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Bolsa Grande Stops, Eliminates Rancho Alamitos

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

Bolsa Grande High School shut down county rushing leader Dana Riddle and shut out Rancho Alamitos, 26-0, in a Garden Grove League game in front of 800 at Bolsa Grande Friday night. The loss knocked Rancho Alamitos out of playoff contention.

Had Rancho Alamitos won, it would have earned the third playoff spot in the league behind Pacifica (7-0) and La Quinta (5-2). Bolsa Grande tied Kennedy (4-3) for third place, but Kennedy beat Bolsa Grande earlier this season to earn the third playoff spot.

The Matadors used a veer offense and an aggressive defense with Riddle as itstarget.

“We shut them down pretty good,” Bolsa Grande Coach Bill Holst said. “We had four different guys blitzing Riddle every play. We knew he was going to get the ball so we had to go get him. You’re not going to shut him out-he’s too good a back--but we kept them out of the end zone.”

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Rancho had its best scoring opportunity in the first quarter, when it was first and goal on the Bolsa Grande six. But Bolsa Grande’s defense stiffened and stopped Riddle short of the end zone on four carries.

“I don’t know if that was the determining factor, it was just indicative of the whole game,” Rancho Alamitos Coach Mark Miller said. “We would move the ball and come up short.”

The only bright spot for Rancho Alamitos (4-6, 3-4) was Riddle, who rushed for 144 yards in 34 carries to wind up with 2,082 yards.

That was the fourth-best single season rushing yardage in county history, behind Servite’s Derek Brown (2,301 yards in 1988), Edison’s Kerwin Bell (2,226 yards in 1979) and Valencia’s Ray Pallares (2,085 yards in 1985).

Carlos Torres rushed for three of Bolsa Grande’s touchdowns and 142 yards in 23 carries.

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