Saddleback’s Defense Puts Lock on Santa Ana, 20-12

The high school football championship of the City of Santa Ana is mythical, yet Saddleback is delighted to claim it for the third time in four years.

The mayor, however, didn’t show up at Santa Ana Stadium to give the Roadrunners the key to the city after Saddleback’s 20-12 win over Santa Ana Thursday night.

But who cares about symbolic keys that don’t really work. In the second week of school, the Roadrunners have hardly had time to figure out the combinations to their lockers, and their defensive keys were the only set that really mattered, anyway.

Santa Ana opened the game with a grand display of offense. Running back Derrick Jones powered back-to-back scoring drives. The Saints took a 10-0 lead in seven minutes.

In that time span, Jones gained 70 yards on 6 carries, including a 4-yard touchdown. Raul Ochoa kicked a 40-yard field goal with 4:46 left in the first quarter.

Saddleback quarterback Myron Butler, a former receiver, fumbled on the next set of plays and Saint linebacker Danny Perez, who played a superb defensive game, recovered the ball.

As the Roadrunner defense turned ferocious, holding Jones to 12 yards on his remaining nine carries, its offense got rolling. On the next possession, Butler led Saddleback 54 yards on four plays, scoring on a 13-yard run 10 seconds into the second quarter.

The Roadrunners persevered and the Saints began to sputter. Saddleback defensive end Gary Deans sacked Saint quarterback Eric Turner and nailed Jones behind the line of scrimmage.

Butler then rushed 24 yards on two plays and completed a 10-yard scoring pass to Danny Ontiveros. Todd Maxwell’s second extra-point kick gave the Roadrunners a 14-10 halftime lead.

Maxwell kicked field goals of 36 and 30 yards in the third quarter to seal the victory. The Roadrunner offense was strictly optional--they gained 124 of 200 first-half yards on option plays, which Butler orchestrated.

The Saddleback offense got every bit of advantage out its personnel, including four receivers and quick and powerful running back Glenn Campbell (14 carries for 123 yards).

Santa Ana quarterback Eric Turner, whose receivers had difficulty, was 6 of 22 for 71 yards.