After Fast Start, Santa Ana Hangs On to 21-10 Victory

Santa Ana High School wasted little time in establishing dominance in its Century League opener Thursday night. Maintaining it, though, was another matter.

The Saints scored on two of their first three possessions by methodically running El Modena into the ground. However, Santa Ana still needed a fourth-quarter drive to come away with a 21-10 victory in front of 1,200 at El Modena.

“It seems like they have a switch and every time they need to move the ball, they turn it on,” El Modena Coach Bill Backstrom said.

The Saints (5-1 overall, 1-0 in league play) needed to turn it on with 10 minutes 50 seconds remaining.

After a four-yard touchdown pass from Adam Garcia to Mike Pallad, El Modena suddenly found itself trailing only, 14-10. The Vanguards (1-4-1, 0-1) had the momentum, but the Saints had the ball.

Behind the running of tailback Garner Hicks, Santa Ana put together a 12-play, 65-yard drive that ended El Modena’s last hope.

Hicks carried the ball seven times for 27 yards on the drive, including a five-yard run for the clinching touchdown. But his biggest run came with the Saints facing a fourth-and-three situation at the El Modena 43.

Hicks swept right, but was hit in the backfield for what appeared to be a three-yard loss. However, Hicks bounced off three Vanguards and stumbled for a four-yard gain and the first down.

“They knew they couldn’t give the ball back to us, they were too tired,” Backstrom said. “We had him, but we couldn’t finish him off. You have to give Hicks credit, he made a heck of a play.”

Hicks gained 94 yards in 25 carries and scored two touchdowns. He gave the Saints the lead on their second possession with a one-yard touchdown run.

Santa Ana, which has won three consecutive league titles, scored the next time it had the ball on a one-yard run by fullback Dan Tuioti. The Saints then handed the 14-0 lead over to their defense.

The Vanguards’ offense was snuffed out in the first half. El Modena had only one first down and 23 total yards at halftime.

Garcia drew the most attention as he was harassed from one end of the field to the other by the Saints, who at times used a 10-man defensive front.

“Garcia is a clever little kid,” Santa Ana Coach Dick Hill said. “He can beat you running or passing. We came into the game knowing we had to stop him.”

And stop him they did.

Garcia was sacked eight times for a minus-48 yards. Oswaldo Guerra had four sacks and Oscar Wilson two.

The only offense El Modena could muster in the first half was a 52-yard field goal by sophomore Prado, which broke Tim Hatcher’s school record of 47 yards set last season.

In the second half, the Vanguards managed to put together two drives. Santa Ana’s Gus Valencia stopped one drive with an interception at the five.