Fog Not Enough to Save Santa Ana Valley From El Modena

About the only thing that slowed El Modena tailback Adam Garcia Friday night was the heavy patch of fog that settled on the Vanguards’ field in the fourth quarter.

It was a good thing for Santa Ana Valley’s defense, which certainly couldn’t stop him.

Garcia rushed for 167 yards in 23 carries and scored three touchdowns as El Modena rolled to a 21-7 homecoming victory over Santa Ana Valley in a Century League game at El Modena.

The win kept El Modena (5-3, 3-0 in league play) in first place in the league standings. Santa Ana Valley dropped to 4-2-2, 1-1-1.

Garcia, a 5-foot-10, 170-pound senior, scored a touchdown in each of the first three quarters on runs of six, 11 and 33 yards. He also caught two passes for 22 yards.

But Garcia managed only 15 yards in three carries after the fog rolled in with nine minutes left in the game.

“Adam is something else,” El Modena Coach Bill Backstrom said. “I was calling him Spartacus tonight. I started out calling him ‘Rocket,’ then I called him ‘Nitro.’ He really ignites us.”

Garcia did just that on El Modena’s opening possession of the game, capping a 10-play, 70-yard drive with a six-yard touchdown run. Garcia was a workhorse on the drive, carrying seven times for 52 yards.

The Vanguards pushed the lead to 14-0 with 11:37 left in the second quarter when Garcia scored his second touchdown.

Santa Ana Valley bumbled its only first-half scoring threat.

Falcon quarterback Gary Graves scrambled 13 yards to the El Modena one-yard line, where he fumbled. El Modena’s Andy Bourdelais recovered the ball in the end zone with 4:13 left in the quarter.

The Vanguards, who led, 14-0, at halftime, capitalized on good field position early in the second half.

They got the ball at Santa Ana Valley’s 36 after a 13-yard punt by Mike Castleberry, and Garcia scored on a 33-yard run with 5:58 left in the third quarter.

Santa Ana Valley cut the deficit to 21-7 on Graves’ four-yard touchdown run with 11:35 left in the fourth quarter.

Then the fog started coming . . . and coming . . . and coming.

Fans in the stands had to squint to see El Modena’s defensive stand in the final six minutes.

Santa Ana Valley drove to El Modena’s six, but Aaron Tuioti’s fourth-down touchdown run was wiped out by a holding penalty. The Vanguards then sacked Tuioti for a seven-yard loss on the next play to end the threat.