ORANGE COUNTY PREP FOOTBALL : Bolsa Grande Runs Over Rancho Alamitos

Three good runners proved to be better than one Thursday night in Bolsa Grande High School’s 34-14 victory over Rancho Alamitos.

Rancho Alamitos running back Sean Cheatham, the county’s leading rusher and scorer, was overshadowed by Bolsa Grande’s talented backfield as quarterback Damon Fisher and running backs Ricky Lepule and Travin Lui combined for 358 yards rushing.

A crowd of 1,200 in Bolsa Grande Stadium saw the Matadors score in every quarter en route to their 17th consecutive victory over the past two seasons, the Southern Section’s longest ongoing winning streak.

Cheatham finished with 103 yards in 26 carries and was limited to one touchdown, his lowest scoring output of the season. He leads county players with 22 touchdowns.

Fisher raced 37 yards around left end on his first carry for a touchdown, and the Matadors were off and running. Fisher finished with 117 yards in 6 carries for an average of 19.5 yards per carry.

Lepule led all rushers with 146 yards in 15 carries and scored on a 26-yard touchdown run with 23 seconds left as the Matadors clinched a berth in the Central Conference playoffs. Bolsa Grande (8-0, 5-0) needs only a victory against Los Amigos or Kennedy to clinch the Garden Grove League title for the second straight season.

Rancho Alamitos (5-3, 2-3) did not participate in pregame warmups because Coach Mark Miller wanted to take more time talking to his players in the locker room.

When the Vaqueros did come out, they fumbled on their first two possessions, leading to Bolsa Grande’s first touchdown and wiping out a good scoring threat.

“We had to come out fast against a team like Bolsa Grande, and those two fumbles changed the complexion of the game,” said Miller. “The first half went just about the way I thought it would, but they wore us down in the second half.”

Lepule and Lui were impressive in the second half after slow starts. Lepule had 104 yards in the half and Lui added 67 yards and touchdown runs of 4 and 33 yards. The Matadors gained 198 yards in the second half.

“We’re not a real emotional, rah-rah type of team,” said Greg Shadid, Bolsa Grande coach. “The players approach the games like they were going to work. It’s all business. You also have to give some credit to Rancho. They’re a good team.”

Rancho Alamitos certainly rates as one of the county’s most improved teams. The Vaqueros were 2-17-1 over the past two seasons until Miller arrived from Colton last spring and turned the program around.

Cheatham, a hard-nosed runner out of the mold of former Valencia star Ray Pallares, is a good, durable back, but it was obvious that there’s still some more work ahead for Miller and his players before they can defeat a team such as Bolsa Grande.

“We could finish 7-3 for the year and not make the playoffs,” Miller said. “I told the players if they wanted a guaranteed spot, they needed to win tonight. A wild-card spot is a strong possibility, but we have to win our last two games (Kennedy and La Quinta) to make it happen.”