ORANGE COUNTY PREP FOOTBALL : Garden Grove League : Bolsa Grande Ends Doubts, 31-17

Any doubts about the strength of Bolsa Grande High School’s football team were erased Thursday night in the Matadors’ 31-17 victory over Pacifica in front of 2,000 fans in Bolsa Grande Stadium.

The Matadors’ sixth straight victory of the season, third straight in Garden Grove League play and 15th straight over the past two seasons, wasn’t easy. They needed two touchdowns in the final quarter to hold off Pacifica (3-2-1, 2-1) and move into sole possession of first place in the eight-team league.

But the victory demonstrated the quality of the Matadors’ option attack as Bolsa Grande amassed 386 yards rushing against a very good Pacifica defense. Tailbacks Ricky Lepule (144 yards in 17 carries) and Travin Lui (123 in 19 carries) and quarterback Damon Fisher (108 in 11) showed why they are all ranked among the county’s leading rushers.

Fisher set the tone for the evening on the first play of the game, faking a handoff to Lui and racing 76 yards for a touchdown. The Matadors scored again before the game was five minutes old, and Pacifica never was able to recover.

“They were like a runaway train,” said Bill Craven, Pacifica coach. “A lot of things happened so fast that we never recovered. I thought we played well in the third quarter, but we couldn’t close down their outside veer.”

The league was once dominated by Pacifica, with the Mariners winning eight straight titles from 1972 to 1979 before they moved into the Empire League. Pacifica’s return to the league prompted some doubts from Greg Shadid, Bolsa Grande coach, about his own team.

“I know we’ve scored a lot of points lately (146 in three previous games), but I was still wondering, how good are we?” Shadid said. “Can we score . . . can we move the ball against a good defensive ballclub? We found out we can put points on the scoreboard.”

Granted, Bolsa Grande got a big assist from Tom Riley, a Pacifica defender, on its second touchdown. Matador kicker Mark Miller lined a kickoff off Riley’s chest and then Miller recovered the loose ball at the Matadors’ 46-yard line.

It took Fisher six plays to get the Matadors to the end zone, the touchdown coming on a reception for 27 yards by Jim Usey. Fisher passed for 41 yards, rushed for 108 yards and intercepted a pass.