7 Turnovers Help Saints to Upset of El Modena

Put any talk about El Modena being overconfident for Friday night’s Southern Conference semifinal game against Santa Ana on the back shelf.

And don’t blame El Modena’s 14-13 loss on Vanguard kicker Eric Watson, who missed a 23-yard field goal attempt in the second period and had a potential game-tying extra point blocked in the third quarter.

The simple facts are that Santa Ana’s defensive secondary of Oscar Tavares, Paul Hurley, Royal Wilbon and Steve De La Riva completely riddled the Vanguards’ offense, intercepting quarterback Chris Gallego five times, to lead the Saints to an incredible upset in front of 6,000 fans in Santa Ana Stadium.

And Santa Ana’s defensive line of Laile Afualo, Jose Avelos, Albert Ruiz and Lanier Bridges held El Modena running back Ross Bauer to 73 yards, forced two fumbles, blocked a punt and held its own against the heralded Vanguard offensive line, which was led by Don Gibson and Allen Ennis.

El Modena may have outgained Santa Ana, 311-166, in total offensive yardage, but you can throw away the statistics. The Vanguards blew several scoring opportunities, and the Saints came up with all the big plays.

The last, and the biggest, interception came with 1:19 remaining when Tavares picked off Gallego’s pass over the middle to stop a Vanguard drive that had begun at the El Modena 20-yard line and moved to the Saint 27.

On Santa Ana’s ensuing possession, quarterback Eric Turner gained a first down on a 13-yard run and the Saints ran out the clock, earning their first trip to a Southern Section championship game since 1967, when Santa Ana lost to Anaheim, 27-6, in the Major Division title game.

The Saints will meet the winner of tonight’s El Toro-Mission Viejo game for the Southern Conference championship next week.

“When they went to their deep people, we were in pretty good position, and when they went short, we were in the right spots,” Santa Ana Coach Dick Hill said. “Our defense played very well.”

Turner completed just one (of eight) passes and sophomore tailback Robert Lee had just one run of more than seven yards, but both plays resulted in touchdowns, as the Saints built a 14-0 halftime lead.

After Bridges blocked Gallego’s punt and recovered at the El Modena 28-yard line with 3:04 left in the first quarter, Turner used his only completion to team with Hector Olivares for a 25-yard touchdown pass. Olivares beat Bauer and made a nice, over-the-shoulder catch.

In the second period, after Watson’s 23-yard field goal attempt was wide left, Lee raced 71 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead with 3:46 to go. Santa Ana had a third-and-one and Lee took a handoff up the middle, where he found a gaping hole and raced untouched through the El Modena secondary. Raul Ochoa’s then added his second extra point.

El Modena, after five turnovers and a blocked punt in the first half, finally began to look like the team that had rolled over its first two playoff opponents, Paramount and Capistrano Valley (by a combined score of 68-10), when it drove 80 yards in 10 plays for a touchdown to start the second half. Bauer scored from two yards out and Watson added the extra point to make it 14-7.

The teams exchanged interceptions on the next two possessions, and El Modena came back with a short (25-yard) drive, ending with Bauer’s one-yard scoring run, to make it 14-13 with three seconds left in the third quarter. But Wilbon rushed in to block Watson’s extra point attempt, and Santa Ana’s defense held on in the fourth quarter.

Hurley intercepted Gallego twice, while Tavares, Wilbon and linebacker Derrick Jones each had one interception. Tavares also came up with Bauer’s fumble on the one-yard line to end an El Modena threat in the second quarter. The Vanguards had driven 80 yards and appeared to be heading in for the tying touchdown when Bauer fumbled a handoff from Gallego.

The last time the teams met, in the eighth week of the regular season, El Modena (11-2) whipped Santa Ana (9-4), 24-7. That was the Saints’ last loss.