Santiago overcomes penalties to triumph
GARDEN GROVE - Santiago (6-1, 2-0) piled up 142 penalty yards and turned the ball over twice but still managed to double up Rancho Alamitos, 28-14, to stay undefeated and in a tie for first place in the Garden Grove league.
“It’s big for us to get to 2-0,” Cavaliers coach Aaron Shahrestani said. “We are trying to secure a playoff spot and go for a league championship, which is our goal.”
Salvador Ceja carried the load for the Cavaliers offense, running for 183 yards on 34 carries. He scored three touchdowns.
The Cavaliers defense harassed the Vaqueros no-huddle offense all night, sacking quarterback Mike Frank seven times. They also picked him off four times. Frank finished 17 of 36 for 189 yards through the air.
The only time the Vaqueros were able to get their offense flowing was when the Cavaliers helped out with penalties.
The Vaqueros’ 811-play, 75-yard scoring drive in the third quarter was aided by three Cavaliers penalties for 37 yards.
Despite the large number of penalties, Shahrestani was not too upset over the abundance of yellow laundry hitting the field.
“I can’t fault my kids for playing hard,” he said. “I’ve been watching film and there have been a few calls that have gone against us in the past that are at the discretion of the official. We break those down on film and we see that it’s not always us after reviewing the tape.”
