wheatley said. “It was kind of expected coming out in the first game, but then again, we like to play to a high standard as if we were just coming off last year.”

“We’re disappointed with the way that we played, but we’re going to work hard in practice and move on. We’ll take a look at the game film and all you can do is get better and learn from your mistakes.”

Wheatley, a junior, completed eight of 15 passes for 93 yards.

Running back Exavier Edwards opened the scoring for the Lancers with a 19-yard run with 6:37 remaining in the first quarter. He scored another touchdown, an 11-yard run, with 3:48 to go in the first half.

The Lancers led 21-3 at halftime. Edwards scored his third touchdown of the game on a 6-yard run late in the third quarter to give the Lancers a 28-3 lead.

Edwards finished with 94 yards on the ground before leaving the game in the fourth with leg cramps. He said he will be fine for next week.

Kyle Dravis capped the scoring for the Lancers with a 23-yard score early in the fourth quarter.

“I think our effort was good,” Orange Lutheran coach Jim Kunau said. “We just have a lot of things to work on and try to improve.”

The Lancers defense made things extremely difficult for the Bullard offense. Quarterback Kerr Taubler was harassed all game long and when he did have time to throw, Lancers defensive backs Gabe Lemon and Terrence Brown were there to break up the pass attempts.

“I thought the defense played great, not as many mistakes as made offensively, but there’s lot of room for improvement,” Kunau said.

Bullard scored a pair of touchdowns late in the fourth quarter to make the score respectable.

See full game stats

Contact the writer: dcalhoun@ocregister.com