PREP FOOTBALL : Sea View League : An Easy but Costly Victory : Saddleback Loses Quarterback Therien in Rout of University

How good is the Saddleback High School football team? Good enough that the Roadrunners could lose their starting quarterback and still beat University by four touchdowns.

Starting quarterback Sean Therien suffered a broken collarbone early in the second quarter Thursday night and a spokesperson at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange said the junior would be out for 12 weeks. Therien was treated and released.

Neil Carter replaced Therien and threw for 149 yards and 2 touchdowns as the Roadrunners rolled to a 35-7 Sea View League victory in front of 1,500 in Santa Ana Stadium.

Saddleback, the top-ranked team in the Central Conference, scored in every quarter in improving its record to 7-0. Roadrunner Coach Jerry Witte used nine running backs who combined to rush for 193 yards.

The Roadrunners’ 30th victory in the last three seasons also featured a fine debut by Carter, who displayed plenty of poise and a strong arm. Carter completed 10 of 17 passes and threw scoring passes of 40 and 29 yards to Danny Ontiveros.

“Neil had only thrown one pass in a varsity game, so I wasn’t sure what to expect,” Witte said. “He hasn’t had the work Sean has, but he can throw deeper than Therien. He’s going to make some mistakes, we just have to get him some work.”

Carter did have some problems pitching out to tailback Nate Primous on option plays, but otherwise did a surprisingly good job. University Coach Mark Cunningham was impressed.

“Saddleback showed why they’re No. 1 tonight,” Cunningham said. “I thought we might have a chance when their quarterback went out, but their second-string quarterback did some good things.”

The Trojans, 4-3 overall, saw any chance of an upset disappear late in the first quarter when Anton Lark broke through to block Jeff Berger’s 47-yard field-goal attempt. Ontiveros scooped up the blocked kick and raced 60 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead.

“That blocked field goal was a key,” Cunningham said. “If you’re going to beat a good team like Saddleback, you can’t afford a turnover like that. We were forced to change our game plan after that play.”

Lark, Ontiveros and Primous had fine games. Lark intercepted two passes to go along with his blocked field goal. Ontiveros caught 4 passes for 88 yards and 2 touchdowns. Primous rushed for 138 yards and 2 touchdowns.

“They’ve got great speed and sure play with a lot of intensity,” Cunningham said. “I’ve seen every team in the Sea View League and Tustin is probably the only one with a chance of beating them.”

Saddleback also played good defense. The Roadrunners limited University running backs Craig Belle and David Liebke to 87 yards and prevented both from reaching the end zone.