Southern Conference : Santa Ana Kicker Throws for Winning Touchdown

Santa Ana High School kicker Raul Ochoa may not be ready to challenge Eric Turner for the quarterback position on the Saints, but the senior did have a more productive passing game Friday night.

Ochoa turned a botched field goal attempt into a 22-yard touchdown pass play in the second period to give Santa Ana a 7-0 victory over Pacifica in a Southern Conference quarterfinal game played before 1,500 in Santa Ana Stadium.

Turner? He completed 2 of 6 passes for -10 yards, hardly a winning effort. But, thanks to Ochoa’s heroics, the Saints will advance to the semifinals next week against the winner of tonight’s El Modena-Capistrano Valley game.

Ochoa was lined up for a 39-yard field goal try with Turner holding, but the snap sailed high over Turner’s head. Ochoa retrieved the ball, rolled to his right and heaved a pass to Lanier Bridges, who was wide open at the 5-yard line, made the catch and continued for the score.

Take that, Garo Yepremian.

And take that, Pacifica. The Mariners, with one of Orange County’s best defenses, had shut out six of their last eight opponents.

Nothing to this giant killing, eh Raul?

“I was gonna run it, but I saw Bridges open, threw the Hail Mary and it worked,” Ochoa said.

Ochoa then added the extra point for a 7-0 lead, which held up, thanks to several botched scoring efforts by the Mariners.

Pacifica moved into Santa Ana territory for the first time in the third period and had a third-and-six from the Saint 23-yard line. Quarterback Scott Pettit appeared to be faking a handoff to Bill Hardesty on an option, but the ball bounced off Hardesty’s hip and Bryan Thomas recovered for the Saints.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Mariners executed a fake punt, with Pettit hitting Chris Campos with a screen pass. But Campos, with no Saint defenders near, slipped at the Santa Ana 41-yard line and slid out of bounds, one yard shy of the first down.

That play followed Pettit’s perfect bomb to Willie Taylor, who had the Saint defense beat but dropped the ball at the Santa Ana 15-yard line. Pettit’s last-gasp pass to Taylor with 2:46 left was intercepted by Paul Hurley, who picked off Pettit twice in the game.

To add even further insult, the Saints had a fourth-and-one on their own 32 with 1:15 to go and lined up as if to go for the first down. Turner set up behind center Sergio Rocha, barked a few signals and forced Callen Chase offsides for a penalty. The Saints then ran out the clock.

“So many things kept not happening right for us,” Pacifica Coach Bill Craven said. “We stopped ourselves.”

Neither team could stop the opposing team’s top running back, even on the soggy turf. Chase had an excellent game for Pacifica, rushing for 123 yards in 21 carries, while Santa Ana sophomore Robert Lee, a 6-foot 200-pounder, gained 110 yards in 23 carries.

Lee, who missed the first three games because of an ankle injury and spent some time recovering with the sophomore team, has now gained 100 yards or more in four straight games. The combination of Lee running more and Turner passing less has resulted in four straight victories for the Saints.

Turner’s role has diminished, but the senior doesn’t seem to mind.

“We’ve been running and it’s working, so we’ve stayed with it,” Turner said. “We depend on Robert more, especially in this rain. I couldn’t throw the ball at all.”

Fortunately for the Saints, Ochoa could.